Almost 38 years later — trial for accused murderer of 4-year-old Jessica Gutierrez set to begin
LEXINGTON, SC (WOLO) — It’s been almost 38 years since 4-year-old Jessica Gutierrez was abducted from her home on South Lake Drive in Lexington County, never to be seen again.
Monday morning at the Lexington County Courthouse, jury members were selected behind closed doors from a pool of around 120 people for the trial set to begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
On June 5th, 1986, young Jessica was abducted from her home while she slept next to her sister, Rebecca.
Investigators reported that the intruder entered the home through their bedroom window, and walked out the front door with Jessica in his arms — with their mother Debra asleep in a nearby room while the abduction took place.
Six-year-old Rebecca later told detectives she remembered seeing a man in a hat take Jessica out of bed and carry her away.
Jessica was never seen again, and the case went cold until January 2022, when the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department arrested then 61-year-old Thomas McDowell, a former Lexington resident who had since moved to Wake Forest, North Carolina.
Investigators with the sheriff’s department, SLED, and the FBI were able to link a fingerprint collected at the scene to McDowell — who has now been charged with murder, kidnapping, and first degree burglary.
After Jessica’s disappearance, McDowell served 10 years in prison for raping a woman in North Carolina but wasn’t linked to Jessica until 2022.
During McDowell’s prison sentence, other inmates reported that McDowell told them he was responsible for Jessica’s disappearance, but is pleading not guilty.
Jessica’s body has never been found.
Defense attorneys David Mauldin and Sarah Mauldin will represent McDowell, with Kinli Abee and Heather Weiss leading the prosecution team. Judge Debra McCaslin will preside over the trial.
Stay with ABC Columbia News for details as the trial moves forward.