Murder Charges filed in Cold Case NR18247ti

Los Angeles: The Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery Homicide Division, Cold Case Homicide Section announce charges being filed against suspect responsible for the 1983 murder of Alice Chatman.

On January 12, 1983, Alice Faye Chatman was found murdered inside an abandon house in LAPD’s Wilshire Division. Ms. Chatman was on her way to work, when she was abducted and dragged to an abandoned house. She was sexually assaulted then shot once in the back of the neck with a shotgun.

The original 1983 investigators collected evidence, including a sexual assault kit taken by the coroner. No viable leads were made, and the case went unsolved.

In 2002, LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division, Cold Case Homicide Section (CCHS), assumed the case. The sexual assault kit was examined with the most current DNA technology. In 2004, there was human DNA discovered, but not a sufficient profile to upload into CODiS.

In July 2014, CCHS, requested to have the sexual assault kit re-examined with updated technology. A new partial male DNA profile was obtained from the kit and met the requirement for entry into CODiS.

In August 2014, CCHS was notified of a “offender hit” to the submitted DNA evidence. The offender hit returned to Teddy Jerome Young, who is currently serving a 62-year to life prison sentence.

In September 2016, a search warrant was obtained and DNA confirmation sample was retrieved from Young.

In October 2016, LAPD’s Forensic Science Division, confirmed that the DNA profile from the sexual assault kit was consistent with the DNA profile obtained from Teddy Young. The match was 1 in 4 billion of unrelated individuals.

Ms. Chatman was a single mother of a 13-year-old at the time of her death. She worked full time and was trying to provide a better life for her son.

Teddy Young has a long criminal history, beginning from the age of 14. His priors include:

– 1975 – Assault with intent to commit murder (1975)

– 1983 – 10 months prior to the murder of Ms. Chatman – he was arrested and charged with robbery and conspiracy and pled to Receiving Stolen Property and he was sentenced to 180 days in jail. Young was released in August 1983 with 36 months of probation to serve.

– 1985 – A series of robberies in the Wilshire area during a 19-day period. He was arrested, charged, and convicted and received a 5-year prison term. All of his victims were female and force was used. He was released March 1988, serving less than 3 years.

– 1988 – 9 months after his release from prison, Young was arrested for a series of strong arm robberies where all the victims were female. He was charged with 19 counts. He used force on the victims, including his fist, choking, a tire iron, and a gun. He received a 12-year sentence and was paroled in 1995 after serving 8 years and 3 months.

– 1997 -1 month after his release from prison, Young was arrested for strong-arm robbery, kidnapping, and evading in the City of Riverside. During the robbery, he took the victim’s purse and stole the car with a passenger. He received a 62-year to life sentence. He is currently in custody and is housed at Soledad State Prison.

On September 21, 2018, Deputy District Attorney Trudi White-Black, filed numerous charges against Young including murder, sexual assault and kidnap for the 1983 murder of Alice Chatman.

Any questions may be directed to Detective Elizabeth Camacho, Cold Case Homicide Section, RHD, at (213) 486-6810. During non-business hours or on weekends, please contact 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247). Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call the LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or go directly to www.lacrimestoppers.org. Tipsters may also visit www.lapdonline.org, and click on “Anonymous Web Tips” under the “Get Involved-Crime Stoppers” menu to submit an online tip. Lastly, tipsters may also download the “P3 Tips” mobile application and select the LA Regional Crime Stoppers as their local program.