From Kim Minugh:
Almost 18 years after the fact, somebody finally came forward to talk about the killing of 66-year-old Richard Jackson.
It was the break Sacramento police detectives needed. This morning, police arrested 53-year-old Carolyn Marie Simmons for the man's murder in 1991, said police Sgt. Norm Leong.
She is being held in the Sacramento County Main Jail without bail.
On June 17, 1991, a friend and neighbor of Jackson's found his body at asenior living complex on Clauss Court in south Sacramento and called police. Authorities believe Jackson suffered blunt force trauma and died sometime between June 16 and the time his body was discovered, Leong said.
Simmons was a suspect early on in the case, but detectives could never collect enough information for a warrant, Leong said. But in January, someone came forward, saying Simmons was involved in the crime. After conducting further interviews, detectives were able to arrest Simmons, Leong said. (An earlier version of this story misidentified the suspect.)
Detectives are not sure whether the victim and suspect knew each other at the time of the crime, Leong said. They say Simmons, then 35, beat Jackson with an unknown object while trying to rob him, Leong said.
Simmons will be charged with one count of murder with a special circumstance for having committed the murder during the course of a robbery, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney's criminal complaint.
Leong said he was not sure why the informant finally came forward in January.
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