DNA Links Suspect To 1992 Murder In Santa Ana

(CBS) SANTA ANA, Calif. A suspect in a 1992 slaying in Santa Ana was linked to DNA evidence found in a car where the victim was found beaten and stabbed, a police sergeant said.

Luciano Silva Aguilar, 53, of Santa Ana, was taken into custody on a traffic warrant on Saturday and served with a DNA search warrant which led to a match using technology not available at the time of the slaying, Santa Ana police Sgt. Lorenzo Carrillo said .

Rafael Tiburcio Brito, 31, was found in his vehicle on Jan. 12, 1992, Carrillo said.

"He was stabbed numerous times and beaten on the head with an unknown object," Carrillo said.

Investigators ran fingerprints at the time, but there were no matches, he said.

When the department's "cold case" unit was established last year to look into some 250 unsolved homicides, detectives determined there was enough physical evidence to reopen the investigation, Carrillo said.

Orange County Crime Lab forensic scientists identified additional DNA at the scene and used modern technology to match the fingerprints, Carrillo said.

Aguilar was booked at the Orange County Jail, with bail set at $1 million, Carrillo said.

Carrillo said he did not know the motive for the killing or the relationship between the men.