Contra Costa County inmate identified as primary suspect in 1996 cold case murder

Contra Costa County inmate identified as primary suspect in 1996 cold case murder
Above: File photo of Danny Lamont Hamilton | Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office

The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office has announced charges of murder against a current inmate after he was recently identified as the primary suspect in the 1996 murder of a young Vallejo woman.

21-year-old Priscilla Lewis was found dead on the night of September 24, 1996, in the basement bathroom of the restaurant on 2nd Avenue in Crockett where she worked. Investigators later determined the cause of death to have been asphyxia by drowning, the Sheriff’s Office said.

In 2020, following years of exhaustive investigation including search warrants and the rigorous gathering and analysis of evidence, investigators forwarded the case to the Sheriff’s Office crime lab to be tested with current technology.

DNA testing ultimately identified Danny Lamont Hamilton as the primary suspect. Hamilton had served time at the Martinez Detention Facility for an unrelated sexual assault charges from 1999 to 2002, hence why his DNA was on file.

Hamilton was ultimately convicted of the charges and sentenced to 295 years, which he was currently serving when identified as Priscilla Lewis’s alleged murderer, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Hamilton, now 51, was formally charged with Lewis’s murder on Wednesday, December 8.

Contra Costa County inmate identified as primary suspect in 1996 cold case murder was last modified: December 27th, 2021 by admin
Categories: Contra Costa

About Author

Staff Report

Crime Voice is an online news publication that specializes in California crime journalism and publishes daily arrest information. Established in 2007, Crime Voice has contributors located all across the state and is managed by a team of Bureau Chiefs.