More than four decades after a teenager was murdered in California, DNA found on a discarded cigarette has helped authorities catch her killer.

Sarah Geer, 13, was last seen leaving her friend’s house in Cloverdale, California, on the evening of May 23, 1982.

The next morning, a firefighter walking home from work found her body, the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. She had been dragged down an alley to a secluded area near an apartment building and behind a fence, where she was raped and strangled, according to authorities.

Her death was ruled a homicide, but due to the “limited forensic science of the day,” no suspect was identified and the case went cold for decades, prosecutors said.

Nearly 44 years after Sarah’s murder, a jury found James Unick, 64, guilty of killing her on February 13. It would have been the victim’s 57th birthday, the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office told CNN.

Genetic genealogy, which combines DNA evidence and traditional genealogy, helped match Unick’s DNA from a cigarette butt to DNA found on Sarah’s clothing, according to prosecutors.

“This guilty verdict is a testament to everyone who never gave up searching for Sarah’s killer,” District Attorney Carla Rodriguez said in the release. “This is the coldest case ever presented to a Sonoma County jury. While 44 years is too long to wait, justice has finally been served, both to Sarah’s loved ones as well as her community.”

A break in the case first came in 2003, when investigators developed a DNA profile based on sperm collected from Sarah’s underwear, prosecutors said.

However, the profile did not match anyone whose DNA was available for comparison in law enforcement databases at the time, according to the release, and the investigation came to a halt again. Those databases include information of known criminal offenders.

In 2021, the Cloverdale Police Department reopened the investigation into Sarah’s death. The department said it had been in communication with a private investigation firm in late 2019 and had partnered with them in hopes the firm could revisit the case’s evidence “with the latest technological advancements in cold case work.”

The investigation also enlisted the FBI to help identify a potential match to the 2003 DNA profile.

“The FBI, with its access to familial genealogical databases, concluded that the source of the DNA evidence collected from Sarah belonged to one of four brothers, including James Unick,” prosecutors said.

Once investigators narrowed down the list of suspects to the four Unick brothers, the FBI “conducted surveillance of the defendant and collected a discarded cigarette that he had been smoking,” prosecutors said.

A DNA analysis of the cigarette confirmed James Unick’s DNA matched the 2003 profile, along with other DNA samples collected from Sarah’s clothing the day she was killed.

Investigators were able to crack the case thanks to the emerging field of genetic genealogy, which combines DNA analysis and family tree research.

Essentially, a DNA sample is compared to publicly accessible databases of millions of people who have contributed their genetic profile, and investigators can then piece together a family tree that leads to a suspect.

In 2018, genetic genealogy led to the arrest of the Golden State Killer, and it has recently helped solve several other cold cases, including a 1974 murder in Wisconsin and a 1988 murder in Washington. Investigators in Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance recently announced they would turn to genetic genealogy to analyze unknown DNA found in her house.

Police arrested Unick in July 2024 at his home in Willows, California.

“Today represents a bittersweet victory for justice,” Cloverdale Chief of Police Chris Parker said in a 2024 statement following Unick’s arrest. “While nothing can undo the pain inflicted upon the Geer family and our community, we can finally offer some solace in knowing that the perpetrator will be held accountable.”

At the time of his arrest, Unick maintained he did not know Sarah or remember the events of the night of her death. During the monthlong trial, his story changed.

Unick testified the teenager “propositioned him for sex while he had been playing a video game” at an arcade in Cloverdale, and claimed the two had engaged in consensual sex on a hillside near a local river, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors also said Unick implied Sarah had been assaulted and killed by someone else later that night.

Jurors additionally heard from friends of Sarah who had spent time with her during her last weekend alive in 1982.

Following two hours of deliberations, the jury rejected Unick’s account of events and convicted him of murder, prosecutors said.

As a result of the guilty verdict and since the jury found “the defendant committed a special circumstance related to the sexual assault during the commission of the murder,” Unick will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to prosecutors.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 23.

A major labor union is working to put a new wealth tax proposal in front of Californians in November. But the proposal would only actually impact a small few — billionaires.

The California Billionaire Tax Act is a one-time tax that, if realized, would unlock revenue from the wealthiest in the state to support a health care system that some elected officials and leaders have warned faces major strain due to federal funding cuts.

The statewide proposal, led by Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, has been in the works for some time. Attorney General Rob Bonta issued the official title and summary for the tax act at the end of December, paving the way for proponents to collect the tens of thousands of signatures they’ll need to get this proposal on the ballot in November.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders joined the proposal’s campaign kickoff in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Feb. 18, tossing out numerous figures that illustrated wealth disparities in the United States and likening billionaires having to pay a few billion dollars more in taxes as “pocket change.”

His clear support comes as Gov. Gavin Newsom has opposed it and as the proposal has generated fears it’d force California’s wealthiest residents to flee. Rep. Kevin Kiley of California’s 3^rd Congressional District is set to introduce a bill fighting the tax proposal, saying it’s making California’s “leading job creators” leave preemptively.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles County leaders have turned to a proposed temporary sales tax increase to offset health care funding cuts. In June, county voters will decide whether to back it.

Here’s what to know about the California Billionaire Tax Act.

Who is taxed under the California Billionaire Tax Act?

Californians with a net worth of $1 billion or more and certain trusts would see a one-time 5% tax, according to a filing for the proposal. Proponents said this tax will apply to about 200 people in California.

How is health care changing for Californians under Trump?

President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” implements changes in eligibility for both Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, and CalFresh, the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The changing work requirements, paired with “administrative burden,” could leave one to two million people without Medi-Cal, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office. By 2028, up to three million people could lose Medi-Cal, both due to OBBA and changes made in California’s budget, Miranda Dietz, director of the Health Care Program at UC Berkley Labor Center, told California lawmakers in February.

Dietz, citing a previous look at the impact of OBBA, said that a projected $20 billion decrease in federal funding would mean 200,000 fewer jobs in the state, nearly two-thirds of which are “directly” in health care.

Also at risk: Hospitals will face lower margins due to fewer Medi-Cal enrollees and more uninsured patients, according to Jason Constantouros of the LAO, citing recent studies. Public hospital systems face $3.4 billion a year in federal funding cuts, the California State Association of Counties said in a report estimating the costs of OBBA.

What does this wealth tax in California do?

The revenue would be used to respond to “urgent, existing health care, education, and nutrition needs,” according to a filing for the initiative. Ninety percent of the revenue this tax generates would go to the Billionaire Tax Health Account, while 10% would go to the Billionaire Tax Education and Food Assistance Account.

Where would the money from the California Billionaire Tax Act go?

It’s supposed to create revenue to fund health care, education, and food assistance through a one-time tax.

Among what the money that goes into the Billionaire Tax Health Account could be used for, according to a filing, include: