$50K Rewards Offered For OC Slayings Of Teacher And Teen
ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Gov. Gavin Newsom announced $50,000 rewards for information that could help solve two cold case killings in Orange County, including the home-invasion stabbing of a former Corona Del Mar High School teacher in 1993 and the drive-by shooting of a teenage girl in 2019.
The rewards announced Friday are being offered for any information that leads to the arrest and convictions of the killers who took the lives of Alan Schwalbe, 61, and Victoria Barrios, 18.
In 2022, Orange County Sheriff’s Department investigators renewed efforts to find Schwalbe’s killer nearly 30 years after he was stabbed to death in his home on the border of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.
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Schwalbe had been a teacher at Corona del Mar High School until he lost his teaching credentials in 1975 and was convicted of misdemeanor molestation charges involving two teenage male students, his daughter Laura Bejerano, told the Orange County Register in 2009.
“There is a chance for justice, for me to get answers,” Bejerano told the Register. “Why did they do it? How did they think they would get away with it for as long as they did?”
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She had spent years worrying that her father’s history meant that solving his case might not be a priority for investigators or the surrounding community.
However, the case got renewed attention with advancements in forensic technology, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
“The technology used to process forensic evidence is continuously growing and expanding. Items that may have been undetectable just a few short years ago now have the possibility of being discovered, and these discoveries can foster new investigative leads,” said Investigator Bob Taft, who specializes in cold cases for the Sheriff’s Department. “In addition to new technology, people’s friendships, alliances and associations change over time. People who may have been reluctant to come forward during the original investigation may feel more at ease coming forward now because of a change in these associations.”
Schwalbe was killed in his home in the 300 block of 22nd Sreett in unincorporated Costa Mesa on Aug. 11, 1993. Deputies found Schwalbe stabbed to death in his home.
“Although there appeared to be evidence of a struggle, no signs of forced entry were discovered, and it did not appear the location had been ransacked,” investigators concluded.
After reviewing the case details and evidence that had been collected from the original crime scene, several items of evidence were re-submitted for additional forensic testing, with the hope new forensic technology could discover evidence that was previously undetectable.
However, more than a year later, detectives still haven’t cracked the case.
“The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has exhausted all investigative leads and requested that a reward be offered to encourage anyone with information about this murder to contact Investigator Bob Taft with the Department’s Cold Case Detail at 714-647-7055 or [email protected],” the governor announced Friday.
The case is one of several statewide in which authorities hope a $50,000 reward could help bring new leads.
“Under California law, law enforcement agencies may ask the Governor to issue rewards in certain unsolved cases where they have exhausted all investigative leads, to encourage individuals with information about the crimes to come forward, the governor’s office announced. “Public assistance is vital to law enforcement, and rewards may encourage the public cooperation needed to apprehend those who have committed serious offenses.”
Investigators are also hoping a reward can help with the unsolved killing of Barrios, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Santa Ana on Aug. 30, 2019.
“The Santa Ana Police Department has exhausted all investigative leads and requested that a reward be offered to encourage anyone with information about this murder to contact the Department’s Homicide Detectives at 714-245-8390,” the governor’s office announced.
Her family maintains a website devoted to their daughter’s memory and the pursuit of justice for her.
“Victoria was a sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin, and friend. She was ambitious, fun-loving, and kind-hearted,” they wrote. “Victoria and our family deserve justice!”
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