The Murder of Solano County John Doe, April 1979

On Saturday, April 28, 1979, the body of a white male was found concealed above the shoulder/near the side of North Meridian Rd in Vacaville, Solano County, CA. All parts were recovered, though his remains were deemed not recognizable due to insect/animal activity.

John Doe had suffered a blow to the forehead and a possible fatal laceration of the throat. He is estimated to have died two weeks prior to discovery, putting his date of death at about Saturday, April 14, 1979. The man's death has been considered a homicide from the onset, as his body was deliberately covered with grass.

According to NamUs, John Doe was a 35 to 55 year old white male who weighed 185 lbs and is estimated to have been 5'5 to 6'1 tall. However, the bulletin released at the time — which is available in the Documents section of his NamUs profile — states that he was approximately 40 years old, 6'1, and 185-190 lbs. The April 30, 1979 edition of the Vallejo Times-Herald puts him as in his 20s or 30s, 5'8-5'9, and about 160 lbs.

NamUs describes John Doe as muscular. His hair was brown and 1" long. His eye color is unknown, as his eyes were missing due to decomposition. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th fingers of John Doe's right hand had been surgically amputated and healed for some years prior to death. The surgical repair was "of poor quality." He also had a dental bridge of three plastic teeth attached to the #8 and #11 teeth.

When John Doe was found he was wearing a white t-shirt; tightly-fitting blue Levi jeans, 30 x 36; a pair of "Jockey" shorts, 32/34; one pair of long white socks with red and black colored bands at the top; one pair of short black ankle socks; a pair of "Frye" brown tooled leather boots, 16" with foam cushions inserted bilaterally; and a brown leather belt, 1.5in wide, with a distinctive closure: a brass ring with a rifle sling hook, labeled "made exclusively for J. Press."

While NamUs states that John Doe has twenty-two exclusions, one of them is a repeat, so in reality there are 21 MP exclusions, all of which went missing from CA in the 1960s and 70s: Peter Shaw, Douglas Armstrong, Steven Ericson, John & Clarence Anglin, Peter Bonick, Jimmy Bushbaum, John Croasdale, Carl Eder, Milton Hawkins, Daniel Taylor, Russell Thompson, Patrick Wright, Steven Downes, Allister Mackenzie, Vincent Sclafani, Bruce Boughton, Eloy Garcia, Richard Worley, James Lampman, and Gus Hoffman.

John Doe's dental records, as well as "marginal quality [finger]prints" are available for comparison. There is a poor quality photo of a reconstruction of him on NamUs. If you have any information regarding Solano County John Doe, please contact the Solano County Sheriff's Office - Coroner Division at (707) 784-7500. The agency case number is 479-245-CCI-119-JD9.

Sources

NamUs 

Unidentified wiki 

Doe Network 

Vallejo Times-Herald 4/30/79 

WebSleuths