The Torture & Murder of Otay Jane Doe, February 1978

At about 11:00am on Tuesday, February 14, 1978, the remains of a recently deceased white female were found next to the pavement of Proctor Valley Rd in the rural area of Otay, San Diego County, CA, near the San Miguel Ranch area of Chula Vista. It is believed that Jane Doe had been deceased for about two days, though a newspaper at the time said three to five days. Combined, these ranges indicate that Jane Doe likely died anywhere between Thursday, February 9th to Sunday, February 12, 1978, inclusive. 

Reconstruction of Jane Doe created by NCMEC. Uploaded to and accessed from NamUs in July 2025.

 

While her COD is officially undetermined, Jane Doe had a dangerous amount of Meperidine in her system, which was ruled the likely cause of her death. According to Google, Meperidine is an opioid used to treat moderate to severe pain, with a high risk for addiction and dependence. It can cause respiratory distress or even death when taken in high doses or when combined with other substances (like alcohol, heroin, cocaine, etc).

Jane Doe's wiki page states that, "Examiners noted facial injuries suggesting she was abused long term. There was bruising to the left cheek and her left eye was swollen shut." Other sources state that she had been tortured.

Jane Doe's remains had been set on fire after her death; most of the damage was located between the groin area and the right side of her chest. Her face, arms, and legs received minimal or no burn damage. Her face was recognizable, and two reconstructions are available on the aforementioned databases.

Artist rendering posted to NamUs.

Jane Doe was 14 to 18 years old, though Doe Network states that she was most likely under 16 years of age; her estimated age group on NamUs is "Late Teen/Young Adult." She was estimated to be 5'1 and 88 lbs, though a contemporary newspaper article stated 88 to 105 lbs, and a 2020 NBC 7 San Diego article mentions that she was about 90 lbs.

She had shoulder-length brown hair that was styled in a ponytail and tied with a rubber band. Her eyes were possibly brown. Her ears were pierced, and her right ear was malformed and slightly smaller than the left. She had extensive dental work, including a root canal on the lower front right incisor, which was also cracked in half.

When she was found Jane Doe was wearing a white shirt with a blue flower pattern, and blue denim overalls. Her shirt is variously described as a halter top or a long-sleeve midriff blouse. She was not wearing any socks or shoes.

Jane Doe's dental records are available for comparison, while her fingerprints and DNA are not. She has zero MP exclusions on NamUs. The NCMEC, NCIC, and NamUs case numbers are 1184501, U719652692, and #UP16172, respectively. The Doe Network case number is 857UFCA, formerly Hot Case number 863. Jane Doe's NamUs case was created on June 2, 2017. It was last updated first on July 16, 2025, and then again on January 26, 2026.

Anyone with information should contact Kathy On of the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office at (858) 694-2895 or MxInvestigations@sdcounty.ca.gov. The agency case number is 78-00338. You may also contact the San Diego County Sheriff's Office (SDSO)'s Homicide Detail at (858) 285-6330 or SDSO.Homicide@sdsheriff.org; the agency case number is 543957H.

Sources

NamUs

NCMEC 

Doe Network 

SDSO Cold Cases 

Two San Diego Union-Tribune articles, Feb. 1978 **

Chula Vista Star-News, Mar. 9, 1978 **

2014 Times of San Diego article 

2020 NBC 7 San Diego article 

FindAGrave   [Note: I am the creator and manager of her FindAGrave profile]

WebSleuths  

Unidentified wiki 

Unsolved Murders map 

** Also available in this blog's Newspaper Index. 

Note: While this write-up was originally published on June 27, 2025, I regularly revisit cases, check for updates, ensure that I have exhausted all sources, etc., and then make note of when I last did so, no matter how minor. When edits are extensive, I re-post the write-up entirely. This post was last updated on February 9, 2026.