The Murder of La Habra Heights Jane Doe, September 1973

At about 7:00pm on Wednesday, September 5, 1973 — two days after Labor Day — a man on horseback was out with his dog near a fire road east of Skyline Drive in La Habra Heights, LA County, CA when he discovered human remains in a hilly area. The fully-clothed body was that of a teenage girl lying in an open grave that measured 12" deep, 69" long, and 27" wide. As the body was found in the evening, authorities waited until daybreak September 6th to remove it to preserve possible evidence.

Jane Doe's remains are listed as skeletal, however, due to some of the information provided, it seems that there was still some soft tissue remaining. A newspaper article from 2010 indicated that the remains were decomposing at the time of discovery.

Jane Doe had been killed by a single gunshot to the head either 30 to 60 days (according to contemporary clippings) or 30 to 90 days (according to modern sources + the police bulletin) before discovery. This puts her death in June, July, or August 1973.

Jane Doe was a white teenaged girl. Her light brown hair was shoulder-length and/or 12 inches long. Her eye color is unknown. Her ears were pierced, and her fingernails were painted orange.

Sources vary regarding her age, height, and weight. Depending on the source, she was estimated to be 5'2 to 5'5 and 100 to 105 lbs, 5'2 to 5'3 and 100 to 110 lbs, 5'5 and 100 lbs, or 5'2 and 102 lbs.

Contemporary clippings list Jane Doe as 14 to 17 or 18 years old, while modern sources state she was 14 to 20. A 2007 bulletin made by LASD lists her age as 14 to 19, while newspaper articles from 2010 indicate that she was 15 to 20 years old.

Jane Doe's earrings. Photo from NamUs.

Jane Doe was wearing gold metal earrings with a peace symbol and a green or blue stone, photos of which are available. She was also wearing: a green or blue long-sleeved turtleneck sweater, size large; a blue, pink, and yellow halter top; light blue Junior Bazaar, Sears & Robuck Company corduroy pants, size medium, with initials "S J" on the right rear pocket (a photo of the leather label is available, and NamUs states that the label stands for "Sears Junior"); and blue tennis shoes with white bottoms, size 6M. Contemporary clippings stated that her corduroy pants were brown, not blue.

Jane Doe's DNA and dentals are available for comparison, while her fingerprints are not. Her lower left first molar appeared to have been extracted about four months before death, and the lower right second molar appeared to have been extracted about six months before death. There is no evidence of any fillings having ever been placed or any dental work ever having been done except for those two extractions.

Jane Doe has two MP exclusions on NamUs: she is not Rose Cole or Sherry Pickle. The NCMEC, NCIC, and NamUs case numbers are 1137973, U150017179, and #UP4463, respectively. Jane Doe's NamUs page was last updated on March 27, 2024.

Anyone with information regarding Jane Doe should contact Betsy Magdaleno of the LA County Medical Examiner's Office at (323) 343-0512 or IDUnit@me.lacounty.gov. The agency case number is 1973-14553. According to newspapers and NCMEC, individuals can also contact the LA County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.

Note: This write-up was originally posted on June 30, 2025. However, I regularly revisit cases, look for more information and sources, fix any typos, etc. This post was last updated on August 22, 2025.