A New Mexico man on trial for the 1980 rape and killing of a 79-year-old Anaheim grandmother testified Wednesday to having what he described as consensual sex with the elderly woman when he was in his early 20s, but denied playing any role in her sexual assault or slaying.

Viola Hagenkord, 79 was found dead in her Anaheim apartment on February 18, 1980. After 41 years, Anaheim police announced on April 30, 2021 that detectives arrested a man suspected in her killing. (Courtesy of Anaheim Police Department)

Andre William Lepere, now 64, was arrested last year after DNA evidence found on Viola Hagenkord’s body was linked to him through genetic profiles in genealogy databases.

The DNA evidence – which came from semen collected in a rape kit during the initial investigation of the more than 40-year old killing – showed that Lepere, then 22, had sex with Hagenkord within 24 hours of her slaying, a fact acknowledged by both the prosecution and defense.

Lepere’s sister lived at the same Anaheim apartment complex as Hagenkord, and Lepere testified that he would chat with Hagenkord – jokingly asking “How are you doing young lady?” – when he visited the complex.

Hagenkord – who was born in 1900 and was six months shy of her 80th birthday when she was killed – moved from her longtime home in Milwaukee to what her family believed was a safer community in Anaheim closer to them. Neighbors testified that she regularly chatted with other residents and visitors outside her apartment, and seemed lonely.

Lepere – who at the time was juggling multiple relationships and a deteriorating marriage – testified that Hagenkord initiated two sexual encounters with him. Her family has said Hagenkord never remarried after divorcing her husband in 1928.

“She was talking about how she was lonely and she missed companionship and it had been a long time,” Lepere said during his first day of testimony on Wednesday in a Newport Beach Orange County Superior courtroom. “She asked me if I would show her what it was like to be held and have a little intimacy.”

According to Lepere, he then had sex with Hagenkord. He told his attorney that he had no doubt it was consensual, describing Hagenkord as “giggling” as they walked out of the apartment.

Lepere testified that during their second intimate encounter, she hiked up her dress, he dropped his jeans and they had sex again. As he left the apartment, Lepere said he was thinking “This is over, I’m not going to do it anymore.”

“I thought I could avoid her, just not see her,” he said.

Lepere testified that he learned of Hagenkord’s death several days later, when he was returning a tool to a neighbor. He said he didn’t know until his arrest decades later that she had been sexually assaulted, and assumed it happened during a break-in.

A neighbor worried about not seeing Hagenkord for several days entered her apartment on Feb. 18, 1980 and discovered her body. She had been sexually assaulted and gagged with a pillowcase, causing her to asphyxiate. Lepere’s attorney has noted that the only thing tying Lepere to the scene is the DNA found in semen on her body.

It wasn’t until the early 2000s when DNA techniques moved forward enough for the county crime lab to create a DNA profile from he semen collected in Hagenkord’s rape kit. In 2021, that profile was tied to Lepere through advanced genetic testing.

Testimony ended for the day before Deputy District Attorney Christopher Alex began directly questioning Lepere about his description of the alleged sexual encounters. But the prosecutor pushed Lepere on whether he, as a 22-year-old man, found the nearly-80-year-old Hagenkord sexually attractive.

“You were a bit of a ladies man, is that correct?” Alex asked.

“I was in my early 20s, I had lots of girlfriends, lots of women who took a shine to me,” Lepere said.

“A lot of these women you turned down,” the prosecutor said.

“Correct,” Lepere replied.

“You did not turn down Viola?”

“Correct,” Lepere said.

Lepere acknowledged during his testimony that some arguments he had with his first wife had turned physical. He described the incidents as his grabbing her arms rather than hitting her.

Since leaving Southern California in the 1980s, Lepere lived a quiet life as a plumber and truck driver in various parts of the country including Washington, Wyoming, Arizona and New Mexico.

Lepere’s family have described him during during testimony as a peaceful, devoted family man, though they have also acknowledged his heavy drinking habit. Several people – including his current wife, a stepson and a sister – have testified that they don’t believe Lepere is capable of killing someone.

Lepere’s testimony is expected to continue on Thursday morning.

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