DNA match solves cold case of California waitress found dead in restaurant in 1996

A DNA match has helped cold case investigators solve the killing of a San Francisco Bay Area waitress whose body was found in a restaurant's basement bathroom 25 years ago, authorities said Thursday.

A murder charge was filed by prosecutors against prison inmate Danny Lamont Hamilton, alleging he drowned Priscilla Lewis during an attempted rape and burglary at the Four Corners restaurant in the city of Crockett on September 24, 1996, said a statement from the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office.

The cook at the restaurant called 911 shortly before 10:30 p.m. after finding her body in the basement bathroom, the sheriff's office said. The cause of death was asphyxia due to drowning.