A man wanted in connection with the killing of a Florida woman in 1984 has been apprehended in California after nearly four decades on the run. Donald Michael Santini, the prime suspect in the strangling death of 33-year-old Cynthia Ruth Wood, was arrested on Wednesday and is currently being held in a San Diego County jail. Detectives from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office are en route to California to interview Santini, allowing for a reexamination of the evidence using modern technology.
Cynthia Ruth Wood’s body was discovered in a drainage ditch five days after her disappearance on June 6, 1984, near her hometown of Bradenton, located south of Tampa. The arrest warrant issued at the time stated that a medical examiner had determined she had been strangled, with Santini’s fingerprints found on her body. Authorities had suspected that Santini had been residing in Texas under an assumed identity. A tip from the Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force eventually led U.S. Marshals to locate and arrest Santini in Campo, San Diego County.
With Santini’s arrest, the case has been reopened, giving investigators an opportunity to reevaluate the evidence collected in 1984 using modern forensic technology. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office expressed their awareness of the recent development and stated that their detectives are traveling to California to interview Santini. The 65-year-old fugitive is scheduled to appear in court in San Diego County on Friday, although there is no information regarding an attorney who could speak on his behalf, according to online jail records.
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