aug 12, 1978 - Jim Alt & Barbara Jane Nantais ATTACK & HOMICIDE

Description:

On the weekend of Saturday, August 12, 1978, Barbara's parents Ralph and Judy left San Diego to visit friends. A family friend was looking after Barbara and her three siblings.

Practically as soon as Ralph and Judy left, Barbara, 15, and her boyfriend Jim, 17, as well as friend Rick Selga and his girlfriend, got together and drove to Torrey Pines State Beach, where they all hung out together.

Around 9:30pm the friends called it a night: Selga and his girlfriend decided to sleep in the station wagon that they had driven, while Jim and Barbara went down to the beach for some privacy. They zipped their sleeping bags together, crawled in them, had sex, and then went to sleep. Barbara was lying in Jim's arms.

The next morning, Jim woke up cold and alone, covered in blood. Blinded by blood and disoriented, he had to feel his way along a fence up the sandy hill to the parking lot where his friends (Rick and his girlfriend) were sleeping in the car. According to Rick, Jim's face was swollen and there was blood all over his hair. Jim told Rick to go find Barbara; Rick ran down to the beach to look for her, and when he found her he yelled at some passersby to call the police.

Barbara was found naked, having been strangled and beaten to death. Her right nipple had been nearly sliced off with a sharp object, and her mouth was stuffed with sand. The killer dragged her body across the sand to an area north of the lifeguard tower and positioned her spread eagle on the beach. She was found near Lifeguard Tower 7.

Police arrived at the scene at 7:15am. According to police, when they uncovered the body, it was covered with sand. She had some "very severe-looking" wounds on her head. Later on, it was determined that she may have been raped and sodomized.

Jim had a severe head wound that had knocked him unconscious during Barbara's murder. His head had been bashed in with a rock and a log from the fire pit. When he was found, he was only semi-conscious and had no memory of the attack. He was rushed to the hospital and was in a coma for days, but ultimately survived. A metal plate was put in his head.

Among other evidence taken from the scene, police collected three (3) white plastic bags: one that was covering Barbara's head, one covering her right hand, and one covering her left hand. A cigarette butt was also found at the scene, and DNA from an unknown source was found on it.

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In 1984, the body of Claire Hough, 14, was found in very similar circumstances to Barbara on the same beach near Lifeguard Tower 5. However, it was later determined that she had been killed by convicted sex offender Ronald Tatro; his blood was found in several spots on Claire's jeans. However, he was not charged, as he was already dead by the time the DNA results came back. Another man, retired police criminologist Kevin Brown, was also implicated for Claire's murder, as a tiny, microscopic piece of his DNA was found on one swab collected from Claire's body; however, this DNA almost certainly was present as a result of lab contamination (lab technicians provided their own DNA to check that the tests were working, which is how his likely ended up on that swab). Brown committed suicide after being implicated and hounded by press. Brown's widow Rebecca Brown brought a suit against two police detectives for misconduct and wrongful death. A federal jury awarded Rebecca Brown more than $6 million in her wrongful death lawsuit in 2020.

In 1985, 25-year-old Marsha Funderburk was also found dead in San Diego County with sand stuffed in her mouth, like Barbara. Funderburk's murder also remains unsolved, though it has never been linked to Barbara's murder by authorities.

Long Beach Jane Doe 1974 was another young woman found murdered with her body having been dragged across the sand, like Barbara; Gary Stamp confessed to Jane Doe's murder, and died while in custody before he could be brought to trial.

According to page 109 of the 1986 Lucas Report, Barbara was briefly thought to have been a victim of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. However, Lucas is known for having made over 300 false confessions, and seems to no longer be thought of as a suspect in Barbara's case.

Barbara's murder and the attack on Jim have never been solved. Neither Tatro nor Brown, whose DNA were found in the Hough murder, are suspects in Barbara's case, as they both have alibis.

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CONFIRMATION OF COMPLETION DATE: May 31, 2025

Cases mentioned above that are also/will be present on this timeline:
Claire Hough, Marsha Funderburk; Long Beach Jane Doe 1974
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AUGUST 12 - 13
LUNAR PHASE: waxing gibbous
ZODIAC SIGN: leo
DAY OF WEEK: Saturday - Sunday
Aug. 12: Venus-Mars 22:05; Perseid meteor shower 14:45 (visible/best displays in San Diego were before dawn and after dusk on Aug. 12)

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