MCFARLAND, Calif. (KERO) — Formerly known as a missing persons case of McFarland resident Oscar Oliva, the McFarland Police Department now believes this is a homicide case.
- Video describes the work that's happened between the McFarland Police Department and the District Attorney's office in finding answers on what happened to McFarland resident Oscar Oliva.
- MPD says new found information leads the department to believe that this is a homicide case not a missing persons case.
- Chief Knox says he believes that the homicide unit and the DA's office will look at the given information and possibly file the case.
We have an update regarding the missing persons case of McFarland resident Oscar Oliva.
Formerly known as a missing persons case, the McFarland Police Department now believes this is a homicide case.
Marisol Salinas, cousin to Oliva, contacted me about the update in the case — claiming that law enforcement officials have found a possible suspect in Oliva's disappearance.
Although this is an ongoing investigation, McFarland chief of police Brian Knox confirmed the new development.
"At this point, he is — Mr. Oliva is listed as a missing person but we believe that he is deceased due to suspicious circumstances and the information that we have has led us to believe that this is a homicide and we've filed it with the District Attorney's office,” said Chief Knox.
This new information comes roughly a week and a half after the City of McFarland and the Kern Secret Witness Program offered a monetary reward totaling to more than $10,000 along with a $4,000 contribution from the family.
"We've done a lot to locate Mr. Oliva and we’re still working on that,” said Chief Knox.
Chief Knox says the department has been working with the DA's office on this case for the past 4 to 5 months.
Going forward, Chief Knox says he believes that the homicide unit and the DA's office will look at the given information and possibly file the case.
The chief says this is the first time that the DA's office has worked with the department on a case. In the future, Chief Knox says the department hopes to have a full time investigator to focus on cases similar to Oliva's and work closely with the DA's office to hopefully get answers faster.
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