DNA links Montana inmate to Merced woman's killing

After nearly seven years, Merced police believe they have found the killer of 49-year-old Jacquelyn Faye Travis. He is a man convicted of killing two other people and suspected in a fourth murder.

Ronald James Ward, 41, is in custody at Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge, Mont. Detective Sgt. Scott Skinner of the Merced Police Department said they have solid DNA evidence linking Ward with Travis' Dec. 7, 2000, murder.

Merced County District Attorney Larry Morse II said Tuesday he and Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager want to coordinate efforts in prosecuting Ward, also suspected in the Dec. 30, 2000. killing of Shela Polly in Modesto.

Morse and Fladager hope to visit with Ward, serving a life term in the Montana prison, to see what his intentions are. Morse said they are trying to avoid two separate and costly trials.

"He will have to stand trial in Merced County or make a plea. If the only way to bring justice is to extradite him, we will. We want to hold him (Ward) fully accountable for crimes in Merced and Modesto," Morse said.

Skinner said police detectives have presented their case to the District Attorney's office and are awaiting a formal decision.

Deputy District Attorney Bruce Gilbert said after initial submission of reports, police detectives did followup and resubmitted the Travis' case. Gilbert and Deputy District Attorney Mark Bacciarini approved the reports and forwarded them to Morse.

The office is close to making a decision. When you are dealing with four different jurisdictions, it takes a while, Gilbert said.

Skinner said Merced police were called to the second-story apartment in the 3200 block of Meadows Avenue about 10:25 a.m. and discovered Travis' body.

Ward moved from town to town and it was difficult to establish solid leads. It was DNA evidence which brought him back to Merced and linked him to the Travis homicide, Skinner said.

"DNA is a great tool for law enforcement. It has helped solve hundreds of cases and will help with many more," Skinner said.

The murders of Polly and Travis are similar, Skinner said. Travis died from blunt force trauma and strangulation, the Merced County Coroner's Office report shows, according to Detective Scott Dover of the Merced County Sheriff's Department.

At the time of the murder, police said they believed Travis knew her attacker. There were no signs of forced entry to her apartment.

Travis was found in the bedroom by former roommates who had returned to the apartment to retrieve their property.

Ward, a former truck driver, homebuilder and commercial fisherman, is serving a life sentence for the October 2000 murder of Craig Sheldon Petrich, 43, of Corvallis, and the August, 2000 murder of Kristin Laurite, 25, in Arkansas.

The body of Polly, the divorced mother of three youngsters, was found Dec. 30, 2000 near Dry Creek in Modesto by a man walking his dog. She had been beaten, stabbed and sexually assaulted.

In June of 2007, Ward was given a life sentence in Arkansas when DNA taken from semen linked him to the murder.

In an interview with the Missoula, Mont. Missoulian, Ward denies any memory of the murders in Arkansas or California but doesn't deny he was responsible.