Cold Cases of the Golden Coast

Note: While this write-up was originally published on August 5, 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 October 19, 2026.    From the Sept. 14, 1977 edition of the  Fremont Argus. Background   Kurt Theodore Kaikinger was born on November 18, 1948 in San Francisco, CA to parents Theodore Joseph Kaikinger and Elaine Barbara Botzer, who had married in April of that year. Theodore's parents were originally from France. Kurt was the oldest of three boys, with his younger brothers Karl and Christian being born in 1950 and 1956, respectively. By 1950 the family was living in Oakland, Alameda County, CA before moving to San Leandro in the same county. Kurt graduated from Pacific High School in San Leandro in 1966.  According to classmates of his, who posted on t...

Note: While this write-up was originally published on June 20, 2025, I regularly revisit cases, fix any typos or formatting errors, 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 16, 2026.   Background  Bruce Edward Erickson was born on September 27, 1950 in Minneapolis, MN to parents Edward and Gladys Erickson (nee Endreson). Edward was an immigrant from Sweden. Bruce had two sisters, one older by five years and the other younger by twelve. Their parents eventually divorced, and both remarried by 1967. Gladys moved to Palmyra, WI with her new husband and her youngest daughter. Very little could be found about Bruce, including where he may have gone to school. It seems that he grew up in either Minneapolis or Montrose, Wright County, MN. It is unknown which parent he was living wit...

At 2:13pm on Saturday, October 4, 1975, the body of an unidentified man was discovered in the All-American Canal in Mecca, Riverside County, CA. He had been killed from a blow to the head before a rope connected to a piece of iron (used as a weight) was tied around his neck; his body was then placed in the canal. It is believed that he died three to seven days before he was found, meaning his estimated DOD is somewhere between Saturday, September 27th and Wednesday, October 1, 1975, inclusive. The canal is controlled with a series of gates, and the distance to the last gate was about 8mi into the rural community of Mecca. The body was found face-down in the canal at the last gate. While all parts were recovered, his remains were not recognizable due to decomposition. John Doe was an 18 to 25 year old white and/or Hispanic male, with his estimated age group on NamUs being "Adult - Pre 30." He had straight, medium-length dark brown hair, with no facial hair. His eye color is un...

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)...

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UPDATE: It was announced on March 18, 2026 that "Emigrant Gap Jane Doe" has been identified as Melinda "Pip" Beardsley. For more details, a full update can be found here .   At about 4pm on Saturday, December 17, 1977, a married couple walking their dog nearly four miles west of the Highway 20-Interstate 80 interchange, east of Emigrant Gap in the eastern part of Placer County, CA, discovered the recognizable remains of an unidentified woman in a snowbank. They spotted the body about 30 ft off a wide section of Highway 20 and/or approximately 30 ft from a roadway turnout, in Bear Valley near the Nevada County border. Finger marks on the victim's neck indicated that she had been manually strangled. She had apparently also sustained a blow or blows to the head, though the official cause of death was strangulation. Jane Doe was nude when found. She had been dead for two to six days at time of discovery, putting her date of death somewhere between Sunday, December ...

On Saturday, January 15, 1977, three 17-year-old boys — Steven Lawton, of Canoga Park, and Bill Power and Nicholas Schmeets, both of Reseda — were, "coming home from the beach when their car overheated, [so] they stopped to let the engine cool down" near Seminole Hot Springs in either Agoura or Malibu, LA County, CA (sources vary). While waiting for the engine to cool, the three teens hiked around the area where they had stopped, 0.5mi south of Triunfo Canyon Rd and 2mi west of the Ventura Freeway. While hiking they discovered the body of a young man "in some bushes on a hillside" about 50 yds off of Kanan Rd. Lawton, Power, and Schmeets promptly notified authorities, and LA County sheriff's deputies responded to the scene.  At the time of discovery, the remains  were partially skeletonized, with some soft tissues remaining: A preliminary report from the coroner's office noted that the body  was "'not so much decomposed as eaten,'" and ...

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. Detectives arrived at the scene at about 4:30pm. The young woman had been killed by blunt force injury to the head; she was beaten to death, with her skull being crushed. In 2006 Detective Sgt. Dale Davidson said of Jane Doe, "She was hit with something very hard." It was determined that she was murdered at another location than where she was found. Despite her injuries, Jane Doe's face was recognizable, and a reconstruction dated April 21, 1976 is available below. Her death is estimated to have occurred about four to seven days before discovery, though N...

Marina Elizabeth Habe was born on February 23, 1951 in Germany to writer Hans Habe and actress Eloise Hardt. She graduated from University High School in West LA in June 1968, and at the time of her death she was attending the University of Hawaii and was home for the Christmas holidays. Marina's parents were divorced at the time, and her mother Eloise had reportedly remarried. Her father Hans lived in Zurich, Switzerland. Marina was 5'3 and 113 lbs, with blue eyes and black hair. Marina was described by friends as "very quiet," and was planning on becoming an artist. Marina Habe. Photo from FindAGrave. At about 4:30pm on Sunday, December 29, 1968, 17-year-old Marina left the home she shared with her mother to meet with her date, John Hornburg, 22, at his family's house at 13326 Sunset Blvd in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Hornburgs were close friends of Marina's family at the time. The pair later left Hornburg's home, and at about 8:30pm ...