Murder of Sarah Geer
The town of Cloverdale, California sits at the northern end of Sonoma County’s wine country. Way back on May 23, 1982 it was warm, although the heat from peak daytime had worn off by the evening.
Sarah Geer left her friend’s house and set off walking downtown. She was a child and only thirteen-years-old at the time. She had no way of knowing she wouldn’t come home that night, and she would never make it to the eighth grade. Sarah was brutally raped and murdered by an unknown man in an alleyway. Her case went cold for over 40 years.
The charming, small town feel Cloverdale was known for fractured instantly.
Photo Credits: ABC News, Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office, The Press Democrat
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1982 Cloverdale Cold Case: Arrest Made in 13-Year-Old Sarah Ann Geer's Murder. KTVU Fox 2, July 2024. www.ktvu.com/news/breakthrough-cloverdale-cold-case-arrest-made.
Atagi, Colin. "Cloverdale Girl's Suspected Killer Was Interviewed by Police in 1982, Testimony Shows." The Press Democrat, www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/cloverdale-murder-cold-case/.
Atagi, Colin. "Former Cloverdale Man Guilty of Killing 13-Year-Old Sara Ann Geer in 1982." The Press Democrat, 13 Feb. 2026, www.pressdemocrat.com/2026/02/13/former-cloverdale-man-guilty-of-killing-13-year-old-girl-in-1982/.
"Charges Filed in Cloverdale Cold Case, Suspect Appears in Court." The Press Democrat, www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/cold-case-homicide-cloverdale-court/.
"Cigarette Helps Solve California Cold Case After 44 Years." Newsweek, www.newsweek.com/cigarette-helps-solve-california-cold-case-44-years-11572908.
"'Coldest Case Ever' Ends in Conviction for Sonoma County Rape and Murder of 13-Year-Old." SFist, 17 Feb. 2026, sfist.com/2026/02/17/coldest-case-ever-ends-in-conviction-for-sonoma-county-rape-and-murder-of-13-year-old/.
Coates, Kathleen. "Reopening of Cold Case Raises Cloverdale's Hopes." The Press Democrat, 28 July 2021, www.pressdemocrat.com/2021/07/28/reopening-of-cold-case-raises-cloverdales-hopes/.
"DNA from Cigarette Helps Identify California Teenager's Killer, Solves 1982 Cold Case." CNN, 21 Feb. 2026, www.cnn.com/2026/02/21/us/california-cold-case-cigarette-dna.
"Former Cloverdale Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Killing 13-Year-Old Girl in 1982." The Press Democrat, 10 July 2026 [verify author], www.pressdemocrat.com/2026/07/10/former-cloverdale-man-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-killing-13-year-old-girl-in-1982/.
"Man Arrested in Teenage Girl's 1982 Cold Case Murder in North Bay." San Francisco Chronicle, July 2024 [verify exact date], www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/man-arrested-cloverdale-teen-girl-cold-case-murder-19591578.php.
Medina, Madilynne. “Cigarette Butt DNA Seals Conviction in 1982 Bay Area Teen Murder.” SFGATE, 19 Feb. 2026, https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/sarah-geer-cold-case-21367969.php.
"Sarah Ann Geer (1969–1982)." Find a Grave, memorial ID 28792473, www.findagrave.com/memorial/28792473/sarah_ann-geer. User-contributed; verify against primary sources.
Sonoma County District Attorney's Office. "Man Sentenced to Life Without Parole in 1982 Cloverdale Murder Case." Office of the District Attorney, County of Sonoma, 10 July 2026, da.sonomacounty.ca.gov/man-sentenced-to-life-without-parole-in-1982-cloverdale-murder-case.
---. "Sonoma County Jury Returns Guilty Verdict on 1982 Cloverdale Murder." Office of the District Attorney, County of Sonoma, 13 Feb. 2026, da.sonomacounty.ca.gov/sonoma-county-jury-returns-guilty-verdict-on-1982-cloverdale-murder.
"Suspect in 1982 Cold Case Murder, Rape of 13-Year-Old Girl in Sonoma County Arrested." CBS News Bay Area, 23 July 2024, www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/cold-case-murder-rape-sarah-ann-geer-13-year-old-girl-sonoma-county-arrest.
Windsor, Amie. "DNA Breakthrough Leads Cloverdale Police to Arrest Man in Decades-Old Murder of 13-Year-Old Girl." The Press Democrat. www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/cloverdale-sara-geer-murder-solved/
Woodall, Angela. "Killer in Haunting Cloverdale Child Murder Case Sentenced After 44 Years." Patch, 13 July 2026, patch.com/california/healdsburg/killer-haunting-colverdale-child-murder-case-sentenced-after-44-years