ALAMEDA COUNTY (KRON) — The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office filed murder charges Friday against a 57-year-old man in the deaths of two women who were killed over 30 years ago in Fremont.

David Emery Misch, who is currently incarcerated for a separate homicide, is accused of killing best friends Michelle Xavier, 18, and Jennifer Duey, 20 in 1986. 

Shortly after midnight on February 2, 1986, a motorcyclist found the bodies of Xavier and Duey along the side of Mill Creek Road, a little more than a mile east of Mission Boulevard.

Police say the women had been shot and stabbed in the hours prior.

Xavier’s Pontiac Sunbird was located parked approximately 6 miles away from the crime scene in the parking lot of the Mission Valley Shopping Center. Their personal belongings, including purses and identification, were never found.

Earlier in the evening, the women had attended a birthday dinner for a family member and were last seen together around 8:00 p.m. at a convenience store in the area of Farwell Drive and Mowry Avenue.

Immediately after the homicide, leads and phone calls kept detectives busy for several months, police said.

While several people of interest were identified and interviewed over the years, Fremont Detectives ruled most out. Unfortunately, after an extensive investigation and following up on thousands of leads, the case went cold and was eventually suspended.

In 2016, the Crimes Against Persons Unit began to focus on open cold case homicides and missing persons and due to the extensive work put into the Xavier/Duey case by prior detectives and the amount of evidence the department had, the case became a top priority for the detective in this new role.

Cold Case Detective Jacob Blass began to re-examine case files, as well as several pieces of evidence, including those that had been processed for DNA in recent years.

The results of the evidence identified the main suspect as Misch, police said.

Police say Misch lived in the area at the time and was a known commercial burglar and drug user. Authorities do not believe the women had any history or contact with Misch before the incident.

In August 2017, Detective Blass presented the case and evidence to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.

Over the course of the next several months, detectives continued working on the case and re-interviewed witnesses, family members and suspect Misch.

In early 2018, the findings from the follow up were presented to the District Attorney’s Office and on Friday, the District Attorney’s Office filed two counts of murder on David Misch in Alameda County.

Misch is currently incarcerated and serving 18 years to life for a 1989 homicide that occurred in Alameda County.

On March 2, a removal order warrant was issued for Misch. Misch will be removed from his current location and transported to Santa Rita County Jail by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.

He is set to be arraigned later this week.

“The Department is grateful to be able to provide this level of closure and consolation to the victims and our community. Generations of investigators have carried this case and the interest of the families has never faded from their priority over time,” Chief Richard Lucero.

Statement from the families of Michelle Xavier and Jennifer Duey:

“The Xavier and Duey families wish to thank the Fremont Police Department and all of the officers and detectives who worked countless hours during the past 32 years on our daughters’ case. We have been in constant contact with them, so we know how deeply they care and how hard they work.

We wish to extend our appreciation to our many friends in the community who supported us, stood by us, and prayed for us during those most difficult years. Numerous unexpected acts of kindness sustained us.

We now wait for justice and hope you will continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.”

Anyone with information about this incident that has not already been provided to the Fremont Police Department, is encouraged to please call the Fremont Police Department’s Investigative Unit at 510-790-6900 or email coldcasedetective@fremont.gov.

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