El Cajon Police Use New Technology to Solve 26-Year-Old Unsolved Murder Case – NBC 7 San Diego

El Cajon police are using new technology to solve an unsolved murder from a quarter of a century ago.

For the investigators, this is at least a possible lead and, in the best case, a breakthrough in the 26-year-old case.

Retired police officers Fran Deck and Kevin Trotter returned to the El Cajon Police Department as volunteer cold case investigators.

“Someone might recognize them, and that’s why we’re here,” Deck said.

“If you don’t know who your victim is, you don’t know who wants to kill them,” Trotter said.

Retirement has not diminished her abilities or her curiosity.

“After I retired and saw all these cases that weren’t solved, it just stuck in my mind,” Deck said.

This is the case of a woman who was found in August 1998 with a broken skull and no identity.

“We call her Jane Doe because we don’t know her name,” Trotter said.

A neighbor found Jane Doe’s skeletal remains in a field on Avocado Avenue south of Chase Avenue.

Investigators say she was killed there and estimate she had been dead for two to three weeks. She was wearing several layers of clothing. It appeared that she was homeless and living in a camp.

There were few clues. The T-shirt she was wearing looked promising. It read: “Woodruff Warriors 20th Anniversary Reunion 1971-1991.”

“We located three people from that class in the San Diego area, but none of them could help us,” Trotter said.

In 2004, police reconstructed a face using clay. An artist then created a version on paper.

According to police, Jane Doe was in her 30s and pregnant at some point. Why she was killed is pure speculation.

“There are a number of possibilities, ranging from an argument to – we don’t believe she was a victim of sexual assault. There is no evidence to support that,” Trotter said.

Ordinary investigative methods didn’t work, so Deck and Trotter sent Jane Doe’s DNA to Parabon, a company that uses a technique called phenotyping, which allows technicians to determine a person’s appearance based on their DNA alone.

“It’s essentially based on their best interpretation of the data available to them,” Trotter said.

The process, called “Snapshot,” can predict face shape, hair color, skin color, and even freckles. Parabon created a composite sketch of Jane Doe at the age of 25.

“She’s someone’s daughter and mother,” Deck said.

Parabon also used public databases containing stored DNA information, which are often used to search for missing family members.

The cold case volunteers have a name. It’s Vivian. Using the family’s DNA, they tracked Vivian down. She is the victim’s second or fourth cousin. They went to her house. They called her, but so far Vivian has not responded to their questions. She lives in Chula Vista.

“We would have to get to that person and work with them by talking to their parents and family members to find out what they are missing,” Trotter said.

Investigators will only know how good the new technology really is when someone recognizes the face.

“Her family should know. Someone is related to her and probably misses her,” Trotter said.

Currently, Jane Doe’s remains lie in a grave marked only by a number. The secret of her life and murder is buried with her for now.

Investigators say this technology could be extremely useful in cold cases. The unit in El Cajon is currently working on ten cold cases.