Sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday announced the arrest of two men in connection with the murder of a Lancaster woman in 1978.
According to the sheriff’s department, Leslie Long, then 20, was working alone at a gas station on the corner of Palmdale Boulevard and Division Street in Palmdale. Sometime between 8 and 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 3, 1978 two men entered the gas station with a handgun and robbed Long of an undisclosed amount of cash. Deputies said the suspects then kidnapped Long, forced her into their vehicle at gun point and drove away south on the Antelope Valley Freeway toward Los Angeles. The suspects then allegedly pulled off the freeway and drove to a deserted area where they reportedly raped Long before shooting her several times. After the shooting, the two men reportedly returned to their vehicle and drove away.
Sheriff’s deputies said the search for the killers remained ongoing but unsolved for 37 years.
“At the time of the murder, both suspects were active gang members,” said Det. Steven Lankford. In March 2008, new leads and persons of interest re-opened the case
Officials said Neil Matthews, 58, and Terry Moses, 59, were linked to the crime after DNA technology identified their sperm on Long’s body.
Matthews was arrested May 21 at his home and is now in custody at the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station without bail. Moses is serving a life sentence on an unrelated case. He is expected to be arraigned in the Long case at a later date.
