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The identity of a young woman killed in 1971 has eluded investigators since they found her body in the Delta-Mendota Canal between Patterson and Westley. But hopes of discovering her name, and perhaps her killer, have not been extinguished.

On Friday, police removed the victim, known only as Jane Doe, from her Patterson District Cemetery grave, allowing investigators to use modern techniques to solve the 37-year-old case.

“A lot has changed since 1971,” said Chief Deputy Coroner Kristi Herr-Ah You.
 
A team of deputies and a forensic anthropologist spent all morning sorting through what remained of Doe and her plain wood casket.

As they milled through the open grave, Detective Ken Hedrick, a 25-year-police veteran, stood to the side in a dark suit that would have been appropriate at a burial. It was Hedrick who discovered the old homicide file, and he requested the sheriff’s department dig up the body.

“It was just a murder book I pulled off the shelf,” Hedrick said. “But to be honest, it bothered me. A 20-to 25-year-old female, brutally murdered, not identified after all this time.”

Doe was found floating in the Delta Mendota Canal Sept. 11, 1971, according to a report in the Patterson Irrigator. She had “numerous deep stab wounds,” and someone had tried to cut off her fingers. The assailant only managed to remove her thumb.

At five-foot-five and 135 pounds, Doe did not match any missing person reports in the county, the Irrigator said.

“There could be a mother still sitting at a dinner table hoping her daughter comes home,” Hedrick said.

To give Doe a real name, the sheriff’s department will attempt to reconstruct her face, create new dental records and sample her DNA, said Sheriff Adam Christianson, who was on hand as the body was removed.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever done this,” Christianson said. “It’s a fascinating case.”

Now that Doe’s remains have been removed from the cemetery, they will go back to the coroner’s office, where investigators will continue the identification process.

“With all the new forensics, we have a better chance of reconstructing her,” Herr-Ah You said.

The dental records will be compared with a U.S. Department of  Justice database that wasn’t available back in 1971. The database has information on missing persons throughout the nation.

If the team is successful in reconstructing Doe’s face, that image will be distributed to the media.

As for identifying her through DNA, Christianson said that would be a long shot. The hope is that by comparing her DNA to a database of people in the criminal justice system they may be able to find a relative.

“Any time there’s an opportunity for us to find out more, we are going to do what we need to solve the case,” Herr-Ah You said.

Police did not estimate how long before the results of the investigation will be complete, but they said it would likely be a lengthy process.

In the meantime, Hedrick and the other homicide detectives will go back to working modern murders and reviewing cold cases when they get the chance. But once the databases are searched and the reconstruction complete, Hedrick will be back trying to finish a case that opened more than 10 years before he joined the force.

“I’ll take care of her,” Hedrick said.

To reach John Saiz at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it