COLORADO SPRINGS — A Colorado man arrested after DNA tied him to the 1973 killing of an 11-year-old California girl has yet to decide if he will fight extradition.
The Colorado Springs Gazette reports 72-year-old James Neal, of Monument, nodded at his crying relatives as he was led into court for a brief appearance Thursday. A judge scheduled a Feb. 28 hearing, where Neal could say if he will fight extradition to California to face a murder charge.
Neal was arrested in Colorado Springs on Tuesday for investigation of killing 11-year-old Linda O’Keefe in Newport Beach, Calif.
Linda disappeared July 6, 1973. She was seen walking home from summer school, and her body was found the next day.
Authorities say Neal lived in Southern California in the 1970s.