(KRON) — A man who died in 2022 has been identified as a suspect in a brutal unsolved homicide from 1997, the San Jose Police Department said Monday. It was on July 6, 1997 when SJPD responded to a call for an unconscious man found outside a residence on Boynton Avenue.
The victim was identified as 34-year-old Karen Gevorkov. According to police, Gevorkov had been brutally attacked and died from blunt force trauma.
An initial investigation revealed that the victim was last seen alive the prior evening walking with a friend down Starbird Park. The friend, who survived, told police they were approached by three men who attacked them with a bat.
The witness was unable to identify the suspects. However, interviews with area residents led investigators to Victor Lamont Ferguson, who was identified as a person of interest.
With the development of advanced DNA testing, investigators were able to match Ferguson’s DNA to the victim’s clothing in 2024. This, police said, provided “conclusive evidence of his involvement in the crime.”
In 2016, a former inmate had also contacted police, providing information that implicated Ferguson in the killing. Despite this, he was never formally interviewed in the investigation.
Following the incident, Ferguson moved to Kansas and was never held accountable for Gevorkov’s killing. According to Kansas death records, Ferguson died in 2022.
“While justice may be delayed, the victim is never forgotten,” stated Chief of Police Paul Joseph. “This breakthrough, made possible through advances in DNA technology, underscores our unwavering commitment to seeking the truth, no matter how many years pass. Though the suspect is no longer here to face accountability, we hope this new evidence provides much-needed closure to Karen Gevorkov’s family, and serves as a reminder that we will never stop pursuing justice for those we’ve lost.”
The decades-long investigation into Gevorkov’s killing is now closed, police said.
