'Hiding in plain sight': Oxnard man charged with 1981 cold-case murders

Ventura County prosecutors charged an Oxnard man Thursday with the murders of two young women in 1981, bringing closure to cases that have been left cold for over 41 years.

Tony Garcia, 68, was charged with the murders of 20-year-old Camarillo resident Rachel Zendejas and 21-year-old Oxnard resident Lisa Gondek. He was arrested on Tuesday and booked into county jail.

The arrest follows a joint investigation by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, the District Attorney's investigations bureau and the Oxnard Police Department. It resulted from a breakthrough in DNA evidence analysis known as "genetic genealogy," according to Sheriff Jim Fryhoff.

At a press conference Thursday, Fryhoff was joined by Oxnard Police Chief Jason Benites and District Attorney Erik Nasarenko to announce the charges and discuss what led to this moment.

"After more than four decades, the long arm of the law has brought justice to the Gondek and Zendejas families, and this has given justice to Tony Garcia," Nasarenko said.

The two cases have been connected since 2004 when DNA evidence from the Gondek case matched evidence collected from the Zendejas case in 2002. Other similarities exist between the two cases, from the victims' manner of death via strangulation to the late-night timing both crimes were committed.

However, it was not until the sheriff's Cold Case Unit reopened the cases in December 2019 that Garcia emerged as a possible suspect. Genetic genealogy DNA analysis corroborated Garcia's identity as the suspect, although authorities on Thursday declined to provide details on the process.

Fryhoff said Garcia was born in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1954 and enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he was assigned to Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu. After he left the Navy in 1980, he settled down in Ventura County, working jobs including karate instructor and carpenter, according to authorities.

"The fact is: This suspect was hiding in plain sight for over 40 years," Fryhoff said.

During Garcia's first court appearance Thursday afternoon, no plea was entered during an arraignment before Ventura County Superior Court Judge Nancy Ayers. The hearing was continued, as requested by both prosecution and defense attorneys, until the afternoon of Feb. 23. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy DA Richard Simon.

Garcia was represented by Brandon Sua of Sua Law Group in Ventura County.

On Thursday night, Garcia remained in county jail with no bail.

Given the active investigation, detectives are seeking additional witnesses. Anyone who may have seen Garcia on the nights of the murders or who has information about him or other possible victims is asked to contact cold case investigators at 805-383-8704 or coldcase@ventura.org.

Rachel Zendejas case

Rachel Zendejas was raised in Modesto as the youngest of six siblings. Her family moved to Camarillo when she was in high school.

As the mother of two young girls, Monica and Eva, she moved into an apartment with her bother Roy Rodriguez in the 700 block of Mobil Avenue. She was a student at Oxnard College while raising her children as a single mother.

On Jan. 17, 1981, three months after Zendejas moved in with her brother, she had a babysitter come and take care of the girls. She later drove the babysitter back home. She never returned to the apartment that night.

Zendejas' body was found in a carport across the street. She was discovered the morning of Jan. 18 by two newspaper delivery boys. Her cause of death was homicide by strangulation, the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office found. There were also signs Zendejas had been sexually assaulted, Fryhoff said.

Rodriguez, now 64, said he resolved to never leave Camarillo until authorities determined who murdered his sister. Every year on the anniversary of his sister's death, he called the Ventura County Sheriff's Office to speak to detectives on the case.

A few weeks after the 42nd anniversary, he and his nieces, who both now work as nurses, were called by detectives to break the news of Garcia's arrest.

"They complimented me to my sisters' girls," Rodriguez said. "They were on a conference call when they told us: 'You thank your uncle Roy for this happening today, because he never forgot and he never stopped.'"

Lisa Gondek case

Lisa Gondek never planned to stay in Oxnard.

The Connecticut native took the bus across the country to visit a friend in the Navy in 1981. She liked California enough she decided to stay, renting an apartment in the 1200 block of West Gonzales Road and getting a retail job at the Esplanade Mall, according to Oxnard Police Chief Jason Benites.

The night of Dec. 11, 1981, she went out dancing at the old Huntington's nightclub at Wagon Wheel Junction. Around 3 a.m. on Dec. 12, a neighbor reported smoke coming from her apartment. The Oxnard Fire Department responded and found Gondek's body in her bathtub. The medical examiner later determined Gondek died from strangulation and suffocation.

Despite detectives pursuing several leads in the case, no suspects were identified until Garcia's arrest.

"We've been working on this case for many, many years and we're glad to see it closed," Benites said.

This story may be updated.

Jeremy Childs is the East County Reporter for the Ventura County Star, covering the communities of Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and Simi Valley. He occasionally covers courts, public safety and breaking news. He can be reached at 805-437-0208, jeremy.childs@vcstar.com, and on Twitter @Jeremy_Childs.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oxnard man charged with 1981 cold-case murders of 2 young women