Herbert Farley, a 65-year-old male, was tragically killed in June 1990 in Ontario, California. He and his wife, Lula Mae Farley, 71, were collecting recyclables behind a supermarket when they were attacked. Lula Mae Farley was shot and killed in the alley, while Herbert Farley was abducted and later found shot to death in Rubidoux.
Authorities later identified Alfredo Prieto, a 44-year-old Pomona Northside gang member, as the suspect in the killings.
Prieto was linked to the crime through ballistics testing, which revealed that the weapon used in the murder of Herbert and Lula Mae Farley was also used in the double homicide of Stacey Siegrist, 19, and Anthony Gianuzzi, 21, just a month earlier. Investigators connected Prieto to multiple killings in California and Virginia between 1988 and 1990.
Prieto was sentenced to death in 1992 for the rape and murder of Yvette Woodruff, 15, in Ontario. He was also convicted of two murders in Virginia from 1988, which were linked to him through DNA evidence. Authorities in Virginia believed Prieto was responsible for additional killings in the late 1980s, though he was not charged for those crimes. Due to his convictions in Virginia, officials stated that even if Prieto were charged in Riverside County, he was unlikely to be prosecuted in California, as Virginia planned to carry out his execution within five to seven years.
The case of Herbert Farley and his wife remained unsolved for two decades until forensic advancements allowed investigators to connect Prieto to the crime. His violent history and multiple convictions painted a grim picture of a serial offender whose actions devastated numerous families across two states.
