Arlis Perry suspect kills himself to escape justice (2018)

The suspect in a brutal cold case murder at a Stanford church decades ago shot and killed himself Tuesday as deputies were in the process of serving a search warrant. Kiet Do reports. (6-28-18)
Steve Crawford was the security guard at the time and place of the brutal ritual murder of Arlis Perry. Decades ago Crawford was also a member of the Process Church / Son of Sam drug dealing / assassination / "satanism" cult.
Stephen Blake Crawford was always a suspect in the eerie murder of Arlis Perry at the Stanford Memorial Church, but recently discovered DNA evidence prompted renewed scrutiny on him.
The prime suspect in a decades-old murder case killed himself on Thursday as deputies attempted to serve him a search warrant related to the crime.

Stephen Blake Crawford, 72, was pronounced dead at his San Jose, California apartment around 9 a.m., according to the Palo Alto Weekly. Deputies spoke with him through the door, entered the apartment and saw that he had a gun, and immediately backed away. They then heard a single gunshot. Newly discovered DNA evidence - much like the kind that nabbed the suspected Golden State Killer - linked Crawford to the crime, and deputies wanted to search Crawford's apartment for evidence.

Crawford was the main suspect in the 1974 murder of Arlis Perry, 19, at the Stanford Memorial Church, but there was never enough evidence to convict him, Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said in a press conference on Thursday.