DNA match solves murder of California woman after almost 3 decades

A California murder went unsolved for nearly 30 years, until one DNA matchcrackedthe decades-old case.

The murder of 22-year-old Debbie Dorian shockedthe Central Valley of Californiain 1996, but DNA evidence would finallyhelpidentify her killerin 2019and put him behind bars for life, unraveling a shocking tale of a serial predator in the process.

A new "20/20" episode,"I'm Going to Get You,"airing Friday, Nov. 14, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu, examines the case.

You can also get more behind-the-scenes of each week's episode by listening to "20/20: The After Show" weekly series right on your 20/20 podcast feed on Mondays, hosted by "20/20" co-anchor Deborah Roberts.

In August 1996, Debbie Dorian hadjust finished a degree in economics at theCalifornia State University, Fresno when her father found her deceased in her apartment.

Investigators determined Debbie had died from asphyxiation.She had been bound and gagged with duct tape.

An autopsyrevealedthat Dorian had been killedtwo daysprior to being found,and one of her neighbors reported seeing an unknown man approach her door.

The unknownmaleDNAprofile found at the scene, ostensibly belonging to her killer, wasuploaded toa national DNA database called CODIS.In 2006, investigators were alerted to a case-to-case hit - the DNA profile from the Dorian case matched a DNA samplefound in a sexual assault case in Visalia, an hour south of Fresno.Still, investigators were unable to link the DNA to a name.

Another breakthrough arrived in 2018.Investigators in the Debbie Dorian case consulted with the same team that solved the Golden State Killer case, employingforensic genetic genealogy, a relatively new tool at the time, to solve their DNA mystery.

Ultimately,the DNA foundat the Dorian crime scenematched a man named Nickey Duane Stane, who lived in Visalia. He had previously been married and raised two children.Authorities alleged that he committed multiple sexual assaults in the town at gunpoint over multiple years, according toformer Visalia detective Steve Puder.

"His MO would be that he'd find a young woman, late teens, early 20s. He'd find her alone," Puder said. "He produced the gun, and he showed it to them. And he told them that he'd shoot them if they didn't do what he said."

Stane was arrested and charged with multiple felonies that included charges for Dorian's murder andfoursexual assaults in Visalia.During an interview with police, hedid not deny the allegations againsthim in the Visalia sex assault cases.

"There's a couple of times that I approached women that out in the street that they know and stuff and coerce them," Stane told investigators."So those are things I shouldn't have done."

He denied knowing Dorian or having anything to do with her death when he first spoke with investigators. He would eventually change that story and tell police that he had met Debbie andalleged thatthe two had consensual sex, but he never admitted to murdering her. Prosecutorssay there is nothing to support that Stane ever came in contact with Debbie prior to her death.

Staneultimatelypleaded guilty to all charges, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in June, according toFresno County District Attorney's Office- nearly three decades after killing Dorian.

Sara Loven, Dorian's mom, told ABC News' Juju Chang in an exclusive new interview for "20/20" that she wants her daughter to be remembered for the kind and caring demeanor.

"She was a precious person," Loven said. "She was sweet, and loving, and smart, and a wonderful young lady."