By Miriam Raftery
June 12, 2017 (Lemon Grove) – Stacy Littleton, 52, of San Diego has been arrested and charged with murder. Littleton is accused of stabbing to death Cyrus Jefferson 31 years ago in Lemon Grove, when the victim was 20 years old and the suspect, 21.
Jefferson’s body was found by a passerby in a field in the 2500 block of 69th Street in Lemon Grove on the morning of October 11th, 1986. Littleton was arrested on suspicion of the murder back then, but eventually released without being charged.
The case remained open for more than three decades, until cold-case homicide detectives reexamined the evidence.
“With advancement in technology and DNA testing techniques, evidence collected at the original crime scene was re-evaluated,” says Lieutenant Kenneth Nelson with the Sheriff’s homicide unit. “A DNA profile belonging to Mr. Littleton was identified. A warrant for his arrest was obtained and he was subsequently arrested.”
Littleton was in custody in the San Diego Central Jail on unrelated charges at the time of his arrest. He is charged with a single count of murder.