I just saw a commercial advertising "48 Hours" on Saturday night. Its going to be about Mia Zapata's murder. It airs at 8 p.m. eastern time.

I remember the suspect was arrested in the Florida Keys a year or two ago, after a DNA match. But I have not heard about a trial and/or any evidence. It seemed unlikely she would have known him and it will be interesting to see if the 48 Hours show speculates it was a random attack.

Originally posted by Awsi Dooger
I remember the suspect was arrested in the Florida Keys a year or two ago, after a DNA match. But I have not heard about a trial and/or any evidence. It seemed unlikely she would have known him and it will be interesting to see if the 48 Hours show speculates it was a random attack.

Actually, there has been a trial. As the following link tells us, Jesus Mezquia was convicted of killing Mia Zapata, and has been given a prison sentence of nearly 37 years.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/171551_zapata01.html

I'm also going to set my VCR, I don't want to miss this. I'm also interested in finding out if any evidence was on Mia's body that linked it to the killer. I wonder if there were any eyewitnesses.

Wow, no semen, no blood, and just a little bit of saliva on her body that was swabbed and frozen for nearly a decade, eventually allowing for the crucial DNA match.

It was unclear if police think Mia Zapata voluntarily entered the man's car or was briefly abducted. She was apparently walking to confront an ex-boyfriend when the incident occurred.

I was impressed Mia's friends took so many steps, including hiring the private investigator who worked the case day and night for four years. And kudos to the Seattle Cold Case squad, which eventually solved the case along with many others.

In fact, the other Seattle case 48 Hours profliled Saturday night was more chilling and interesting than the Zapata case, a 14 year old slob who was obsessed with and killed a 13 year old female classmate, dumping her body in a cardboard TV box behind a local business. He got away with it for 22 years, relocating to New Jersey, before the cold case squad sent a phony letter that requested a reply. The guy sent an envelope back and licked it shut, precisely the plan. DNA from that envelope matched the semen sample from 1982. The suspect was arrested and later convicted. I don't remember his name precisely, something like Akins.

Originally posted by Awsi Dooger
In fact, the other Seattle case 48 Hours profliled Saturday night was more chilling and interesting than the Zapata case, a 14 year old slob who was obsessed with and killed a 13 year old female classmate, dumping her body in a cardboard TV box behind a local business. He got away with it for 22 years, relocating to New Jersey, before the cold case squad sent a phony letter that requested a reply. The guy sent an envelope back and licked it shut, precisely the plan. DNA from that envelope matched the semen sample from 1982. The suspect was arrested and later convicted. I don't remember his name precisely, something like Akins.

His name was John Athan. The girl he was accused of killing in 1982 was Kristen Sumstad.