The Murder of San Fernando Jane Doe, April 1976
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| Reconstruction created by NCMEC. |
It was determined that the body was that of a white female who was a victim of homicidal violence. Evidence at the scene indicated that Jane Doe was either shot or stabbed to death. It is estimated that she died two to seven days prior to discovery, putting her death as occurring sometime between Sunday, April 4th to Friday, April 9, 1976. The unidentified body became known as San Fernando or Lopez Canyon Jane Doe, as well as "Jane Doe #25" to the investigating agency.
A special bulletin was released by the LA County Sheriff's Department requesting information about Jane Doe. This bulletin was released sometime between 1976 — when Jane Doe was found — and 1981, as that is when Peter J Pitchess — who is named as sheriff on the bulletin — retired. Sketches of Jane Doe were included in the bulletin. Another bulletin was also posted online by the LASD on September 27, 2007.
Jane Doe was a white female with a slim build. While both NamUs and NCMEC list her estimated age as 18 to 25 years old, the Doe Network and the Unidentified wiki put her as 16 to 26 years old, likely around 20. Her estimated age group on NamUs is listed as Adult. The original police bulletin states that Jane Doe was "18 to 23 years, most likely 20 years."
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| Original sketch of Jane Doe. Photo from NamUs. |
Jane Doe's hair, which was brown with traces of blond near the scalp, extended down to her mid-back. One early source instead lists her hair color as auburn. Her eyebrows had been plucked. She had a one-inch vertical scar located three inches below her right kneecap. No tattoos were noted, though decomposition had occurred, so it's possible that she did have some. She also had a full silver cap on her left upper first molar, with the lower right front molar missing for some time prior to death.
Four reconstructions of the victim are available on the linked websites, including a recent one from NCMEC. There are also photos and a drawing of Jane Doe's shoes still on her feet available on NamUs under the "Documents" section.
When she was discovered, Jane Doe was wearing:
- A multi-colored print blouse that tied in the front at her midriff. The shirt had multiple pastel colors: the background was tan or beige, with lavenders, pinks, browns, and rusts in various areas; there were rust-colored tree figures on the shirt. The blouse had long sleeves with elastic cuffs, was size medium, and had the label "Styled in California."
- Bell-bottom pants with 2-inch-wide cuffs. There were two metal button snaps as well as a zipper in the front at the waist. The pants were labeled "male" and made in the USA. While the original 1976 sketch of Jane Doe states that the pants were royal blue in color, all modern sources — including the 2007 LASD bulletin — indicate that they were purple.
- A pair of light green panties (underwear), with the word "Thursday" embroidered in darker green stitching.
- A pair of clog shoes or sandals with 4-inch solid heels with 0.75in thick rubber soles. The shoes also had heavy leather straps. While the leather parts of the shoes appear to be brown in photographs, all sources indicate that they were black.
Near the body was a brown cotton suede "Londontown by Checkpoint" jacket with a white wool collar and cuffs, labeled "RN504858 Made in Taiwan." No bra was found on or near Jane Doe.
According to NamUs, the following MPs have been ruled out as being Jane Doe: she is not Eileen Hynson, Cindy Mellin, Shirley Frew, Beatrice Calderon, Kristina Allen, Robin Graham, Kristina Perkins, or Wilma Vermaas. Lulaida Morales Sejalbo and Debra/Deborah Lee Spickler are also on Jane Doe's exclusion list — though not correctly linked — however she is not on either of their own exclusion lists. They are likely still exclusions, as, according to a personal email from Mary Bell of the Doe Network, "Unfortunately, listing NamUs exclusions is not a high priority. We get exclusions all the time that never show up on the NamUs exclusion list."
Jane Doe has ten exclusions in total. Her dental records are available, as are both her right footprint and three fingerprints from her left hand. These fingerprints, from her index, middle, and ring fingers, are also included in the original police bulletin, linked below. Jane Doe's DNA is not available for comparison.
Jane Doe's NamUs case, #UP4452, was created on September 10, 2008 and last modified on October 17, 2025. The NCMEC and NCIC case numbers are 1106255 and U809763297, respectively. Her case has not been posted to the unidentified decedents section of the LACME website.
Anyone with information should contact Investigator Betsy Magdaleno of the LA County Medical Examiner's Office at (323) 343-0512 or IDUnit@me.lacounty.gov. The agency case number is 1976-04631. Any information is appreciated, no matter how seemingly insignificant.
According to NCMEC, individuals can also contact the LA County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. The LASD agency case number is 076-01038-1254-011.
Sources
LASD Special Bulletin, c. 1976 **
LASD Special Bulletin, Sept. 27, 2007 **
FindAGrave [Note: I am the creator and manager of her FindAGrave profile]
** Also available in the Files section of this blog.
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 January 18, 2026.
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