sep 5, 1973 - La Habra Heights Jane Doe 1973 UID & HOMICIDE

Description:

In the evening of Wednesday, September 5, 1973, a man who was either riding a horse or walking his dog discovered the fully-clothed remains of a teenage girl lying in a shallow open grave (12" deep, 69" long, and 27" wide) in a hilly area near a fire road east of Skyline Drive in La Habra Heights, LA County, CA. As she was found in the evening, authorities waited until daybreak September 6 to remove the body to preserve possible evidence.

Jane Doe's remains are listed as skeletal, however, due to some of the information provided, it seems that there was still some soft tissue remaining. It was determined that she was killed by a single gunshot to the head either 30-60 days (according to contemporary clippings) or 30-90 days (according to modern sources + the police bulletin) before discovery. This puts her death in June, July, or August 1973.

Jane Doe was a white female who was estimated to be 5'2-5'5 and 100-105 lbs, 5'2-5'3 and 100-110 lbs, or 5'2 and 102 lbs. Contemporary clippings list her as 14-17 or 18 years old, while modern sources state 14-20. Her light brown hair was shoulder-length and/or 12 inches long. Her eye color is unknown. Her ears were pierced, and her fingernails were painted orange.

She was wearing gold metal earrings with a peace symbol and a green or blue stone, photos of which are available. She was also wearing: a green or blue long-sleeved turtleneck sweater, size large; a blue/pink/yellow halter top; light blue Junior Bazaar, Sears & Robuck Company corduroy pants, size medium, with initials "S J" on the right rear pocket (a photo of the leather label is available, and NamUs states that the label stands for "Sears Junior"); and blue tennis shoes with white bottoms, size 6M. Contemporary clippings stated that her corduroy pants were brown, not blue.

Jane Doe's DNA and dentals are available. Her lower left first molar appeared to have been extracted about 4 months before death, and the lower right second molar appeared to have been extracted about 6 months before death. There is no evidence of any fillings having ever been placed or any dental work ever having been done except for those two extractions.

Jane Doe has two MP exclusions on NamUs: she is not Rose Cole or Sherry Pickle. Anyone with information should contact Betsy Magdaleno of the LA County Medical Examiner's Office at (323) 343-0512 or IDUnit@me.lacounty.gov. The agency case number is 1973-14553. According to NCMEC, individuals can also contact the LA County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. The NCMEC, NCIC, and NamUs case numbers are 1137973, U150017179, and #UP4463, respectively.

-----
CONFIRMATION OF COMPLETION DATE: May 31, 2025
LAST UPDATED: June 15, 2025

Cases mentioned above that are also/will be present on this timeline:
Rose Lena Cole, Sherry Jean Pickle
-----

EVENTS: Sept. 3 = Labor Day (2 days earlier)

Added to timeline:

Date: