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Cold case arrest made in 2013 murder of South Lake Tahoe resident

Laney Griffo
Special to Sierra Sun
Sean Donohoe
Provided

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — An arrest has been made in a 2013 cold case murder of a South Lake Tahoe resident. 

Manpreet Singh, 27, was shot and killed on Aug. 6, 2013, by an unknown male wearing a face mask while working at the US Gasoline Station on Lake Tahoe Blvd. 

At the time, the suspect was described as being 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall and dressed in black. A customer reported finding Singh on the floor at about 11 p.m.



Video surveillance captured that night showed the suspect walking from Palmira Avenue behind the business. The gunman then entered the gas station, appeared to briefly say something to Singh, then fatally shot him. There were no witnesses, and nothing was taken from the store.

The killer walked out without being caught and the case went cold. 



The case was assigned to the El Dorado County Cold Case Task Force, which is a collaboration between the District Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Office, South Lake Tahoe Police Department, California Department of Justice, Bureau of Forensic Science and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In July of 2017, the District Attorney’s Office posted a video about the homicide in hopes that new leads would be generated. 

A witness watched the video in the summer of 2019 and told investigators that 34-year-old Sean Donohoe was responsible for the murder. 

Donohoe was found in Las Vegas.

The DOJ and BFS compared evidence collected from the investigation to Donohoe’s DNA and found it matched. 

The Cold Case Task Force traveled to interview the involved parties.  

On Tuesday, May 12, with the help of the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Donohoe was arrested for the murder of Singh.

“I’m most proud of my guys bringing closure to the Singh family,” said SLTPD Detective Lt. Shannon Laney to the Tribune. “The residents may forget but the families never do.”

Donohoe is being held in Las Vegas but will be extradited to California.

“We feel really good about the evidence so hopefully things move quickly,” Laney said. 

If anybody has information about the murder, they are asked to contact Det. Herminghaus at Jherminghaus@cityofslt.us or call 530-542-6133 or the Cold Case Task force at Coldcasetaskforce@edcgov.us or call 530-621-4590.

Laney Griffo is a Staff Writer for the Tahoe Daily Tribune, a sister publication to the Sierra Sun. She can be reached at lgriffo@tahoedailytribune.com.


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