Man Pleads Guilty To 2nd-Degree Murder In San Diego 1975 Killing

San Diego CA

01 July, 2021

5:14 PM

Description

SAN DIEGO, CA — A former Navy man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 1975 death of a San Diego serviceman, a prosecutor said Thursday. Dennis Lepage, 64, is slated to be sentenced July 30 for strangling 28-year-old Alvaro Marquez Espeleta on Dec. 31, 1975, at the victim's Reynard Way home. Espeleta's nude body was found in the bedroom of his home by co-workers, who went to check on the naval dental technician after he failed to show up for work at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot. Lepage was also in the Navy and stationed in San Diego at the time of Espeleta's killing, according to preliminary hearing testimony. According to testimony, Lepage was connected to the case through fingerprints and a palm print discovered on the victim's body, and additional fingerprints found in the victim's bathroom and on a beer bottle inside his home. Lepage's fingerprints were on file due to a 2010 restraining order violation arrest in Massachusetts, according to testimony. He was arrested last year in Troy, New York. — City News Service