Man sentenced to life for 1982 murder and rape of kindergartner

    SEASIDE, California (KSBW) -- A man convicted in the 1982 murder and rape of a kindergartner in Seaside received life in prison on Thursday.

Robert John Lanoue, 72, pleaded guilty in Feb. to the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of 5-year-old Anne Pham in 1982.

He was sentenced on Thursday to 56 years to life in prison, per Matthew L’Heureux, Monterey County assistant district attorney. Given Lanoue's age, he will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

Anne disappeared while walking to her kindergarten class at Highland Elementary School in Seaside on Jan. 21, 1982.

“Her parents realized when she never made it home after school that she had gone missing. Two days later, her body was discovered,” said Lana Nassoura, Monterey County assistant district attorney, in an interview with KSBW 8 in February.

Her body was found on the former Fort Ord, at the time Lanoue was stationed there with the Army.

"Lanoue lived on Luzern Street in Seaside, which was 0.1 miles away from the Pham family residence. One of Lanoue’s children also attended Highland Elementary School along with Pham, though there is no indication that the families knew each other," said the district attorney's office.

Invetsaogtors say she was sexually assaulted and strangled to death, but the case went cold for over 40 years.

DNA testing was submitted by the Monterey County District Attorney Office Cold Case Task Force and Lanoue was named a suspect in 2020.

“We obtained a rootless hair that was found on Anne’s remains, and through the use of forensic genetic genealogy, we were able to find DNA linked to Robert Lanoue,” L’Heureux said.

In February, Lanoue pleaded guilty in an open court to first-degree murder, kidnapping and the sexual assault of Anne Pham.