FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – An alleged cold-case killer makes an appearance Thursday in Fresno County Superior Court.
Nick Stane is accused of killing 22-year-old Debbie Dorian.
The Fresno State student was set to graduate in 1996, when her body was discovered by her father.
She had been bound, gagged, raped, and murdered in her apartment on Cedar and Teague.
52-year-old Stane was arrested in October, 2019.
He was taken into custody on a DNA John Doe Warrant issued in 2009 in Tulare County Superior Court.
On October 2, 2019, Visalia Police served the search warrant at Stane’s home on the 3500 block of East Willow Court.
Police Chief Jason Salazar and District Attorney Tim Ward held a news conference to announce details.
Chief Salazar said there were 7 sexual crimes that happened from July ’99 to August ’02 that had similarities, leading investigators to believe they had been looking for the same suspect.
Four of the 7 crimes committed were so similar they were included in the warrant issued in 2009.
A DNA profile was created from the four cases by the Fresno Crime Lab, which became the basis of the 2009 warrant.
Former Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer and District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp announced on October 4, 2019 that new DNA technology helped to link Stane to the murder of 22-year-old Dorian.
Stane had already been in custody in Visalia.
The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office was filing new charges against Stane.
On Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, Stane was scheduled to be arraigned on eleven felonies and one misdemeanor in Fresno County Superior Court.
Stane’s case was continued until February 27, 2020.
Click to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
