Ricky Dawson, 65, has been charged with murder in connection with the 1992 cold-case death of Nancy Hernandez in San Francisco, authorities announced. Dawson, who is already serving a life sentence in Colorado for a 1996 murder, has been linked to at least four homicides across four states. The charges in San Francisco include special circumstances, such as a prior murder conviction, and allegations of rape and sodomy.
Munich Police Department Mugshot of Ricky Dawson, a 65-year-old Black man with a graying beard and short hair.
On May 2, 1992, a woman later identified as Nancy Hernandez, 45, was found dead in an alley in San Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhood. Authorities believe she was using the alley as shelter. An autopsy revealed she suffered multiple traumatic injuries, including being beaten, sexually assaulted, and strangled.
The case remained unsolved for over 30 years until advances in DNA technology allowed investigators to reopen the investigation. In October 2023, San Francisco police reportedly matched DNA evidence collected from the crime scene to Dawson. Dawson pleaded not guilty to the charges on Monday.
Dawson’s legal troubles began before the San Francisco charges. In 2001, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and sexual assault in Panama Beach, Florida, stemming from a 2004 conviction related to an incident in that state. He was subsequently extradited to Colorado to face charges for the 1996 sexual assault and murder of Terri Turachek in Denver. He was convicted in that case and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Investigators are also examining a potential connection to a 2000 cold case murder in Seattle, Washington, where the victim, Debbie Cashio, died by strangulation and sustained multiple blunt force trauma injuries. DNA evidence allegedly matches Dawson's profile in that case as well.
Dawson is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing in the San Francisco case on July 30.