New charges allege man accused of murdering Linda O’Keefe sexually assaulted multiple children

New charges came to light Wednesday in the case against James Alan Neal, who is charged in the 1973 sexual assault and killing of 11-year-old Linda O’Keefe of Newport Beach.

Prosecutors have brought charges related to two other child sexual-assault victims in Riverside County, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said Wednesday after Neal appeared in a courtroom inside Orange County Jail.

Neal is charged with one felony count of murder while committing or attempting to commit sexual assault upon a child, as well as five felony counts of sexual assault of a child younger than 14, the district attorney’s office said. The charges carry possible sentencing enhancements for multiple victims.

Prosecutors charged Neal with three counts of lewd acts on a child committed in Riverside County between July 1995 and July 2000. Two additional counts are related to crimes against another child between March 2002 and March 2004, according to court documents. The victims’ cities of residence are not in the documents.

In light of the newly identified victims, Spitzer said, his office is “absolutely” looking for possible additional victims and charges against the defendant.

Neal, 72, of Monument, Colo., was originally charged with special-circumstances murder, kidnapping and lewd and lascivious acts on a minor under 14 in connection with the strangulation death of Linda, who disappeared while walking home from summer school on July 6, 1973, in Corona del Mar.

Her body was found the next day in a ditch off Back Bay Drive.

Neal was arrested last month in Colorado after police matched him to evidence with DNA obtained via surveillance methods.

The case, which was cold for more than four decades, was the subject of a social media campaign last summer for the anniversary of Linda’s death. The arrest was due in part to the use of genealogical DNA data.

Neal, previously known as James Albert Layton Jr., lived in the Newport Beach area at the time of Linda’s slaying and left shortly afterward, the district attorney’s office said.

He moved to Florida and changed his name following an unspecified incident, the DA’s office said. Neal later moved to Colorado.

Neal was extradited to Orange County from Colorado on Monday and booked at Orange County Jail without bail.

He could face a maximum sentence of 82 years to life in state prison if convicted of the charges in the latest complaint, the district attorney’s office said.

Neal’s arraignment was continued Wednesday, and he is now scheduled for arraignment and a bail hearing March 29.

UPDATES:

This article was originally published at 2:45 p.m. and was later updated with additional information.