A 40-year-old cold case in San Bernardino County has finally been solved after detectives used DNA from a discarded Wingstop cup to identify and convict the killer of 18-year-old Michelle "Missy" Jones. Leonard Nash, now 72, was convicted of second-degree murder in the killing of Jones, whose body was discovered in a Fontana grapefruit grove on July 5, 1980.
Authorities say this is the oldest cold case successfully prosecuted in San Bernardino County.
The breakthrough came in June 2020 when Fontana Police Department investigator Kathryn Clark, assigned to cold cases, followed up on an unreported lead from 1980. Clark learned that Jones had an older sister, Phyllis Jones (now Peavy), who was dating Nash at the time of the murder.
During an interview in Arizona, Phyllis revealed that on the night of July 4, 1980, after a family barbecue, she found Nash's suit coat hanging in the shower with a foxtail attached, and his shoes were muddy. This information had never been reported to police.
Clark and her team arranged to meet Nash for an interview at a Thai restaurant. They planned to collect his DNA from items he touched.
When they picked him up, Nash was holding a Wingstop styrofoam cup. He poured water into the cup and later discarded it in the restaurant trash.
An investigator retrieved the cup, along with Nash's fork, napkin, and straw. Lab analysis confirmed the DNA from these items matched Nash, and comparison with a DNA slide from the 1980 crime scene confirmed he was the killer.
Nash was arrested in Las Vegas in September 2020 and extradited to California. He was charged with felony murder and convicted of second-degree murder in January 2026, receiving a sentence of 15 years to life in prison.
He is currently serving his sentence at the California Institution for Men in Chino.
Jones' younger sister, Kymberly Jones, spoke at a National Crime Victims Rights Week event in April 2026, describing her sister as feisty, classy, and always smiling. She recalled watching Jones leave the house on July 4, 1980, saying she'd be right back, but she never returned.
Kymberly thanked investigators for never giving up, saying, "To every family that's still waiting, I won't tell you that this was easy, but I will tell you this: Don't stop."