{"id":325,"date":"2026-05-12T01:31:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T08:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/12\/murder-trial-begins-in-womans-1990-scripps-ranch-killing\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T01:31:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T08:31:13","slug":"murder-trial-begins-in-womans-1990-scripps-ranch-killing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/12\/murder-trial-begins-in-womans-1990-scripps-ranch-killing\/","title":{"rendered":"Murder trial begins in woman\u2019s 1990 Scripps Ranch killing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
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A man accused of killing a woman in Scripps Ranch more than 35 years ago is tied to her slaying by DNA evidence and incriminating statements he made after his arrest, a prosecutor told jurors Monday, while a defense attorney said the case against her client arose from an inadequate police investigation and is reliant on flimsy evidence.<\/p>\n

Read more Police make arrest after four injured in Oceanside stabbing<\/a><\/p>\n

Opening statements were delivered Monday morning in the murder trial of 65-year-old Randall Oyler, who is charged with killing Margaret Orozco Jackson, whose body was discovered on a hillside off Scripps Ranch Boulevard on July 11, 1990.<\/p>\n

Jackson was severely beaten and strangled, and a rope was wrapped twice around her neck, Deputy District Attorney Chris Lindberg told a San Diego Superior Court jury on what coincidentally would have been Jackson\u2019s 83rd birthday.<\/p>\n

Oyler, who was 29 years old on the day Jackson\u2019s body was discovered, was not identified as a suspect until DNA testing conducted decades later linked him to DNA found beneath the victim\u2019s fingernails, as well as from other areas of her body, the prosecutor said.<\/p>\n

Oyler was already in custody for an alleged probation violation when he was arrested in 2023 on suspicion of killing Jackson.<\/p>\n

Lindberg said that while in custody, Oyler was placed in a cell with an undercover jail operative posing as an inmate.<\/p>\n

In video clips played in court, the two men can be heard discussing why Oyler was arrested.<\/p>\n

Read more Escondido police release video of officers fatally shooting driver following freeway chase<\/a><\/p>\n

At one point, Oyler says, \u201cShe scratched me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

In another clip, the operative asks Oyler if he \u201cjust left her there,\u201d and Oyler responds that he \u201cthrew her down a hill.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Oyler\u2019s defense attorney, Kara Oien, said none of the statements her client made amounted to confessions or admissions to killing Jackson. She said Oyler\u2019s statements were \u201cvague remarks\u201d made in response to the operative\u2019s prodding questions about Oyler\u2019s case.<\/p>\n

The attorney also said the DNA evidence only told part of the story, as its presence alone couldn\u2019t show that Oyler had any involvement in Jackson\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe science can\u2019t tell you how the DNA got there, when the DNA got there, why the DNA\u2019s there. The DNA cannot prove violence, and the DNA cannot prove murder,\u201d Oien said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The defense attorney said that until the DNA testing was conducted decades later, Oyler was not at all on the radar of investigators, who she said overlooked critical leads and failed to collect or test a number of items that could have led to answers back in 1990.<\/p>\n

Read more Driver who had been removed from U.S. 4 times pleads guilty in boy\u2019s fatal hit-run crash<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Randall Oyler, 65, is charged with killing Margaret Orozco Jackson, whose body was discovered on a hillside on July 11, 1990.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-courts"],"yoast_head":"\nMurder trial begins in woman\u2019s 1990 Scripps Ranch killing - Los Angeles Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/12\/murder-trial-begins-in-womans-1990-scripps-ranch-killing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Murder trial begins in woman\u2019s 1990 Scripps Ranch killing - 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