Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested and booked 61-year old Raymond Diaz for one count of First Degree Murder in connection with the death of Amy Yachimec.
Thirteen-year-old Amy Yachimec went missing from her family’s apartment in the 3500 block of West Van Buren Street in Phoenix on November 6, 1981. The next day, Amy’s mother filed a missing person report with the Phoenix Police Department. Raymond Diaz was considered a person of interest in the missing person investigation, but there was insufficient evidence for an arrest.
In May of 1988, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) assumed the case, after new evidence led detectives to believe that the victim was murdered in the Sheriff’s Office jurisdiction. Sheriff’s detectives then continued to work the case as a homicide investigation for decades, reexamining evidence and interviewing witnesses to look for any new leads.
In March of 2015, new DNA evidence linked Diaz to the murder of Amy Yachimec.
Sheriff’s detectives worked with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Cold Case Unit in arresting Diaz, who was already serving a lengthy sentence in state prison after convictions for kidnapping and sexual assault, among other crimes.