Butte County man ordered to stand trial for teen's murder in 1982

VALLEJO, Calif. (BCN) - A Butte County man was ordered Wednesday to stand trial for the murder of a 14-year-old Vacaville girl in 1982.

Marvin Ray Markle, 52, is charged with the bludgeoning murder of De Anna Lynn Johnson on Nov. 15, 1982.

Markle, who was 17 years old at the time of the murder, was seen at a party attended by Johnson the night before her body was found adjacent to Elmira Road near Royal Oaks Drive.

Markle was a suspect in the killing but the case went cold for three decades.

Vacaville police attended Markle's trial in 2014 for the murder of a 41-year-old woman in Butte County on Oct. 12, 2001. Markle was convicted and sentenced to 80 years in prison.

Vacaville police arrested Markle at Kern Valley State Prison in January 2017 for Johnson's murder and he was taken to Solano County Jail. A judge determined he should be tried as an adult.

Markle's two-day preliminary hearing in Vallejo on Johnson's murder ended Wednesday. He is scheduled to re-enter a plea in Solano County Superior Court on Feb. 7.