nov 15, 1972 - LA Jane Doe Nov. 1972 UID & HOMICIDE

Description:

On Wednesday, November 15, 1972, two teenagers were chasing rabbits on a hillside when they discovered human skeletal remains in a shallow grave at the Baldwin Hills Reservoir in Los Angeles. The grave was about 125 yds east of Cloverdale Ave near the old Baldwin Hills Dam, and was believed to have been uncovered by recent rains, and/or the remains had been strewn about by animals.

The skeleton was determined to be that of a woman of unknown/uncertain race. Jane Doe was a 17-30 year old female, though NamUs specifies that her estimated age group is "Adult - Pre-30." Furthermore, one contemporary newspaper article stated that she was estimated to have probably been, "between 20 and 25 years old, but [investigators] added the age could range anywhere between 17 and 34." Jane Doe's height measured in at 5'1. Her weight and eye color could not be determined due to the condition of the remains. While modern sources state that Jane Doe had reddish-brown hair, a contemporary news clipping mentioned that she had, "brown hair with light brown ends."

Jane Doe's cause of death is unknown, though from the beginning her case has been treated as a homicide. The postmortem interval varies a bit across sources. The Doe Network and NamUs list her estimated year of death as 1971-1972. On her Unidentified wiki page, her PMI is listed as, "Months - 1 year." The November 19, 1972 edition of the Van Nuys Valley News stated that, "Wilshire Division detectives said the woman apparently was dead between 12 and 18 months."

The following clothing was found with Jane Doe's remains: panties; a blue long-sleeved sweater; and an orange-colored mini-dress with the label "Funky." While NamUs states that the clothing was found on the body, the Valley News stated that the, "clothing was found about 60 feet from the remains."

According to the Doe Network, Jane Doe's dentals, fingerprints, and DNA are unavailable for comparison. Doe Network notes "deformity [in(?)] dental structure."

There are no missing person exclusions listed on Jane Doe's NamUs page. However, the Valley News stated that, "the coroner's office said a dental check ruled out the possibility that the remains were those of Robin Graham." Jane Doe is not listed among the UIDs on Robin Graham's NamUs exclusion list either.

Because of this, I submitted Jane Doe and Robin Graham as a potential match to the Doe Network on March 27, 2025, in order to confirm the exclusion and get them officially listed as rule-outs on each others' NamUs pages. That same day, Mary Bell of DN replied, "Thank you for the suggested match. I don't show any comparison of these having been done so I will have our panel look at it. If [it] is proven to be a positive match, I will contact you further."

On June 13, 2025, I received confirmation from Mary Bell of the Doe Network that the match between LA Jane Doe November 1972 and Robin Graham had been officially ruled out.

Anyone with information regarding Jane Doe is encouraged to contact the LA County Medical Examiner at (323) 343-0512. The agency case number is 197212179.

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CONFIRMATION OF COMPLETION DATE: May 31, 2025
LAST UPDATED: June 16, 2025

Cases mentioned above that are also/will be present on this timeline:
Robin Graham
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LUNAR PHASE:
ZODIAC SIGN: scorpio
DAY OF WEEK: Wednesday

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