James and Christian Rodriguez Where Are They Now?: The death of Larry Austin became a hot topic in LA, as he was the only person in LA who still showed old silent films. “America’s Most Wanted,” one of the crime shows in the late 90s, documented the death of Larry Austin. They interviewed the detectives and also assisted them in solving the case.
They had a sketch artist, so the detective asked Mary to provide all the details about the killer to the sketch artist. They finally had the face of the killer and shared the sketch in newspapers and news channels.
The detectives received a tip in February 1997 about a young man who wanted to meet them. The young man told them that he knew the guy in the sketch. He said that he and his friend were in a car when he showed the sketch to his friend and told him that the guy in the sketch looked exactly like him. His friend replied that it was him, and he had killed Austin. His name was Christian Rodriguez.
Christian Rodriguez was 19 years old, uneducated, jobless, and had a family to take care of. He had the motive to kill Austin, but he didn’t take the money after killing Larry Austin. If it had been a robbery, he should have taken the money. Detectives looked into Christian’s background and found the mastermind behind this murder.
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Who was behind Larry Austin’s Murder?
As detectives delved into Christian’s background, they discovered that he was a former colleague of James Van Sickle. They had worked together and knew each other. Detectives looked into James and found that James had a criminal record. He used to find old men like Austin, and live with them for some time, and after getting what he wanted, he would then leave them or sometimes brutally beat them. It was easy for him, as old people would never go to the police to save their reputation.
What happened to James and Christian Rodriguez?
James Van Sickle and Christian Rodriguez were found guilty of killing Larry Austin and were convicted of first-degree murder. They were both sentenced to life in prison.
Where are James and Christian Rodriguez Now?
James Van Sickle and Christian Rodriguez are currently serving their life sentences in California State Prison.