the newest developments in this decades-old cold case unfolding just about five minutes ago, steven crawford has been officially identified by the santa clara county sheriff, just, again, five minutes ago, as the person, as the man who murdered arliss perry so long ago. that was on october 1974. now we know that steven crawford is a name that we're familiar with, that the sheriff's office was familiar with, because this is a man who they say was the one who shot or i'm sorry, not shot, but he is the one who shot and killed himself early this morning when deputies attempted to give him a warrant, specifically for this crime. again, decades-old crime involving arliss perry. today the sheriff's office sharing information about how they came to end this case. >> the detectives have continually gone through the evidence, submitted additional evidence for testing. there was no dna at the time of the murder, of course, but there have been enhancements in their capabilities, so we continued to submit the evidence to the crime lab. and it came from, i think, an item of her clothing. >> reporter: now

now we know that steven crawford is a name that we're familiar with, that the sheriff's office was familiaris a man who they say was the one who shot or i'm sorry, not shot, but he is the one who shot and killed himself early this morning when deputies

> quiet to himself. >> reporter: the apartment manager says the subject of the search warrant steven crawford was in failing health and heavily medicated. she said around 9:30 in the morning, santa clara county sheriff's investigators asked for the keys to unit 185, then ran upstairs. crawford, a long-time suspect in a cold case, was inside and willing to come out. >> they were trying to get in and trying to talk to him. you could see them through the window trying to get him to open the door. >> reporter: moments later, she says she heard a muffled gunshot. >> we did the search warrant and, um, the suspect shot himself. >> reporter: sheriff smith says crawford had been in her department's crosshairs since 1974, when he, working as a security guard, found the body of a woman found dead in october inside stanford's memorial church. investigators say she was stabbed in the head with an ice pick. she had also been beaten and molested. smith says technological limits at the time couldn't lead to a case against crawford. but current advancements in dna testing did, which produced thursday's search

at the time the main suspect was a security guard who was on site steven blake crawford.. there was never enough evidence to arrest him but he was never officially cleared.all these years later steven blake crawford was still a suspect and living in santa clara. investigators were closing in on him with new dna evidence. sound from laurie smith, santa clara county sheriffthere was new evidence we linked to him santa clara county sheriff lauri smith says thursday morning a few of her deputies were serving a warrant at the residence of steven blake crawford in the 5200 block of camden ave in the city of san jose. sound from laurie smith, santa clara county sheriffwhen we knocked on the door crawford knocked on the when we knocked on the door crawford killed himself. we are still on the scene investigating this murder and any other murders he may have been involved in. sheriff laurie smith said investigaters kept a picture of perry on their wall for 44 years waiting for closure. sound from laurie smith, santa clara county sheriffit is great to have closure it has been very dif

. >> reporter: it was steven crawford who first reported the body to the police. he told the investigators he personally locked up the chapel the night before. >> it has been frustrating throughout the years that we could never get enough evidence to charge the suspect. >> reporter: investigators continued to submit dna evidence to the crime lab over the years. finally, they got a hit. >> he knew he was a person of interest. he knew that we were continuing the investigation actively right now. our detectives have talked to him recently. >> the deputies say they were about to serve a search warrant at crawford's san jose apartment this morning when he pulled a gun and shot himself. >> it leaves a suspicion. if someone is innocent they want to confront the cops and have their day in court. >> reporter: perry's father did not live to see his daughter's murder solved. he died three months ago. her mother is 88 and living in north dakota. the christian told the mercury news, quote, i know there is someone far greater that will punish this person. >> reporter: tonight,

at the time the main suspect was a security guard who was on site steven blake crawford.. there was never enough evidence to arrest him but he was never officially cleared.all these years later steven blake crawford was still a suspect and living in santa clara. investigators were closing in on him with new dna evidence. sound from laurie smith, santa clara county sheriffthere was new evidence we linked to him santa clara county sheriff lauri smith says thursday morning a few of her deputies were serving a warrant at the residence of steven blake crawford in the 5200 block of camden ave in the city of san jose. sound from laurie smith, santa clara county sheriffwhen we knocked on the door crawford killed himself. we are still on the scene investigating this murder and any other murders he may have been involved in. sheriff laurie smith said investigaters kept a picture of perry on their wall for 44 years waiting for closure. sound from laurie smith, santa clara county sheriffit is great to have closure it has been very difficult for the investigators and her family. in sj g

. >> reporter: it was steven crawford who first reported the body to police while working as a campus security guard. he told investigators he had personally locked up the chapel the night before. >> it's been frustrating we could never get enough evidence to charge the suspect. >> reporter: investigators continued to submit dna evidence to the crime lab over the years. finally, they got a hit. >> he knew he was a person of interest. he knew that we were continuing the investigation actively right now because our detective had talked to him recently. >> reporter: deputies say they were about to serve a search warrant at crawford's san jose apartment when he pulled a gun and shot himself. >> it leaves a suspicion, um, because if somebody is innocent, they probably want to confront the cops and have their day in court. >> reporter: arliss perry's father didn't live to see his daughter's murder solved. he died three months ago. her mother is 88 living in north dakota. she said: i know there is someone far greater who will punish this person. betty yu, kpix 5. >> no word on exactly what i

at the time the main suspect was a security guard who was on site steven blake crawford.. ere was never enough evidence to arrest him but he was never officially cleared.all these years later steven blake crawford was still a suspect and living in santa clara. investigators were closing in on him with new dna evidence. sound from laurie smith, santa clara county sheriffthere was new evidence we linked to him santa clara county sheriff lauri smith says thursday morning a few of her deputies were serving a warrant at the residence of steven blake crawford in the 5200 block of camden ave in the city of san jose. sound from laurie smith, santa clara county sheriffwhen we knocked on the door crawford killed himself. we are still on the scene investigating this murder and any other murders he may have been involved in. sheriff laurie smith said investigaters kept a picture of perry on their wall for 44 years waiting for closure. sound from laurie smith, santa clara county sheriffit is great to have closure it has been very difficult for the investigators and her family. in sj gab

, investigators immediately turned their attention to that security guard who found the body, steven crawfords someone that had been a suspect in the case for quite a long time. we just didn't have the evidence. it was what we believed, but there was not any really strong link, and i believe that now we have the strong link. >> police now say recently retested dna evidence has identified crawford as the killer. >> there was no dna at the time of the murder, of course, but then there have been enhancements in their capabilities, so we just continued to submit the evidence to the crime lab, and it came from i think an item of her clothing. >> reporter: but then the case took an unexpected turn when police knocked on crawford's door to arrest him, they say he fired a gun taking his own life. >> he knew that we were continuing the investigation actively right now because our detectives had talked to him recently. >> reporter: crawford had a previous arrest for stealing rare books from the university but otherwise appeared to live a quiet life. a former neighbor described him as a loner. >> when h

santa clara county sheriff's department confirms officers were prepared to arrest 72-year- old steven crawford at his apartment yesterday. when police approached him, crawford said he wanted to get dressed first. when he didn't reappear for some time, police entered his apartment and that is when they saw crawford sitting on the bed with a gun. he killed himself with one bullet in his apartment. police found some noteworthy items there. >> no. 1, in a box in a closet with some other important papers was a copy of a book called the ultimate evil and that looks like it talks about serial killers and why it was there, we thought that was unusual and the second item, there actually was a suicide note. it was rambling. it was very short. it appeared to be very hastily written. it was dated in 2016. >> that suicide note did not detail what happened that night in 1974 when 19-year-old arlis perry was sexually assaulted and murdered at the school's chapel. investigators say the motive might never be known, but they are certain this cold case is finally closed. the busiest single day ever. >>> the tran

santa clara county sheriff said this man, steven crawford, is responsible for the death of arlis perrya former security guard who made the call to police after claiming he found the body inside stanford's memorial church back in 1974. thursday morning sheriff's deputies attempted to serve him with a warrant. he shot himself before making he shot himself before making direct contact with deputies. there was no dna at the time of the murder, of course. we continued to submit to the crime lab and it came from, i think, an item of her clothing. >> reporter: there is no evidence suggesting they knew each other. reporting live, matt keller, abc 7 news. >>> video showing the car san francisco police say is responsible for a hit-and-run that left a pedicab driver in critical condition. the driver of the gold four door was swerving through traffic on the embarcadero before slamming into the pedicab. the impact cause it had to collide with another one. a family of fourwere hurt. fire crews in the east bay have been on the scene of a wind blown brush fire in benicia all night guarding against an

. >> reporter: the apartment manager says the subject of the search warrant steven crawford was in failing health and heavily medicated. she said around 9:30 in the morning, santa clara county sheriff's investigators asked for the keys to unit 185, then ran upstairs. crawford, a long-time suspect in a cold case, was inside and unwilling to come out. >> they were trying to get in and trying to talk to him. you could see them through the window trying to get him to open the door. >> reporter: moments later, she says she heard a muffled gunshot. >> we did the search warrant and, um, the suspect shot himself. >> reporter: sheriff smith says crawford had been in her department's crosshairs since 1974, when he, working as body stanford's memorial church. investigators say she was stabbed in the head with an ice pick. she had also been beaten and molested. smith says technological limits at the time couldn't lead to a case against crawford. but current advancements in dna testing did, which produced thursday's search warrant and violent conclusion almost 44 years after the crime. >> this was an e

. >> reporter: the apartment manager said the subject of the search warrant steven crawford was in failing health and heavily medicated. he said this morning santa clara county investigators asked for the keys and ran up stairs. crawford, a long time suspect this a cold case, was inside and not willing to come out. >> you could see them through the window trying to get him to open the door. >> reporter: moments later she heard a muffled gunshot. >> the suspect shot and killed herself. >> reporter: crawford has been in the department's cross hairs since 1974 when he, working as a security guard, found the body of arles perry found dead in october inside stanford's memorial church. she was stabbed in the head with an ice pick and also beaten and molested. smith says technological limits at the time couldn't lead to a case against crawford, but current advance. s in dna testing did which produced thursday's search warrant and violent conclusion almost 44 years after the crime. >> this was an extremely brutal homicide. it happened in 1974, the year after i started the department. it's one that

santa clara county sheriff's department says they were ready to arrest 72-year-old steven crawford at his apartment yesterday, but crawford killed himself with a gunshot before officers could take him into custody. in his apartment police found a book called the ultimate evil that talks about serial killers and a suicide note from 2016. as for the motive? >> we'll never know the reason. i believe maybe a crime of opportunity. he was in the church. she was in the church. he was locking it up and she was maybe the last person remaining. we'll never know why. >> 19-year-old arlis perry was praying at the chapel in 1974 when crawford allegedly sexually assaulted her and then killed her. based off of recent dna tests, investigators say they are confident this cold case is finally closed. >>> cats disappearing in marin county and neighbors are blaming a surge in coyote attacks, the warning, keep cats indoors. >> also opening up the coast, two major developments in the fight for public access to bay area beaches. >> and kpix5 first exposed a legal work-around to california's assault weapons

at the time the main suspect was a security guard who was on site steven blake crawford.. there was never enough evidence to arrest him but he was never officially cleared.all these years later steven blake crawford was still a suspect and living in santa clara. investigators were closing in on him with new dna evidence. sound from laurie smith, santa clara county sheriffthere was new evidence we linked to him santa clara county sheriff lauri smith says thursday morning a few of her deputies were serving a warrant at the residence of steven blake crawford in the 5200 block of camden ave in the city of san jose. sound from laurie smith, santa clara county sheriffwhen we knocked on the door crawford killed himself. we are still on the scene investigating this murder and any other murders he may have been involved in. sheriff laurie smith said investigaters kept a picture of perry on their wall for 44 years waiting for closure. sound from laurie smith, santa clara county sheriffit is great to have closure it has been very difficult for the investigators and her family. in sj g

steven crawford shot himself before deputies could react.e was linked to the death of arlis perry. we're expecting more details today. now alexis smith and traffic. >>> we've fal fledn at e bdgeouverr when they are typically turned on. a backnot a typical backup, but small delay. and 280 near saratoga avenue, a onlooker de >>> yeah, we're starting off pretty much the same, except for extra sunshine. temperatures in the mid-to-upper 50s, even some 60s showing up in inland neighborhoods. your commute today good, except for the breezes south of the bay bridge, getting a little aggressive this afternoon, and a 30-degree spread from san francisco to our inland neighborhoods. look at this summer surge today. temperatures jump about 6 to 15 degrees compared to yesterday and we keep climbing tomorrow to near 70 at the coast, near 90 around the bay, triple digits inland. the heat will ease, especially at the coast tomorrow, and for all of us by monday and below-average temperatures for independence day. reggie? >> wow, this is quite a roller coaster.

steven blake crawled attacked and killed a 19-year-old girl back in 1974. arliss perry was found dead inside the stanford memorial church. she had been strangled, stabbed and sexually assaulted. detectives say it was crawford who first reported the body to police while as a security guard but they had trouble getting evidence over the years. finally they got a hit. >> he knew he was a person of interest. he knew that we were continuing the investigation actively right now because our detective had talked to him recently. >> deputies say they were about to serve a search warrant at his san jose apartment yesterday morning when he shot himself. no word on exactly what investigators found inside crawford's apartment. they had to postpone their search while they processed the suicide scene. the sheriff plans to release more details today. >>> jahi mcmath was declared brain-dead in 2013. the oakland girl has been finally taken off life support. jessica flores live in oakland. jessica. >>> reporter: anne that legal and medical battle started right here at oakland at children's hospital. this is where jahi mcmath was declared brain-dead in 2013. her body was then taken to new jersey and she received care there. d