Boyfriend arrested in 1997 San Jose cold case killing
Man arrested in San Jose cold case murder of girlfriend
The boyfriend of a San Jose woman found dead in her home nearly 30 years ago has been arrested, potentially bringing a close to the cold case.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The boyfriend of a San Jose woman found dead in her home nearly 30 years ago has been arrested, potentially bringing a close to the cold case.
Authorities said that on Oct. 6, 1997, the body of 84-year-old Alice Sharitz was found inside her apartment in the 40 block of North Jackson Avenue. Sharitz, who lived alone, was found on her living room floor with a wooden-handled knife embedded in her chest, according to police. She also had visible abrasions on both knees.
Joe Contreras, 75, was arrested in the cold case killing of his then-lover, 84-year-old Alice Sharitz.
Gruesome discovery
The backstory:
The victim was discovered by a neighbor who was delivering a card to her apartment. Upon finding the door ajar, the neighbor looked inside, saw Sharitz on the floor, and called 911.
An autopsy later revealed the extent of the brutality. Sharitz suffered two stab wounds to the chest, multiple fractures, neck injuries, and numerous facial abrasions. The coroner determined the cause of death to be multiple traumatic injuries.
While investigators processed the scene and collected DNA evidence at the time, the trail eventually went cold for nearly three decades.
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DNA breakthrough and arrest
Dig deeper:
The investigation stalled until advanced forensic analysis recently identified 75-year-old Joe Contreras as a potential source of the DNA found at the scene. Contreras, who was living in Oregon, was eventually named the primary suspect in the killing.
Law enforcement arrested Contreras on Dec. 19, 2025. He was extradited to San Jose on Tuesday and booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on suspicion of murder.
"Time does not erase responsibility," said San José Police Department Chief Paul Joseph. "
While a motive has not been released, authorities confirmed that Sharitz and Contreras were in a romantic relationship at the time of her death.
William Hudnall was a friend of Sharitz and lived in the same apartment complex as her.
"I had known her for a long time," he said. "One day we came up and all of a sudden she was murdered."
He said he's long had questions about who killed her and the motive.
"We always wondered who did it and the reason but, we never knew anything of that nature — why it happened? Who did it? Nothing like that," he said.
The Source: Information for this story comes from the San Jose Police Department.