Saratoga Cold Case Cracked: Investigators

The sheriff's department said detectives refused to give up on the case and pressed forward to find those responsible

Investigators said they have cracked the case involving a brutal crime of an elderly Saratoga man and his daughter inside their Saratoga ranch home.

Charles Maridon, 96, and his daughter Carol, 64, were both brutally beaten by two men who charged into their home and demanded they open a safe both claimed did not exist.  The home invasion happened on Dec. 4, 2009. Maridon died of his injuries two weeks later.

Now, nearly two years later the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department said they have solved the crime.  They arrested Juan Cortinas, who was already in custody for an unrelated crime.

He has a court appearance set for Wednesday in San Jose.

Investigators identified Cortinas and another man, Sonny Lopez, as the two men responsible for the beating and home invasion.  

Lopez was a suspect early on, but was shot and killed by a Fremont police officer in March 2010 in yet another unrelated crime.

Investigators said there are no more outstanding suspects in the crime that shocked the South Bay because of its brutality.

The father and daughter told police two men entered their home on a Thursday night around 11:30 p.m. and brutally attacked them after demanding they hand over valuables.   The two were pistol whipped, chocked and beaten.  Their injuries were enough that they could not call for help overnight. Their handyman found them the following morning and flagged down a patrol officer who was driving by the home.

Sonny Lopez was the son of that handyman. The Mercury News is reporting that he told detectives at the time that he feared his son may have been involved in the beaten having worked at the home on occasion.

The break in the case ends a sad and scary chapter for the people who live near the home in quiet Saratoga.
 

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