San Jose: Cold-case investigation links 1997 baseball bat killing to deceased Kansas man

SAN JOSE A cold-case probe has identified a now-deceased Kansas man as the assailant who beat a man to death with a baseball bat near a city park almost three decades ago officers reported Monday Karen Gevorkov left poses in an undated photo Gevorkov died in after being attacked in San Jose with a baseball bat by a group of assailants A cold-case study has linked the homicide to Victor Lamont Ferguson right who died in Kansas in San Jose Police Dept The San Jose Police Department and Santa Clara County District Attorney s Office declared that Victor Lamont Ferguson who died in at the age of is the primary suspect in a July attack that left -year-old Karen Gevorkov dead While justice may be delayed the victim is never forgotten San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph explained in a report Though the suspect is no longer here to face accountability we hope this new evidence provides much-needed closure to Karen Gevorkov s family and serves as a reminder that we will never stop pursuing justice for those we ve lost The victim was walking with a friend to a convenience store on Boynton Avenue and the pair was passing Starbird Park when they were accosted by three men according to San Jose police The two groups reportedly exchanged insults which was followed by the three men assaulting Gervokov and his friend with a baseball bat Gervokov died from his injuries and the surviving victim was able to give an account to police investigators but could not identify their attackers A subsequent police scrutiny named Ferguson early on as a person of interest based on interviews with residents living in the area at the time but did not formally declare him a suspect In the intervening years other evidence surfaced including an informant who implicated Ferguson in and again in Even so by the time Ferguson died in Kansas three years ago he had never been interrogated about the killing police disclosed Last year the Santa Clara County crime lab which is operated by the district attorney s office re-examined DNA recovered from Gervokov s clothing from the attack and matched it to Ferguson administration declared In every unsolved event something or someone will lead us to the truth Until then no family should give up hope and no criminal should sleep well District Attorney Jeff Rosen reported in a message Related Articles Decapitated animal remains discovered in Fremont Decapitated animal remains uncovered in Fremont Decapitated animal remains determined in Fremont Decapitated animal remains identified in Fremont Decapitated animal remains unveiled in Fremont Rob Baker a prosecutor who supervises the cold-case unit for the district attorney s office mentioned the resolution is in part a tribute to Mike Brown a longtime San Jose police officer who was one of the original detectives in the situation Baker revealed Brown continued to work on the event over the ensuing two decades including after he left SJPD to become a DA investigator in until his death from natural causes in Brown s daughter followed in her father s footsteps to join the police department Identifying the killer with DNA was easy compared to the years of amazing old-school detective work by homicide investigator Mike Brown Baker noted Without Mike this circumstance would not have been solved Anyone with information for the Gervokov review can contact the SJPD homicide unit at - - or email Detective Sgt Joel Martinez at sanjoseca gov or Detective Hans Jorgensen at sanjoseca gov Tips can also be left with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at - - or at siliconvalleycrimestoppers org