Cold case of teen assaulted and killed in 1982 is solved thanks to DNA on discarded cigarette
02/18/2026 2:23 pm PST
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (TCN) -- The killer of a 13-year-old girl has been convicted of murder nearly 44 years after the crime, thanks to advances in forensic technology.
On Feb. 13, a jury found 64-year-old James Oliver Unick guilty of murder in the 1982 death of Sarah Geer, the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office announced. It was found true that he committed sexual assault during the commission of the murder and will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. KRSO reports the verdict was read on what would have been Geer’s 57th birthday.
On May 23, 1982, Geer left a friend’s house to walk downtown when she was accosted by Unick near an alley off a residential street, according to the DA. He raped her and strangled her to death using her own shorts, and her body was discovered the next day by a firefighter.
Due to a lack of forensic technology available, the investigation went cold until 2003, when the California Department of Justice developed a DNA profile based on evidence collected from Geer’s underwear. The DNA did not match anyone that law enforcement had on file and the case went cold again until 2021. That year, the FBI, with access to familial DNA databases, analyzed the sample and found it belonged to one of four brothers, including Unick.
The FBI surveilled Unick and collected a cigarette he discarded, according to the DA. His DNA matched the profile created in 2003 as well as other crime scene evidence, including clothing worn by Geer.
Unick was arrested July 22, 2024, and held in jail on suspicion of murder, kidnapping, rape, and lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under 14 by force, KRON reported at the time.
During his testimony, Unick claimed the encounter with Geer was consensual and that she had propositioned him for sex while he was playing video games at an arcade. According to the DA, Unick implied that Geer had been killed later that night by a “phantom man who failed to leave behind any DNA evidence.” The jury deliberated for two hours before returning a guilty verdict.
Geer’s supporters in the courtroom reportedly whispered “happy birthday” as the sentence was read, KRSO reports.
District Attorney Carla Rodriguez said, “This is the coldest case ever presented to a Sonoma County jury. While 44 years is too long to wait, justice has finally been served, both to Sarah’s loved ones as well as her community.”
According to KRON, Unick is scheduled to be sentenced on April 23.
MORE:
