The Murder of Carson Jane Doe, April 1978

On Thursday, April 20, 1978, the body of a recently deceased Hispanic and/or white girl was discovered buried in a shallow grave in a commercial flower field in the 19300 block of South Wilmington Ave in Carson, LA County, CA. 

Jane Doe had died recently enough that same year for her face to still be recognizable. Reconstructions of her, including one done by NCMEC, are posted on official databases. While her COD and DOD are officially undetermined, the Unidentified wiki lists her COD as beating; it is unknown where this information came from, as it is not stated by the LA County Medical Examiner's Office (LACME) on their website.  

According to the LA County Sheriff's Department (LASD), at one point two Hispanic males were seen driving away from the site where the body was found in a 1970 dark blue Vega Hatchback. Jane Doe's death is being investigated as a homicide.

Reconstruction of Jane Doe from NCMEC.

Jane Doe was 14 to 20 years old, 5'1 to 5'3 (estimated), and 130 lbs (measured). She had brown eyes, a medium complexion, and long, black hair. Her ears had been pierced, though no jewelry was found with her. It is unknown if there was any clothing on or near the body. Jane Doe's eyebrows were thin and well-groomed, and her fingernails were short and painted pink. She had a 3.25in vertical scar on her abdomen above her belly button, as well as light stretch marks, which both sources state may indicate that she had possibly had a child some time in the past. Her upper front teeth overlapped on her right side.

Jane Doe's dentals, fingerprints, and DNA are all available for comparison. She has two MP exclusions on NamUs: she is not Sylvia Torgow or Julie Soracco. Jane Doe's NamUs page, #UP4429, was created on September 10, 2008 and last updated June 23, 2025. The NCMEC, Doe Network, and NCIC case numbers are 1106713, 545UFCA, and U770930783, respectively.

Anyone with information regarding Jane Doe should contact Investigator Betsy Magdaleno of the LA County Medical Examiner's Office (LACME) at (323) 343-0512 or IDUnit@me.lacounty.gov. The agency case number is 1978-05116. Individuals may also call the LASD's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500; the agency case number is 078-05654-1692-011. 

Any little piece of information, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is appreciated, and may be the key to recovering Jane Doe's identity and solving her murder. 

Sources 

NamUs 

LACME  

NCMEC

WebSleuths

Doe Network

Unidentified wiki 

Two contemporary articles, Apr. 21, 1978

LASD Special Bulletin, Oct. 2, 2007 ** 

** Also available in the Files section of this blog. 

Note: While this write-up was originally published on July 13, 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 19, 2026.