The investigation in the case of San José-A identified a man from Kansas now deceased as the assailant who hit a man until death with a baseball bat near the park almost three decades ago, authorities said Monday.
The San José Police Department and the Santa Clara County District Prosecutor’s Office announced that Victor Lamont Ferguson, who died in 2022 at the age of 47, is the main suspect in an attack on July 16, 1997 that left Karen Gevork Daad, 28 years old.
“While justice can be delayed, the victim never forgets,” said San José Chief of Police, Paul Joseph, in a statement. “I thought that the suspect is no longer here to face responsibility, we hope that this new evidence will provide a very necessary closure to the Karen Gevorkov family, and services as a reminder that we never stop seeking justice for those we have lost.”
The victim walked with a friend to a convenience store in Boynton Avenue and the couple was spending Starbird Park when they were approached by three men, according to the San José Police. According to the reports, the two groups exchanged insults, which were followed by the three men who assaulted Gervokov and his friend with a baseball bat.
Gervokov died because of his wounds, and the surviving victim could realize police investigators, but could not identify his attackers. A posterior police investigation called Ferguson from the beginning as a person of interest based on interviews with residents living in the area at that time, but did not formally declare it a suspect.
In the intermediate years, other evidence emerged, including an informant that involved Ferguson in 1997 and again in 2016. Even so, when Ferguson died in Kansas three years ago, he had never been interrogated about the murder, police said.
Last year, the Santa Clara County Crime Laboratory, operated by the District Prosecutor’s Office, reexamined the DNA recovered from the attack of Gervokov’s clothes and coincided with Ferguson, authorities said.
“In each without solving case, something, or someone, will take us to the truth. Until then, no family should give hope, and no criminal should sleep well,” said District Prosecutor Jeff Rosen in a statement.
Rob Baker, a prosecutor who supervises the cold cases unit for the district prosecutor’s office, said the resolution is partly a tribute to Mike Brown, a San José police officer who was one of the original detectives in the case.
Baker said Brown continued working in the case during the next two decades, even after SJPD left to become a DA investigator in 2012, until his death due to natural causes in 2017. Brown’s daughter followed her steps to become a policeman.
“Identifying the murderer with DNA was easy compared to the 20 years of detective work of the old school researcher Mike Brown,” Baker said. “Without Mike, this case would not have solved the legs.”
Any person with information for Gervokov’s research can communicate with the SJPD Homicide Unit at 408-277-5283 or the sergeant of email detectives. Joel Martínez at 4117@sanjosca.gov or detective Hans Jorgensen at 4090@sanjosca.gov. The tips can also be left with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or in Silicon Valley Crimetoppers.org.
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