Man charged with murder in 1988 disappearance of 9-year-old Michaela Garecht
David Misch, 59, has been arrested and charged with murder in the 1988 disappearance of 9-year-old Michaela Garecht, who vanished from a supermarket parking lot more than three decades ago while trying to retrieve a friend’s scooter that authorities said the abductor had moved closer to his...
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Man charged with murder in connection to 1988 kidnapping of Michaela Garecht three decades after she vanished from California supermarket
A convicted murderer has been arrested and charged with murder in the 1988 cold case of 9-year-old Michaela Garecht, who vanished from a supermarket in Hayward, California, more than three decades ago.David Misch, 59, is charged with murder and two special circumstances, including murder during the course of a kidnapping and having been convicted of a previous murder, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley announced at a press conference on Monday.
Michaela Garecht was kidnapped on November 19, 1988, from the Rainbow Market parking lot in Hayward while trying to retrieve a friend’s scooter that authorities said the abductor had moved closer to his vehicle, according to the FBI. The case was featured in Dateline’s “Cold Case Spotlight” in November 2014.
The Hayward Police Department, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office and the FBI worked tirelessly on the case and said it was Misch's partial palm print found on the scooter at the scene that tied him to Michaela’s disappearance. The breakthrough came earlier this year, they said.
“The kidnap and murder of a child is horrific. The pain to the family and friends is indescribable, especially when their child is not found. This crime shocked not just the local community, but the entire Bay Area and the nation,” said D.A. O’Malley. “I hope that today’s action and announcement will provide some comfort to Michaela’s family in knowing that justice will prevail, even after 32 years since this horrible crime.”
Misch is currently facing other charges in Alameda County for the 1986 murders of two women in Fremont, and is currently serving time in state prison for the 1989 murder of another woman in the Hayward area.
Misch is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday, December 22.
Media - MICHAELA GARECHT: Missing from Hayward, CA since 19 Nov 1988 - Age 9
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