Genealogy links former Marine to 1976 O.C. murder of woman

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- Orange County Sheriff's Department investigators have arrested a man suspected of murdering a 30-year-old woman in 1976 and dumping her body near the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, officials said Thursday.

Eddie Lee Anderson, 66, was arrested on suspicion of murder on Friday at his home in River Ridge, Louisiana.

At approximately 4:30 a.m. on May 18, 1976, military police found the body of Leslie Penrod Harris lying on a roadway near the base in Irvine. It was determined she had been strangled.

On May 17, 1976, the victim had been at dinner with her husband at a Costa Mesa restaurant, but left alone at approximately 8:30 p.m. When the restaurant closed and Harris had not returned, her husband reported her missing to police. Her body was found approximately five hours later, a press release from the Orange County Sheriff's Department stated.

Investigators say they used DNA from the case. And, like they've done on many of these older cases, turned to genealogy.

Investigators say Anderson was a Marine living at that Air Station at the time Harris was murdered.

Although the crime happened more than 40 years ago, investigators are asking anyone who might have information related to this case to call Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.