LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Retired Lexington Police Detective David Lyons will soon be raising a glass, as was customary for him and the members of his homicide investigation unit.
“We'll get together and try to have a toast to the victim and their family. It's the idea that there's been a resolution to this, (and) it always feels good,” he said.
It’s been less than 24 hours since word began to spread that law enforcement had finally solved a case that went cold 27 years ago after Linda Rutledge was murdered inside a Lexington store on Malibu Drive. Detective Lyons said the man involved set the place on fire, and the damage made their investigation even more challenging.
“I just remember knocking on so many doors in that neighborhood and going to the Malibu Pub and meeting a lot of people to talk about the case,” he said.
Lyons said he never forgot about the case, but his other duties were piling up, too.
“It’s like raking leaves on a windy day,” he said of a caseload that doesn’t allow for detectives to focus exclusively on one investigation for too long.
The break in the case was the result of teamwork from several different departments across multiple states. Police in Texas - investigating the infamous Yogurt Shop Murders - tied shell casings found at their scene to those located at the Malibu Drive scene. Those, coupled with the DNA evidence, led them to their killer, Robert Eugene Brashers.
“The way to extract DNA, you couldn't do that when I was a detective; it's advanced so much. And the ballistics database out there now, which I think was a big part of this one too,” Detective Lyons explained. “I’m proud of the work people here did, and proud of the work they did in Texas and our Federal and State partners. We’re really blessed in Lexington to have a fantastic police department."
One year after the shooting, Brashers died by suicide in 1999. So, while this result brings justice for Linda, it won’t be coming in the more traditional form.
“I think part of the justice system is facing the consequences; go to trial and get a punishment issued. So that's probably the hardest part of that,” Lyons said.
Still, Lyons is looking forward to a drink that’s been aging for 27 years.
“I texted (one of my former co-workers) this morning and said, ‘we have to get together and toast Linda,’” he said. “It’s somebody in our community who was taken away from us who never should’ve been taken away from us.”
