Sonoma County Jane Doe was a woman whose remains were found in a creek in 1983. Although her cause of death remains undetermined, she is considered to be a possible victim of serial killer Joseph Naso.
She is currently undergoing testing by the DNA Doe Project.
Case[]
The victim’s headless body was found by a gardener in Foss Creek behind the Simi Winery. During a search, her head was eventually found, and authorities believed she may have been deposited upstream only to be dislodged due to the recent raining in the area. At the time of the initial investigation, no leads were found out and she was buried in Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery.
On April 28, 2011, her remains were exhumed to extract DNA. DNA extraction has been successful and has been uploaded into CODIS. Additionally, links between the victim and serial killer Joseph Naso AKA "Crazy Joe" were investigated, despite the cause of death of the former being unknown.
Between 1977 to 1994, Naso killed six women, four of them being prostitutes, in California. However, authorities found what is described as a "rape diary" and photographs of unconscious or dead women posed in unnatural positions suggests he killed up to ten women. One of the entries mention a "girl in Healdsburg." However, there is nothing to fully confirm any ties between her and him. Naso was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to death.
It is possible the victim has connections to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and/or was of low-socioeconomic class due to the presence of food stamps in her pocket that originated from Philadelphia.
Characteristics[]
- Greying brown hair.
- Slender & slightly built.
- One leg was shorter than the other, which would cause a noticeable limp.
- Healed fracture at rib 5.
Clothing and accessories[]
- Blue jeans.
- J.C. Penny’s brand panties, size 42.
- Brown sock.
- White metal earring with green stone.
- Food stamps originally issued in June of 1982 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- Ful-Vue gold rim prescription glasses.
Belongings[]
- Green Girl Scout pocketknife.
- Green/red cloth tape measure.
- Two keys with paper tag.
- Two quartz crystal stone.
- Various other crystal stones.
- Metal pencil sharpener.
Gallery[]
Exclusions[]
Sources[]
- Sonoma County Jane Doe at NamUs
- Sonoma County Jane Doe at the Doe Network
- Sonoma County Jane Doe at the DNA Doe Project
- Press Democrat
- Patch
- NY Daily News
- Joseph Naso on Wikipedia