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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Sky Park set to take off Flu cases decreasing, but Providence takes extra precautions Retrial begins in botched murder case that helped unseat a judge Woman sentenced for robbing bank for drug money Acting on instinct Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Retrial begins in botched murder case that helped unseat a judge Woman sentenced for robbing bank for drug money Emergency Services Man saves elderly woman from fire at Phoenix apartment Emergency services Politics and Elections Ashland aims for diversity, but numbers show shortfall Kent Bush: The keys to decoding the State of the Union address Oregon Legislature convenes, session starts Feb. 12 Councilman stirs online dust-up with anti-marijuana post Education State boosts class time expectation A wealth of experience Ballroom dance class is a hit with North Medford students Talent Elementary students learn to tinker Local elementary and middle school students qualify for state chess championships Environment Mt. 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Retrial begins in botched murder case that helped unseat a judge ... Woman sentenced for robbing bank for drug money ... Sky Park set to take off ... Retrial begins in botched murder case that helped unseat a judge ... Woman sentenced for robbing bank for drug money ... CRIME Oregon prisoner linked to 1976 killings Man arrested after 1986 Medford stabbing suspected in six deaths Comment By The Associated Press MailTribune.com By The Associated Press Posted Jan. 23, 2015 @ 8:19 pm By The Associated Press Posted Jan. 23, 2015 @ 8:19 pm » Social News REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — DNA evidence has linked an Oregon prisoner serving time for an attempted murder in Medford to at least two of the series of six killings of young women that terrified the San Francisco Bay Area and a city in Nevada four decades ago, investigators say. He is suspected of the other slayings. The San Mateo district attorney's office charged Rodney Halbower, 66, on Thursday with two counts of murder during the course of rape for the deaths of Paula Baxter, 17, and Veronica Anne Cascio, 18. Their deaths were among six police say are connected and occurred between January and April 1976 in California and Nevada. Five of the bodies were found in the suburbs immediately south of San Francisco, including one near Gypsy Hill Road, giving the killings their nickname. A sixth body was found in Reno. DNA evidence linking Halbower to both killings was found on Baxter and Cascio, San Mateo Chief Deputy District Attorney Karen Guidotti said. "Based on the forensic links between a number of the cases, the time frame of the murders, and the methods used by the offender to commit these crimes, investigators are confident all the crimes were committed by the same offender," The FBI said in a statement in March after a Gypsy Hill Task Force was created to revisit the cold case using DNA technology. Halbower denied involvement in any of the killings in a jailhouse interview with a local television station. "I'm confused, and I want some answers," he told KGO-TV. "I don't know anything. No knowledge about this." Halbower submitted a DNA sample when he was transferred from a Nevada prison to Oregon State Prison in November 2013. At the time, Halbower was being paroled in Nevada after serving a sentence for the 1975 rape of a blackjack dealer, which occurred two months before the body of University of Nevada-Reno student Michelle Mitchell, 19, was found. He escaped from the Nevada prison in 1986 and committed a string of violent crimes in Oregon before he was recaptured. He was serving a sentence in Oregon for attempted murder, assault and robbery, stemming from a stabbing in Medford. when he was extradited to Redwood City and charged with the two murders. A woman who was convicted in 1980 of killing Mitchell and spent more than 30 years in a Nevada prison was granted a new trial that is scheduled for July and ordered released on her own recognizance in September. The public defender for Cathy Woods, 64, presented evidence that the DNA on a cigarette butt in the garage where Mitchell's body was found matches that of Halbower. He is scheduled to enter a plea in Redwood City on Monday. The brother of one of the Gypsy Hill victims traveled 90 miles from Modesto to attend Halbower's court hearing Thursday. John Blackwell, 56, is the older brother of Tanya Blackwell, the 14-year-old girl whose body was found near the road that gave the killings their name. He told reporters he attended the hearing to show solidarity with other victims' families, even though Halbower hasn't been charged in his sister's death. "I feel happy for the families, and I feel some closure," he said. "Some closure is better than no closure." By The Associated Press MailTribune.com By The Associated Press Posted Jan. 23, 2015 @ 8:19 pm » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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