DNA on cigarette links suspect to ‘brutal’ San Rafael homicide cold case, solving 1966 murder

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (KGO) — Investigators in the North Bay say they have solved a 60-year-old homicide case involving the killing of a banker’s wife in 1966, thanks to advances in DNA testing and cigarette butts left at the scene.

Retired San Rafael police detectives, working with a Texas-based forensic lab, identified James Switzer as the suspect in the death of 60-year-old Marjorie Rudolph.

Rudolph was home alone when she was beaten, suffered broken ribs, and was dragged into a bathtub filled with water, according to retired detective Harry Barbier.

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“This woman was struck with an unknown object on her head that caused a tremendous amount of damage and then her ribs were all broken as well,” Barbier said. “It was a brutal homicide, then she was dragged down a hallway and thrown into a bathtub full of water.”

Barbier, who was a police cadet two years after the killing, said DNA from three Salem cigarettes found at the crime scene matched Switzer, who died by suicide eight days after the murder. The cigarettes had been stored in the department’s evidence locker for decades.

“We can conclude that this suspect was in the house during the time that this murder happened in a certain time frame,” Barbier said. “We feel that this case is solved based on the evidence that we have today.”

Male DNA had been detected on the cigarettes in earlier testing, but a recent sample from one of Switzer’s relatives allowed Othram lab in Texas to confirm the match. A motive remains unknown.

“We do it for the families, that is the main reason,” Barbier said. “We should never forget that these cases have happened and we should do everything we can to solve them. And for suspects who are walking around today and may have committed a murder and haven’t been caught yet, we haven’t forgotten about them either.”