Current:Home > FinanceVictim identified in Southern California homicide case, 41 years after her remains were found -NextFrontier Finance
Victim identified in Southern California homicide case, 41 years after her remains were found
View
Date:2025-04-13 12:45:44
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A victim whose skull was found by children in a Southern California city in 1983 has been identified 41 years after her remains were first discovered, authorities said.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department identified the victim Friday as Maritza Glean Grimmett, a Panamanian native who moved to the U.S. in the late 1970s. Grimmett was 20 years old at the time of her disappearance, authorities said in a news release. The investigation involved a DNA analysis using Grimmett’s remains that helped investigators identify relatives.
After children discovered Grimmett’s skull while playing in an area that is now part of Lake Forest, a city about 43 miles (69 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles, about 70% of her remains were excavated from the ground. In the decades that followed, authorities were not able to identify the victim.
In 2022, a DNA sample from Grimmett’s remains was sent to Othram Laboratories, a forensics group based in Texas, the sheriff’s department said. A missing persons program within the U.S. Department of Justice funded the DNA extraction and testing. Authorities later discovered “a direct family line” for Grimmett and contacted one of her distant relatives in 2023, they said.
The relative recommended the findings of the forensics investigation be posted to a Facebook group focused on women who went missing in the 1970s and 1980s, the sheriff’s department said. A month after the findings were posted, a woman reached out to investigators and said she believed she was the victim’s missing mother.
Relatives later submitted DNA samples to authorities, who identified the victim. The investigation is ongoing.
veryGood! (9)
Related
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- ‘Little dark secret': DEA agent on trial accused of taking $250K in bribes from Mafia
- Dance Yourself Free (Throwback)
- California’s rainy season is here. What does it mean for water supply?
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- They came to clinics in Mexico for cosmetic surgery and got a deadly fungal meningitis
- Measles cases rose 79% globally last year, WHO says. Experts explain why.
- Trial to determine if Texas school’s punishment of a Black student over his hair violates new law
- What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
- Kodak Black released from jail after drug possession charge dismissed
Ranking
- What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
- The BrüMate Era Is The New Designated It-Girl Tumbler, & It Actually Lives Up to The Hype
- Families of Gabby Petito, Brian Laundrie reach settlement in emotional distress suit
- This moment at the Super Bowl 'thrilled' Jeff Goldblum: 'I was eating it up'
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- As NBA playoffs approach, these teams face an uphill battle
- House is heading toward nuclear war over Ukraine funding, one top House GOP leader says
- 'Drive-Away Dolls' review: Talented cast steers a crime comedy with sex toys and absurdity
Recommendation
Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
What is chlormequat, and can the chemical found in foods like Quaker Oats and Cheerios impact fertility?
Parts of a Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in Denver have been stolen
Hunter Biden files motions to dismiss tax charges against him in California
Sam Taylor
Normani (finally) announces long-awaited debut solo album 'Dopamine'
A huge satellite hurtled to Earth and no one knew where it would land. How is that possible?
Home sales rose in January as easing mortgage rates, inventory enticed homebuyers