https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/12/21/hayward-police-announce-press-conference-on-michaela-garecht-case/

A man already convicted of murder and awaiting trial on a double-murder in Fremont, is suspected of being responsible for the disappearance and killing of 9-year-old Michaela Garecht in 1988, authorities said.

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office charged David Misch, 59, with Michaela’s murder on Monday. The charges include two special circumstances, District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said. One is that the murder happened in the course of a kidnapping and the other notes Misch already has been convicted of a previous murder.

“Her kidnapping devastated her family and paralyzed them with grief,” O’Malley said during an afternoon press conference at Hayward police headquarters. “Their pain remains indescribable. It was so brazen, so ruthless and yet clearly planned. Our announcement hopefully will provide some comfort to the family, knowing that justice will prevail.”

This is amazing!

What a day for cold cases -- they also made an arrest in the 10-year-old disappearance of Unique Harris in DC, too!

What I found odd was that in Michaela's case:

"Hayward police, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office and the FBI said that Misch's palm print tied him to Garecht's disappearance. Misch has been behind bars since 1989 after being convicted of another murder. He is also awaiting trial for a 1986 double murder in Fremont, Chaplin said."

From this:
https://www.kcra.com/article/police-update-1988-disappearance-michaela-garecht-hayward/35035298

If they had his palm print AND he's been in prison since 1989, shouldn't he have been caught sooner? Or is the key word "palm print" instead of "fingerprint?"

This is great.

The segment about this was one of the most terrifying things UM ever did. That composite sketch scared the **** out of me for years.

Wow, I never thought I'd see this!

If they had his palm print AND he's been in prison since 1989, shouldn't he have been caught sooner? Or is the key word "palm print" instead of "fingerprint?"

That's what I was wondering. What took so long? Some links say fingerprint and some say palm print. I guess we have to wait for more details.

This really is amazing.

I wonder if we'll get a statement from Michaela's friend. I read a feature on her a few years back. She's a wife and mother now but it was mentioned that she still lives every day with the survivor's guilt, knowing it could just as easily have been her scooter that was moved and her being the one taken.

This is amazing!

What a day for cold cases -- they also made an arrest in the 10-year-old disappearance of Unique Harris in DC, too!

What I found odd was that in Michaela's case:

"Hayward police, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office and the FBI said that Misch's palm print tied him to Garecht's disappearance. Misch has been behind bars since 1989 after being convicted of another murder. He is also awaiting trial for a 1986 double murder in Fremont, Chaplin said."

From this:
https://www.kcra.com/article/police-update-1988-disappearance-michaela-garecht-hayward/35035298

If they had his palm print AND he's been in prison since 1989, shouldn't he have been caught sooner? Or is the key word "palm print" instead of "fingerprint?"

Likely, I think a partial palm print is not especially convincing on its own, most likely if they convict him for this one it will rely heavily on the other murders showing he was a prolific offender in the area during the mid to late 1980's. Guessing they must have kept the bike in storage somewhere & taken the print off it recently? You can see the defence argument right away-he might have been there that morning & moved her bike which had been left there carelessly, then drove off. But that would make him look guilty as hell, so the best defence will be to attack the length of time the bike was in storage, how it was handled etc.

The Unique Harris update is great news! I've followed that case for years and am glad that her mother may finally be getting some closure.

The palm print had to be manually compared, it was too small to be used via software solutions.

Mind blown. I never thought this case would be solved. Thank goodness I was wrong.

Mind blown. I never thought this case would be solved. Thank goodness I was wrong.

Yes, this & other recent DNA & familial DNA results gives a lot of hope that going forward a lot of these cases will be solved-science only gets better with time & things that were unsolvable in the pre DNA world of the late 1980's, or the mediocre DNA capabilities of the 1980's & 1990's may well be solved in the future when cops go back & look at cold cases like Angela Hammond.

That’s awesome he’s been caught. Would love to see a picture of him from the time of her disappearance to see how close the sketch was. One of those sketches you never forget.

That’s awesome he’s been caught. Would love to see a picture of him from the time of her disappearance to see how close the sketch was. One of those sketches you never forget.

https://www.ktvu.com/news/da-charges-man-with-murder-following-1988-disappearance-of-michaela-garecht

That’s awesome he’s been caught. Would love to see a picture of him from the time of her disappearance to see how close the sketch was. One of those sketches you never forget.

I grew up in Southern California and we had United Artist cable at the time. One of the commercials was about this case. It showed a couple of pictures of Michaela and the narrator gave some details. Then it showed the composite drawing of the suspect with a physical description. All the while somber acoustic guitar music playing in the background. It always scared me to death. I had to run out of the room and hide. :eek:

Did this guy receive the death penalty?

Yes, this & other recent DNA & familial DNA results gives a lot of hope that going forward a lot of these cases will be solved-science only gets better with time & things that were unsolvable in the pre DNA world of the late 1980's, or the mediocre DNA capabilities of the 1980's & 1990's may well be solved in the future when cops go back & look at cold cases like Angela Hammond.


I have a feeling the family DNA thing is eventually going to run into court challenges that make it inadmissible in court.

I am also always a bit skeptical in cases like this where with very limited evidence they try to pin a decades old case on someone already in jail, seems a bit too much like they are trying to mark it "solved" rather than solve it.

I guess we will see if this case holds up.

they just need to find the little girl and put her to rest.

Update David Misch aka Michaela Abductor will likely be tried for her abduction and murder this year this article explains his likely motive behind her abduction.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/14/accused-east-bay-serial-killers-secrets-revealed-past-crimes-abuse-and-tragic-explanation-behind-9-year-old-girls-abduction/amp/

That website isn't loading for me, but there can only be one motive-sexual assault/rape.

Article loaded for me. Few interesting notes

In the filing, prosecutors argued to Judge Paul Delucchi that the three murder charges Misch faces are similar enough in motive and modus operandi to condense the two cases into one trial. Misch’s lawyers argued that prosecutors were using legal “gamesmanship,” rhetoric and speculation in place of real evidence.
Delucchi sided with the defense, meaning that on March 4, Misch will go to trial in the Feb. 2, 1986, killings of best friends Michelle Xavier, 18, and Jennifer Duey, 20, in Fremont. Only after that will he stand trial on charges of kidnapping and murdering Michaela, at a yet-to-be-determined date.

To me this sounds like they don't really have the evidence to try him of the crime and were attempting to add it to the other case to gloss over that. The judge correctly ruled they needed separate trials.

The case went unsolved until a DNA test linked Misch to skin cells found underneath Duey’s fingernails in 2003, prosecutors said. Despite this, prosecutors waited another 15 years to charge Misch, a delay that has never been publicly explained.

A 15 year delay could be construed as an abuse of the right to a speedy trial, that may prove an issue in court.

Hopefully he'll eventually reveal what happened to her because we all want to know where she is