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San Francisco police link 1992 killing to suspect awaiting murder trial in Denver

Published  January 15, 2025 1:53pm PST
San Francisco
KTVU FOX 2
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FILE - Handcuffs sitting on a table. (Bernd Wüstneck/picture alliance via Getty Images.)

The Brief

    • Rickey Dawson, already tied to three other killings across the country, has been named as a suspect in a 1992 San Francisco cold case.
    • The victim, Nancy Hernandez, was found dead nearly 33 years ago and her case has gone unsolved.
    • Authorities believe Hernandez was beaten, strangled, and sexually assaulted.

SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco police said Wednesday that investigators have linked the nearly 33-year-old killing of a homeless woman in the city to a man awaiting trial for another murder in Denver.

The victim

The backstory:

Nancy Hernandez, 45, was found dead on May 2, 1992, in a utility corridor in the first block of Hang Ah Alley in San Francisco.

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Police determined Hernandez was an unhoused woman living in the space who was beaten and strangled. The medical examiner took swabs to confirm Hernandez was also sexually assaulted.

Investigators reopened the case on Oct. 11, 2023.

The suspect

What we know:

The Police Department's crime lab entered the DNA evidence profiles into the FBI's Combined DNA Index System, which matched an offender named Ricky Dawson.

SEE ALSO: 1982 Cloverdale cold case: Arrest made in 13-year-old Sarah Ann Geer's murder

Dawson has been linked to three other killings involving sexual assault in Panama Beach, Florida; Seattle and Denver, where Dawson is awaiting trial for murder.

An arrest warrant for Dawson in the San Francisco case was issued Jan. 2. The warrant was sent to the Denver County Sheriff's Department, and a hold was placed on Dawson. He'll be sent back to San Francisco after his trial in Denver.

"No matter how old a case is, this is proof that we will never rest until a case is solved," San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said in a statement. "I want to thank our homicide and cold case investigators who have worked diligently on this case to bring justice to Ms. Hernandez and her family."

Anyone with information regarding the case can contact the San Francisco police tip line at (415) 575-4444. Callers may remain anonymous. 

The Source: Information for this story comes from the San Francisco Police Department.

San FranciscoCrime and Public Safety