The 1988 Apple Valley Murders of Hulon and Elaine Hughes have been solved thanks to a federal DNA grant.
Hulon and Elaine Hughes were found shot to death in their California Apple Valley home on Oct. 12, 1988. They operated two business on the property: Hughes Roofing and B&S Paving. They employed Harold David Toney as a mechanic and part-time roofer according to the sheriff’s department. Harold David Toney, 59, was arrested last Saturday.
During the initial investigation, Toney and one other person were on the property when deputies arrived. Other employees told detectives that Harold Toney and Hulon Hughes got into an argument the day before the murders, and that Toney had threatened to kill Hughes. Harold Toney and the other person on the property were arrested for the murders but not charged. No additional leads regarding the case were obtained and the case went cold.
In April 2010, San Bernardino County Cold Case Detectives reviewed cold homicide cases as part of a federal DNA grant and reopened the Hughes’ murders. Detectives said they linked Toney to the murders by DNA analysis. A second suspect, Opal Leanne Faulk, who once lived with Toney, was arrested Monday in Carrollton, Georgia.
Exactly where Toney’s DNA was found has not been made public as of yet. Also, there are no details know as of yet how Faulk fits into this picture. Read more here.
Toney, awaiting trial, died in a hospital jail ward in October 2010. Faulk took the prosecution’s offer and pleaded no contest to being an accessory after the fact in the death of Hulon and Elaine Hughes. She was sentenced to three years in prison for her involvement. Authorities agreed that Harold was the shooter in this double murder case.
Should you have a picture of Hulon and Elaine Hughes, please contact me. Until that time, one of my generic angels will accompany this post.