VENTURA, Calif. (KABC) — A suspected serial killer accused of strangling three women in Ventura County in 1977 has been arrested, authorities said Thursday.

Warren Luther Alexander, 73, of Mississippi, has been charged with triple murder in connection with the killings.

He was incarcerated in North Carolina on a murder charge and was extradited to California. He is currently being held without bail in the Ventura County Jail.

According to prosecutors, the county’s cold case unit began reinvestigating the murders of Kimberly Carol Fritz, Velvet Ann Sanchez and Lorraine Ann Rodriguez last year.

On May 29, 1977, Fritz was found dead in a room at the Marv-Inn Motel in Port Hueneme. She was 18 years old at the time of her death.

Sanchez, 31, was found dead four months later in the Villa Motor Court in Oxnard, where she lived. A witness saw her returning to the motel with a man.

On December 27, Rodriguez’s body was found on a bridge on Laguna Road in unincorporated Ventura County. In all three cases, an autopsy determined the cause of death was strangulation.

According to investigators, the three women were commercial sex workers who were known to frequent the Plaza Marina shopping center in south Oxnard and nearby motels.

“They never gave up on seeking justice for these three victims, their loved ones and their families,” Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said of the investigators. “Just because a case is no longer being pursued doesn’t mean it should ever be forgotten.”

For decades, investigators believed the three murders were connected, but the cases were dropped due to a lack of evidence. But thanks to significant advances in science and technology, that changed.

“Last year in 2023, there was a breakthrough,” Nasarenko said. “Once again, cold case unit investigators on behalf of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department uploaded critical DNA evidence into this DNA database, and in this case, a match was found.”

In 2022, Alexander was arrested in Surry County, North Carolina, where he is accused of strangling 29-year-old Nona Cobb in 1992. He was already in custody at the time.

“A lot has changed in Ventura County since the deaths of Kimberly Fritz, Velvet Sanchez and Loraine Rodriguez, but what has not changed is our commitment to bringing justice to these victims and their families,” said Port Hueneme Police Chief Michael Federico.

Alexander’s first court date in Ventura County was Thursday morning, but his arraignment has been postponed until August 21.