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Suspect In 1981 Cold Case Murder Pleads Not Guilty

LOS ANGELES (CBS) —  A man arrested last year in connection with the 1981 slaying of a 55-year-old Lancaster resident pleaded not guilty Monday to murder and burglary charges.

Christopher David Winter, now also 55, is accused in the May 2, 1981, shooting death of Joseph Azevedo at a mobile home park in the 42000 block of Sixth Street East.

Investigators said they had no suspects until May 2010, when DNA evidence allegedly linked Winter to the crime.

He was arrested Nov. 6 by police officers in Tipp City, Ohio, where he was working as a long-haul truck driver.

Winter was brought back to Los Angeles County in January.

He remains jailed without bail. Winter is due back at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse on April 21, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require him to stand trial.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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