Man charged in 1977 strangulations of three Southern California women after DNA investigation

VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — A 73-year-old man has been charged in the strangulation deaths of three Southern California women in 1977, and authorities say they believe there could be more victims. The Ventura County District Attorney’s office says Warren Luther Alexander of Diamondhead, Mississippi, made his first court appearance Thursday but arraignment on three counts of first-degree murder was postponed to Aug. 21. A message seeking comment on Alexander’s behalf was left with the county public defender’s office. Alexander was extradited to California on Aug. 6 from Surry County, North Carolina, where he is awaiting prosecution for a 1992 cold case killing. Officials say all the California victims were sex workers.