Arrest made in Arizona for 1991 murder, kidnapping of California woman

BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz. — A man was recently arrested in Arizona for allegedly being involved in the 1991 kidnapping and murder of a California woman, officials said. 

James Lawhead Jr., 64, was taken into custody in Bullhead City on April 24 after a DNA analysis allegedly connected him to the death of 35-year-old Cindy Wanner, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.

Wanner, 35, disappeared from her Granite Bay home in November 1991, and her 11-month-old baby was found crying in a highchair. The mother’s body was discovered about 40 miles from where she had been kidnapped. She had been strangled to death.

PCSO said Lawhead was released from prison in early 1991 after serving time for prior sex crimes. No documented record of Lawhead could be found since 2005, until investigators came to suspect he may have been living under a new identity. 

Detectives located Lawhead living in Mohave County under the name “Vincent Reynolds” after Scottsdale police assisted with conducting a facial recognition comparison, the sheriff’s office said.

Lawhead’s Arizona residence was searched, and the suspect will be extradited to California to face charges.

“This is one of the most notorious and heinous cold cases we have here in Placer County,” Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo said in a statement. “We’ve never given up pursuing justice for Cindy and her family, we hope this is a small step in the healing process.”

Detectives are investigating whether Lawhead may be connected to other crimes.

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