Back in April 1984, Tina Faelz, 14, of Pleasanton was walking home from school at about 2:30pm. She had been having problems with some of her classmates, and decided not to take the school bus that day. She never made it home. An hour later her body was found in a drainage ditch near Interstate 680. She had been stabbed multiple times and was covered in blood.
Back in April 1984, Tina Faelz, 14, of Pleasanton was walking home from school at about 2:30pm. She had been having problems with some of her classmates, and decided not to take the school bus that day. She never made it home. An hour later her body was found in a drainage ditch near Interstate 680. She had been stabbed multiple times and was covered in blood.
The murder shocked Pleasanton. Many students walked along the same path that she did, and the murder had occurred in broad daylight. It was especially shocking because there was no apparent motive, no murder weapon was found and no suspect was arrested.
Almost three decades later, police believe that the case has finally been cracked. The suspect is Steven John Carlson, 43, who attended Foothill High School at the same time as Faelz, and was sometimes called Creepy Carlson by his classmates. There were even rumors that he was behind the murder, but there was nothing to substantiate them.
Carlson, a Santa Cruz transient, is a registered sex offender, having committed a lewd act with a minor under the age of 14. At the time of his arrest, however, he was sitting in the Santa Cruz County Jail on drug charges. New forensic methods helped authorities connect him with the case.
On Sunday morning, shortly after 8am, Carlson was arrested in the jail and transferred to Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County. He will be arraigned on Wednesday.
Read more at KSBW.
