Leslie Long went missing the night of December 3, 1978 while she was working the night shift at a Chevron gas station in Palmdale, California
Nearly 40 years after a mother-of-three was abducted from a gas station, raped and shot, a man has been convicted of her murder thanks to DNA evidence.
Neal Antoine Matthews, 60, was found guilty of first degree murder of Leslie Long, who went missing while she was working the night shift at a Chevron gas station in Palmdale, California, on December 3, 1978.
On Thursday, after two hours of deliberation, jurors found him to be guilty of murdering during a rape, murder during a kidnapping and murder during a robbery, the DA’s office told KTLA.
Matthews’ accomplice in the murder, 61-year-old Terry Moses, pleaded guilty to the crimes in January 2016.
This was the second panel to hear the case against Matthews – the first jury was deadlocked in favor of guilt, according to the DA’s office.
The 20-year-old mother was reported missing when a confused customer found the gas station empty and called the police.
The 20-year-old mother, who is pictured with her husband and three children, was reported missing when a confused customer found the gas station empty and called the police
When police arrived at the gas station they found a safe was open on the floor with coins scattered on the ground around it. Long’s purse was still in the office, and her car was still parked in the back.
Three days later authorities found Long’s body off of a highway in Acton, California.
An autopsy revealed that the young mother had been shot multiple times and sexually assaulted, police explained.
Police believe the two men took money from a floor safe at the gas station before kidnapping Long at gunpoint, raping and killing her.
Long was working long shifts at the gas station to help pay for a new bedroom in her home where she lived with her husband and three children, according to the Los Angeles Times.
DNA evidence linked both Matthews and Moses to the crimes in 2015, and they were charged with Long’s kidnap, rape and murder.
Long’s body was found three days after she was reported missing off a highway in a nearby town. An autopsy revealed she had been shot multiple times and sexually assaulted. She is pictured left with one of her three children and her dog, and right with her husband
Prosecutors have not said if they will seek the death penalty for Matthews, and he currently faces life in prison without the possibility of parole when he is sentenced November 6.
Moses is facing three life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Her family posted a statement on Facebook Thursday that reads: ‘More than 38 years after the tragic events that took Leslie Long, her killers have been brought to justice.’
The family thanked the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s office for their hard work in prosecuting her killers.
‘While no earthly efforts can ever undo the damage that was done all those years ago, this verdict does provide some small sense of peace,’ the family wrote.