(KRON) — An Oregon man was arrested last week in connection to a 1987 homicide of a 6-year-old Vallejo boy, the Solano County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Solano County DA investigators arrested the suspect, identified as Fred Cain III, at his Central Point, Oregon, home on Sept. 18 with the assistance of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. Solano County DA officials said advances in DNA technology linked Cain to the death of the boy.
In 1987, 6-year-old Jeremy Stoner was abducted near his home in Vallejo. The boy’s body was recovered four days later on Sherman Island in Sacramento County, the DA’s office said. An autopsy showed signs that the boy was sexually assaulted.
That same year, a suspect was named in the case. Shawn Melton was charged with murder and kidnapping after investigators said he had knowledge that only the person responsible for the death would know. The case would later be dismissed due to the jury not reaching a verdict.
The Solano County DA’s office said Friday that the same DNA technology that implicated Cain in the child’s death has exonerated Melton.
Cain will be transferred to Solano County to face charges of murder with special allegations of kidnapping and sodomy, officials said.
