A 64-year-old man was sentenced Friday, July 10, to life in prison for the murder of a Cloverdale girl whose death went unsolved for more than four decades before he was arrested two years ago.
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James Unick sat silently as he learned his fate and was condemned by Sonoma County Judge Laura Passaglia for killing Sarah Ann Geer — the 13-year-old found dead in a Cloverdale alley the morning of May 24, 1982.
His sentencing followed a trial that ended Feb. 13 when a jury found him guilty of murder and supported special circumstances of committing a lewd or lascivious act and raping a child. The jury’s verdict followed two hours of deliberation and was on what would have been Geer’s 57th birthday.
“You robbed a child of her potential, of her life and caused her to suffer in a most brutal way,” Passaglia told Unick Friday. He departed the courtroom without addressing the judge or audience.
Investigators told The Press Democrat in 1982 that Geer, a Washington School seventh grader, was the city’s first homicide victim to their recollection. By several accounts, her killing stunned a quiet Sonoma County community where people knew their neighbors, doors were left unlocked while homeowners slept and children could walk around alone at night.
According to prosecutors, Geer and a friend were spending a weekend together and had gone to Santa Rosa before returning to Cloverdale Sunday, May 23, 1982. Later that night, she visited another friend on North Cloverdale Boulevard and left around 11:30 p.m. to go downtown.
Geer was found behind an apartment building on Main Street, in an alley between Second and Third streets. An autopsy showed she died from “manual traumatic injuries,” consistent with strangulation or a beating. Whoever killed her used the shorts she wore and left Geer’s partially nude body under a fence.
Her uncle, Colin Wilson, told the court Friday he wondered if she spent her final moments thinking he’d rescue her, and that he felt guilty for failing to protect her. Her death had taken a toll on their family and Wilson emphasized Unick should never have the opportunity for parole.
“He had 44 years of parole before he was caught,” Wilson said in court.
Unick lived on Cloverdale Boulevard in 1982 but denied knowing Geer when police briefly interviewed him after her death. Several of Geer’s friends testified during his trial they did not know Unick.
His defense attorney, Gabriel Quinnan, wrote in a sentencing brief this week that Unick disputed the jury’s verdict and emphasized that, in more recent years, he’d been “a beloved family member and contributing member of the community.”
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The case went cold, but Cloverdale police reopened it in 2021 and worked with the FBI to find a match to a DNA profile that the California Department of Justice developed in 2003.
Investigators traced the profile to members of Unick’s family and arrested him in the Glenn County community of Willows in July 2024. According to prosecutors, investigators matched DNA from his discarded cigarette to sperm that was found on Geer’s tampon.
His trial began in late January and included testimony from investigators, DNA experts, Geer’s childhood friends and Cloverdale residents who were present in 1982. Unick continued to deny responsibility for Geer’s death but testified they engaged in sexual activity near the Russian River on May 23 after she approached him and claimed to be 16. She was alive when they parted ways, he said.
On Friday, Wilson blasted Unick for raping Geer and claiming she was in any way responsible for anything that happened. Given the jury’s quick deliberation, Unick’s version of events did him more harm than good, Wilson said.
He also disputed any claims that Unick led a law-abiding life after 1982.
“From then until now, he has lied and lied and lied about his actions that night,” Wilson said.
Hours after proceedings ended, law enforcement officials touted the significance of Unick’s sentencing and resolution to a decades-old cold case.
“We remember a 13-year-old girl whose life was cut short, and we hope this sentence brings some measure of peace to those who have waited for so long,” Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez said.
Cloverdale police echoed that sentiment and praised those involved in the extensive investigation.
“This case is a testament to the perseverance of everyone who refused to let Sarah’s story be forgotten,” Cloverdale Police Chief Chris Parker said.
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You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at [email protected].
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