A Glenn County man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a rape and murder that were committed more than four decades ago. 64-year-old James Unick was arrested at his home in Willows in July 2024, but he was sentenced by a judge in Sonoma County recently because that’s where the teenage victim was sexually assaulted and killed. Sarah Ann Geer disappeared in May of 1982 after leaving a friend’s home. Detectives initially had few clues so the case went cold until a DNA profile was developed from evidence left on her clothing. That eventually led to Unick, but he claimed she initiated the sexual contact. He also denied killing the victim. A jury rejected his story and found him guilty last February.
-John Oertel