The State - News from Aug. 3, 1988

The same killer may be responsible for two rape-murders in Hollister, San Benito County Sheriff Harvey Nyland warned residents of the quiet farming community. Nyland said investigators are “fairly certain” that the same person is to blame for the April 3 murder of 22-year-old college student Martha De La Rosa and the July 26 slaying of 16-year-old Lisa Koehler. An autopsy showed that Koehler had been raped and died of multiple trauma, Nyland said, explaining that he was releasing the details “for the safety of the people in the community, to let them know we’re probably looking at the same person committing both crimes.” A $5,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer of Koehler, the daughter of a California Highway Patrol officer.