LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Two women were raped and murdered within two years of each other in Las Vegas in the early 1990s. Their killer went undetected for decades — until Monday.
In a news conference, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Lieutenant Jason Johansson announced that the department had identified the who attacked and killed them. The suspect was identified as Eddie George Snowden Jr. thanks to DNA from a relative.
The body of Lori Ann Perera, 31, was found on the morning of Dec. 11, 1992, in a desert area east of the Montgomery Ward Retail Store located at 2800 E. Charleston Boulevard.
Perera was found nude and bound at the wrists and ankles, Johansson said. Her cause of death was identified as asphyxiation due to strangulation and blunt force trauma.
The body of Pearl Wilson Ingram, 35, was found in the morning hours of Jan. 12, 1994, in a dumpster behind a Vons grocery store located in the 4400 block of E. Charleston.
Pearl, also known to her family as Pinkie, was found nude from the waist down with something over her body in an attempt to conceal her, Johansson said. Her cause of death was also ruled as strangulation.
Both women were victims of sexual assault, police found.
In 2007, case reviews of Perera’s murder revealed evidence of sperm in a DNA swab taken during her autopsy, which was uploaded into the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, a criminal justice DNA database.
In 2012, case reviews of Pearl’s murder revealed more evidence from a sexual assault kit that was taken at the time of her discovery. This DNA evidence was also uploaded into the CODIS system when investigators learned both murders were linked to the same suspect.
Although the DNA was matched to a likely suspect profile, it did not initially match a specific suspect whose DNA already existed in the CODIS system, Johansson said.
In 2022, the DNA profile was sent to Othram, Inc. a company that has used DNA to solve numerous other missing identity and cold cases.
Snowden lived in the 2800 block of E. Charleston at the time of both murders, and his criminal history, which was not specified, suggested he lived in Fresno, California from the 1950s to the 80s and in several other cities, including Sacramento and Santa Cruz.
Snowden died in Las Vegas in 2017 from natural causes.
Pearl’s sister, Teresa Board, spoke about her sister’s memory at the news conference.
“She was very lively, always cracking jokes,” Board said. “My sister was educated, she was a mother, she was a sister, she was an aunt, and she didn’t get to become a grandmother, and that’s not fair.”
