Arrest made in 1975 cold case murder

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - The Norfolk Police Department’s Homicide Cold Case Investigative Unit has solved its first cold case, a 1975 murder.

Chris Amos with the Norfolk Police Department said Joel Joaquin Saenz, 58, has been arrested in California in connection to the 1975 death of Lionel Baldwin.

On Aug. 27, 1975, officers responded to the 9400 block of First View Street in reference to a stabbing victim. There, they found Baldwin suffering from fatal stab wounds. He was 32-years-old.

The murder went unsolved until 2010 when investigators were able to find credible witnesses, Amos said.

Once a suspect was identified by investigators, it was discovered he was living in California. Saenz was taken into custody by the Indio Police Department and is now awaiting extradition to Virginia.

Amos said investigators are unable to release further details surrounding Saenz's arrest and the investigation, but added the motive in the death appears to be robbery.

Amos said officers have not been able to locate any of the victim's family members.

According to online booking records with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department in California obtained by WAVY.com, Saenz was also booked on charges of DUI, hit and run and driving with a suspended license among others.

Anyone who may have additional information is asked to contact the Norfolk Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.

Amos added this is the first case cleared by the department’s Homicide Cold Case Investigative Unit. The squad, comprised of four investigators and two forensic investigators, was formed in March 2012. Prior to the group's creation, investigators would look into cold case routinely.

Stay with WAVY.com for more on this developing story.