Man held in Antioch cold-case killing appears in court

The 63-year-old man arrested and charged this week in the cold-case kidnapping and killing of a 14-year-old Antioch girl, Suzanne Bombardier, made his first court appearance Thursday — 37 years after police tabbed him as the prime suspect in the slaying.

Mitchell Lynn Bacom of Antioch appeared briefly at a hearing in Contra Costa County Superior Court, wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit and peeking through the window bars of a secure area in the Martinez courtroom.

“Do you waive your right to a speedy arraignment?” Judge John T. Laettner asked Bacom.

Responding in a quiet voice, the defendant said, “I do.”

Bascom was scheduled to be arraigned on a murder charge, but the hearing was put off until Jan. 18 at the request of the public defender’s office.

Brooks Osborne of the public defender’s office said more time was needed to assign attorneys to the case and review the discovery evidence.

Ronnie Rackley, a retired Antioch police officer and an investigator on the case in 1980, said he didn’t understand why Bacom needed more than one attorney “at the taxpayers’ expense.”

Rackley, 66, who now lives in Orofino, Idaho, said he was getting constant updates by text message on what occurred in the courtroom Thursday and expects that he and Gregory Glod, the lead investigator, will be subpoenaed to testify should the case go to trial.

“I’m not ready to move on,” Rackley said. “I want to see this to the end. I’d very much like to be there.”

Bacom — a career criminal with convictions for rape, robbery and burglary dating to 1973 — was arrested Monday after Antioch police used an FBI indexing system not available at the time of the crime to analyze DNA evidence extracted from the crime scene, which ultimately linked him to the kidnapping and death of Suzanne.

Suzanne’s nude body was found floating in the San Joaquin River shortly after her mother reported her missing to Rackley. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed in the heart.

“We have always suspected him” of Suzanne’s murder, Rackley said of Bacom.

Despite suspicions, Rackley said there was never enough evidence to arrest Bacom.

Rackley said Bacom had shown interest in Suzanne’s sister, Stephanie, and had brought her flowers and candy in an attempt to woo her. But Stephanie did not reciprocate his feelings, Rackley added.

On the night of Suzanne’s disappearance, Bacom and Stephanie had plans to meet, but Stephanie blew him off. Rackley said he and Glod suspect that Bacom showed up anyway and when he couldn’t find Stephanie, he decided, “Suzanne will do.”

“It’s closure now,” Rackley said. “I’m just sorry they didn’t get him sooner.”