California Woman Disappeared from a Shopping Mall Parking Lot 20 Years Ago. An Arrest Has Finally Been Made By Christine Pelisek

The alleged killer of a California mom who went missing more than twenty years ago has been arrested.

Raymond Silva Gonzales, 51, was arrested in connection with the 2001 death of 32-year-old Suzanne Sites-Fenton.

According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner’s Department, Sites-Fenton was found dead in the desert near the intersections of Mariposa Road and Ranchero Street in Hesperia on April 16, 2001.

She had been reported missing by her husband two days earlier when she failed to return home from her job at Mervyn’s at the Victor Valley Mall.

“During the initial investigation, detectives learned Suzanne took a break and walked into the Mervyn’s parking lot and never returned to work or home,” according to a San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department press release.

Her stepfather discovered her 2000 blue Honda Civic parked behind a Big 5 Sporting Goods the following day, the Daily Press reported at the time. Her purse was still inside the car.

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There were signs of a struggle inside the vehicle, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s office said.

On April 16, a man came across Sites-Fenton’s body in a pile of trash, investigators said, per the Los Angeles Times.

Investigators determined that Suzanne had been kidnapped, sexually assaulted and shot, per the news release.

Cold case detectives identified Silva Gonzales as a suspect in 2025. Detectives obtained a warrant for his arrest on Jan. 15.

He is being held without bail at the High Desert Detention Center.

Anyone with information about the murder is asked to contact the Homicide Detail at 909-890-4904.  Those wishing to remain anonymous should contact We-Tip at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or go to wetip.com.