Oregon man arrested for cold case sexual assault, murder of Vallejo boy
VALLEJO, Calif. - An Oregon man has been arrested for the murder of a 6-year-old Vallejo boy nearly 40 years ago.
On Monday, Fred Cain III was arrested in his Central Point, Oregon home after DNA evidence implicated him in the death of the Vallejo boy, who was abducted in 1987 from his home.
The autopsy also indicated that the boy was sexually assaulted, officials said.
The boy was found on Sherman Island in Sacramento County days after he went missing. Another man, Shawn Melton, was named as a suspect due to the details he knew about the case that supposedly only the killer would know, according to authorities.
Melton was charged with murder and kidnapping. The case was dismissed after the jury deadlocked. Officials said advances in DNA technology eventually exonerated Melton.
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Cain will be transferred to Solano County after waiving extradition. He was officially charged with murder with special circumstance allegations of kidnapping and sodomy.
"I am so thankful to have such dedicated cold case investigators that no matter how much time goes by they remain steadfast in their commitment to solving these horrific cases," District Attorney Krishna Abrams said in a statement.
This case was reopened after Abrams was elected in 2014 and prioritized reinstating Solano County's Cold Case Unit to "hold offenders accountable, see long-awaited justice, and bring closure to victims' families."
Officials said no other details will be released at this time to not jeopardize the case.