Peaceful California community poleaxed after low-key dad was exposed as child sex killer. Now the chilling name he gave his own DAUGHTER has sparked further outrage

By LAURA PARNABY, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 17:28, 18 July 2026 | Updated: 17:28, 18 July 2026 For the last 40 years, father-of-two James Unick had been living a quiet existence as a construction worker in the secluded village of Willows, California. Surrounded by miles of barren desert and sleepy farmland, the tiny town comprising just 6,000 people seems the perfect place to find peace - or perhaps, to hide. But after more than four decades, Unick, now 64, has been unmasked as the brutal killer in the cold case murder of 13-year-old Sarah Ann Geer. Geer was raped and strangled to death on May 23, 1982, and her attacker's identity remained a mystery until July 2024 when detectives used modern technology to match DNA from the crime scene in Cloverdale to Unick, living 120 miles away. The hermit was finally forced from obscurity in Willows to face justice this month, as jurors convicted him of first-degree murder and a judge sentenced him to life in prison for a crime he committed when he was 20 years old.  Grisly details of Geer's final moments were aired in court, including how Unick raped the innocent teenager in a secluded area close to the Russian River before strangling her to death by using her shorts as a ligature.   However, perhaps the most blood-curdling secret that Unick had been carrying for years was yet to be unearthed.  The Daily Mail can reveal that four years after Unick cruelly ripped Geer's life away, he became a father to a daughter of his own - and he gave her the same first and middle names as his innocent victim.  James Unick, 64, was sentenced to life in prison after finally being identified as the killer of 13-year-old Sarah Ann Geer in 1982. He is pictured in court July 10 on the right beside his lawyer  On May 23, 1982, Sarah Ann Geer was raped and murdered by James Unick. She was just 13 Now 40-years-old, his daughter, Sarah Ann Unick, still lives in Cloverdale. It is unclear whether Sarah Ann supports her father or cut all ties with him after learning of his sordid crime - but at least one of his relatives is standing by him.  When contacted by the Daily Mail, the killer's brother, Jeffrey Daniel Unick, 63, repeated the same chilling version of events given by the defense in Sonoma County Court.  James Unick testified that on the fateful day in May 1982, he had been playing a video game in the Cloverdale arcade when Geer, who was seven years younger than him, approached and propositioned him for sex.  He claimed they had consensual sex on a hillside near the Russian River, and he dropped her off back at the arcade afterwards. However, when police first arrested Unick, he claimed he did not know Geer, and his shifting version of events along with the DNA evidence against him convinced jurors he was guilty.  His brother said their family believes he is innocent.  When asked whether he wanted to defend James Unick, he told the Daily Mail: 'Well, yes, he's my brother.  'He only said something about sex, he never said anything about murder. He said that in court.' Jeffrey said his family first heard about the allegations when Unick was arrested in July 2024.  'I didn't think he would do it,' Jeffrey said, before seeming to cast doubt on his earlier support for his brother. 'But... nobody really knows what they are capable of doing.'  Cloverdale Police arrested Unick in 2024 after making a breakthrough using DNA technology Unick has been living a low-key life in an unassuming bungalow in Willows, California Jeffrey declined to comment further, saying only that his family has been doing 'fine' since Unick was sentenced to life in prison.  For Geer's family, the nightmare began on Sunday May 23, 1982, when their beloved 13-year-old was plucked from the streets by a violent stranger as she walked home from a friend's house through picturesque downtown Cloverdale.  Prosecutors said Unick dragged the teenager into a secluded area behind a fence, where the attacker brutally raped her before strangling her to death using her own shorts as a ligature.  Weeks later, Cloverdale Police - a department rarely confronted by violent crime - gravely informed the community they had not been able to identify the killer and warned them that he was still on the loose.  Geer's family was devastated by the murder, which went unavenged for decades, while women in the tight-knit town still remember the horror today - with many recalling how they were fearful to walk the streets in the years that followed.  It wasn't until 2024 that detectives finally made a breakthrough.  Cloverdale Police and the FBI refreshed the cold case in 2003, using advanced technology to retrieve DNA from sperm found in Geer's underwear.  The horrific murder shook the tight-knit community in Cloverdale, California, pictured above After years of painstaking research, surveillance and testing, investigators matched the DNA to four brothers by the surname Unick.   Through a process of elimination, Cloverdale Police, working with the FBI, honed in on their suspect in July 2024 - an unassuming construction worker quietly living in Willows.  Oblivious to the FBI officers keeping watch over him, James Unick stepped out of his secluded bungalow to smoke a cigarette.  Police collected his DNA from the butt and confirmed a match, securing enough evidence to take him to trial for his heinous crimes, and this month, Unick finally faced justice.  Jurors found him guilty of first-degree murder and a special circumstance related to sexual assault. Disgusted by the grisly details of his long-concealed crime, Judge Laura Passaglia sentenced him to life in prison on July 10.  Detective Katie Vanoni of Cloverdale Police, who led the investigation, said Unick 'denied everything' when she interviewed him in July 2024.  She added that he seemed like a 'typical person' but said it was clear from the start that he 'was going to lie no matter what'.   Judge Passaglia fiercely rejected Unick's defense at his sentencing hearing, blasting him for having 'the audacity to blame the child for the things that occurred to her.' She told Unick he had 'robbed a child of her potential, of her life, and caused her to suffer in a most brutal way.'