The Murder of Orinda Jane Doe, August 1975

At about 4pm on Saturday, August 23, 1975, a hiker named Charles Jones discovered the body of a woman just inside the entrance to the Lake Anza area in Tilden Regional Park, about 20 ft from an auxiliary parking lot. The woman was lying on her side in the bushes along a pathway in the park in Orinda, Contra Costa County, CA. Charles Jones then notified the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) police of the discovery, and authorities responded promptly.

The young woman had been killed by blunt force injury to the head; she was beaten to death, with her skull being crushed. It was determined that she was murdered at another location than where she was found. Jane Doe's face was recognizable, and a reconstruction is available on both databases below.

Her death is estimated to have occurred about four to seven days before discovery, though NamUs simply states the estimated PMI is four days. Either way, the aforementioned range puts her date of death as occurring sometime between Saturday, August 16th and Tuesday, August 19, 1975, inclusive. 

Reconstruction from NamUs.

While a contemporary newspaper reported that Jane Doe was about 20 to 25 years old, 5'3, and 165 lbs, modern sources state that she was about 18 to 29 or 18 to 30 years old and measured in at 5'3 and 166 lbs. Jane Doe had brown eyes and shoulder-length brown hair that was "streaked and combed back." She was well-tanned with a slightly rounded face and manicured nails.

Jane Doe was nude below the waist when found. She was wearing a white Playtex Freespirit bra, underwire cut, size 36D; and a turquoise/blue t-shirt. The shirt had a silk-screen type painting on the front, depicting clouds and sun rays behind a vintage biplane. The shirt was manufactured by "International Key" of Miami, FL, which went out of business at the end of 1975. The shirt had the label name brand "Outrageous Devil"; 50,000 of these shirts were distributed solely in CA.

Jane Doe was also wearing a thin, "Indian-type"/"Native style" liquid silver necklace with four 5mm x 7mm turquoise stones around her neck, as well as a matching sterling silver channel work ring with four turquoise stones, size 8.5-9 on one of her fingers.

Jane Doe's dentals, fingerprints, and DNA are available for comparison. She has zero rule-outs on NamUs. Her NamUs page, case #UP12922, was created and last updated on September 18, 2014 and August 5, 2025, respectively.

If you have any information regarding this Jane Doe, please contact the Coroner Division of the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office at 925-313-2850. The agency case number is 75-0804. Tipsters can also contact the East Bay Regional Park District Police at (510) 881-1833, agency case number 75-4145.

Note: While this write-up was originally posted on June 30, 2025, I regularly review cases and check for more sources as well as updates to NamUs pages, then edit my posts accordingly. This write-up was last edited on August 6, 2025. 

Sources

NamUs

Doe Network 

Unidentified wiki

Richmond Independent 8/25/75