Fingerprint Nearly half a century after a young mother was brutally murdered in San Jose, California, a single thumbprint on a discarded cigarette carton has led to the arrest of a long-suspected killer, bringing long-awaited answers to a case that had grown cold with time.
The location was just blocks away from the bar where she had been seen by friends the night before. According to those who were with her that evening, Ralston had left with a man no one recognized, saying she would return in about 10 minutes. But she never came back.
Now, 47 years later, a fingerprint collected from a carton of cigarettes found inside her car has led authorities to 69-year-old Willie Eugene Sims. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office confirmed his arrest in a public statement issued last Friday. Following his arraignment in Ashtabula County Court, Sims is being extradited to California to face the charge.
Investigators say Ralston had been strangled with a long-sleeve dress shirt, and evidence at the scene indicated she had been sexually assaulted. In what appeared to be an attempt to destroy the evidence, someone had tried—and failed—to set her car on fire.
Although law enforcement collected physical evidence and interviewed numerous witnesses at the time, including Ralston’s friends and others who had been at the bar that night, the case quickly stalled. A composite sketch of the suspect was created based on descriptions provided by witnesses, but no strong leads emerged, and the investigation eventually grew cold.
However, in a recent breakthrough, cold case investigators revisited the fingerprint found on a cigarette carton that had been collected from Ralston’s vehicle decades ago.
The print was submitted to the FBI’s newly enhanced fingerprint database last fall, utilizing modern forensic technology that was not available in the 1970s. The result was a match to Sims, who at the time of the murder had been serving as an Army private stationed at a military facility approximately 68 miles south of San Jose.
The sample was analyzed and confirmed to match DNA found under Ralston’s fingernails and on the shirt used in the strangulation—further solidifying the connection between Sims and the crime scene.
“This case is a powerful reminder that justice can prevail no matter how much time has passed,” said Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen. “Every day, forensic science advances, and every day, we move one step closer to holding people accountable for their crimes. Cases may fade from public memory, but we don’t forget—and we never stop working.”
Following Sims’ arrest, the Santa Clara County Public Defender’s Office confirmed that attorney Lara Wallman has been assigned to represent him. William Weigel, the office’s homicide team supervisor, emphasized that the defense has not yet had access to the evidence and urged the public to reserve judgment.
“It’s essential that the judicial process be allowed to run its course,” Weigel said.
Sims’ criminal history includes a conviction in an unrelated case just one year after Ralston’s death. While prosecutors have not commented on whether that conviction played a role in reopening Ralston’s case, it places Sims in close proximity to violent behavior around the same time as her killing.
For Jeanette Ralston’s family, especially her son Allen, the arrest marks a long-awaited development in a tragic story that has haunted him since childhood. Speaking to WOIO-TV after news of the arrest broke, he expressed deep gratitude to the investigators who continued to pursue justice all these years later.
“I’m just thankful that someone cared enough to keep working on it,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming.”
The emotional weight of the case, combined with its long-standing cold status, makes it one of the oldest homicide investigations to result in a criminal arrest in Santa Clara County. Authorities hope the resolution of this case will serve as a message to other victims’ families still waiting for answers—that even the coldest cases can be solved with persistence and evolving science.
Prosecutors say that the successful match of both fingerprint and DNA evidence was instrumental in building the case against Sims. Though many of the original witnesses are now difficult to locate or deceased, the forensic trail proved strong enough to support a murder charge.
As Sims awaits extradition to California, Jeanette Ralston’s name is once again being spoken—not in connection with a forgotten case file, but as a symbol of justice delayed yet not denied. The case illustrates how decades-old crimes can still be solved through advancements in forensic technology and the unwavering dedication of cold case units.