Identified! CA - Santa Cruz Co, WhtMale 17-20, UP3067, ''Eric from Florida'', Dec'98 - Eric Cupo

Romulus · Oct 17, 2016

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1208umca.html

Reconstructions of Victim

Doe Network: Case File 1208UMCA

Unidentified White Male

The victim was discovered on December 27, 1998 in Santa Cruz County, California

Skeletal Remains

Vital Statistics Estimated age: 17-20 years old
Approximate Height and Weight: 5'7"; 150 lbs.

Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair, He had a shaven head and a 5 inch pony tail on the back of his head, The pony tail had beads and other material woven into it.Clothing: Maroon, turtleneck shirt; blue denim, oversized pants and white socks. White metal, key chain type necklace.

Other: It is thought that his name might be Eric and that he was from Florida.

Dentals: Available
DNA: Profile available at state lab.

Case History The victim was located in a remote mountain area. The perpetrators were arrested and convicted of the murder of this young man. His identity was unknown to the perpetrators. It is thought that his name might be Eric and that he was from Florida. He was accompanied by a girlfriend who had a Toyota auto with white license plates. Her name is unknown. He had a vehicle which they wanted and was found with opiates in his system. He was stabbed to death.

Investigators If you have any information about this case please contact:

Santa Cruz Sheriff-Coroner Alan Burt 831-454-3001

You may remain anonymous when submitting information.

Agency Case Number: 98-13920NCIC Number: U-1808500338
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
Source Information:

NamUs https://identifyus.org/en/cases/3067

cvaldez1975 · Oct 17, 2016

ive seen this case on namus, and I don't live far from santa cruz so I remembered it. I wish they would give more details like WHO was convicted of murdering this guy. and a better drawing too. I swear I have seen a missing person who looked like this guy but he was missing after this guy was found dead.

MagnoliaMountain · Oct 18, 2016

That hairstyle sounds like "Hare Krishna" to me. I've just recently seen it on young Hare Krishna guys.

MelmothTheLost · Oct 18, 2016

Romulus said:
It is thought that his name might be Eric and that he was from Florida. He was accompanied by a girlfriend who had a Toyota auto with white license plates. Her name is unknown. He had a vehicle which they wanted and was found with opiates in his system. He was stabbed to death.

This seems somewhat unclear to me, unless I am simply being thick.

HE had a vehicle his killers wanted, but his girlfriend had a Toyota. Presumably his was the vehicle he was travelling in, possibly from Florida, so they were not travelling together in one car.

And which states would have had white licence plates at that time?

It's not at all clear whether there is a second missing person/murder victim here, ie the girlfriend. Is there are description anywhere of her?

Al Ka · Oct 18, 2016

MelmothTheLost said:
This seems somewhat unclear to me, unless I am simply being thick.

HE had a vehicle his killers wanted, but his girlfriend had a Toyota. Presumably his was the vehicle he was travelling in, possibly from Florida, so they were not travelling together in one car.

And which states would have had white licence plates at that time?

It's not at all clear whether there is a second missing person/murder victim here, ie the girlfriend. Is there are description anywhere of her?

Doenet link shows 404 error for some reason but on his NamUs profile it states : He had a gun which they wanted
https://identifyus.org/en/cases/3067

Al Ka · Oct 18, 2016

Ok, here is Doe net link which works http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1208umca.html and they do state there: He had a vehicle which they wanted. Sounds like Doe net made a typo probably.

Al Ka · Oct 18, 2016

Posted: 01/10/10

'Blue Tarp John' was found in a remote area off Bear Creek Road in the San Lorenzo Valley on Dec. 27, 1998. A woman and two men were convicted of murdering him -- he had a gun they wanted -- and are serving state prison time, but his identity has never been determined. After killing him, they stole his wallet and threw most of the contents, including his ID, into a trash can at the Santa Cruz Metro station. He may be a Florida man named Eric and, before he was killed, he was with a girlfriend who had a Toyota with white license plates.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/zz/20100110/NEWS/100118888

I did not check the map but it seems that Juanita Jean Nelson went missing from around there at the same time frame (14th Dec 98) and they were searching for her in the same Bear Creek Road area in December when Blue Tarp John was discovered there.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/n/nelson_juanita.html

Romulus · Oct 18, 2016

MelmothTheLost said:
It's not at all clear whether there is a second missing person/murder victim here, ie the girlfriend. Is there are description anywhere of her?

No trace of her in Doe Network and Namus.

MelmothTheLost · Oct 18, 2016

Al Ka said:
Doenet link shows 404 error for some reason but on his NamUs profile it states : He had a gun which they wanted
https://identifyus.org/en/cases/3067

That makes a big difference. It's much more likely that they were travelling together and that they might both have been from Florida. So either she was killed as well and there's a body out there, found or not, or she was left alive and no doubt wondered where her boyfriend had gone. If he was an adult, would the police in that area have taken a missing persons report?

MagnoliaMountain up-thread mentioned that his hairstyle might indicate a Hare Krishna connection. I know nowt about this group, but how would the gun sit with that? From what I know, some religious groups are completely pacifist but others are violent and coercive.

MelmothTheLost · Oct 18, 2016

This might be a naive question, but since the perpetrators were convicted this is no longer a live criminal investigation. Would it be possible to obtain more information from the investigation files through a FOI request?

It seems to me that, based on the details in the public domain about the girlfriend's car, there may be more details about her. Obviously the police didn't speak to her or she would have told them her boyfriend's name, but there may be something to work on such as a description of her by a witness that might provide a jumping off point for comparing her to UIDs etc.

cvaldez1975 · Oct 18, 2016

some gangsters in the 90's had similar too.

MagnoliaMountain said:
That hairstyle sounds like "Hare Krishna" to me. I've just recently seen it on young Hare Krishna guys.

cvaldez1975 · Oct 18, 2016

if he was skeletal, would they know whether he had opiates in his system?

MelmothTheLost said:
This seems somewhat unclear to me, unless I am simply being thick.

HE had a vehicle his killers wanted, but his girlfriend had a Toyota. Presumably his was the vehicle he was travelling in, possibly from Florida, so they were not travelling together in one car.

And which states would have had white licence plates at that time?

It's not at all clear whether there is a second missing person/murder victim here, ie the girlfriend. Is there are description anywhere of her?

cvaldez1975 · Oct 18, 2016

I get sad when i read quotes from Butch Baker, he was shot a few years ago and killed along w a female deputy.

anyways had blue tarp john doe and Juanita baker disappeared together, he definitely would not have been skeletal when found, it is moist and cool in the santa cruz mountains in December.

Al Ka said:
Posted: 01/10/10

'Blue Tarp John' was found in a remote area off Bear Creek Road in the San Lorenzo Valley on Dec. 27, 1998. A woman and two men were convicted of murdering him -- he had a gun they wanted -- and are serving state prison time, but his identity has never been determined. After killing him, they stole his wallet and threw most of the contents, including his ID, into a trash can at the Santa Cruz Metro station. He may be a Florida man named Eric and, before he was killed, he was with a girlfriend who had a Toyota with white license plates.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/zz/20100110/NEWS/100118888

I did not check the map but it seems that Juanita Jean Nelson went missing from around there at the same time frame (14th Dec 98) and they were searching for her in the same Bear Creek Road area in December when Blue Tarp John was discovered there.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/n/nelson_juanita.html

cvaldez1975 · Oct 18, 2016

I believe they are peaceful. it makes more sense this may be gang involved to me.

MelmothTheLost said:
That makes a big difference. It's much more likely that they were travelling together and that they might both have been from Florida. So either she was killed as well and there's a body out there, found or not, or she was left alive and no doubt wondered where her boyfriend had gone. If he was an adult, would the police in that area have taken a missing persons report?

MagnoliaMountain up-thread mentioned that his hairstyle might indicate a Hare Krishna connection. I know nowt about this group, but how would the gun sit with that? From what I know, some religious groups are completely pacifist but others are violent and coercive.

MelmothTheLost · Oct 19, 2016

cvaldez1975 said:
I believe they are peaceful. it makes more sense this may be gang involved to me.

Maybe. Is there anything to suggest how long he had been in California? Long enough to have had some prior dealings with the men who killed him, or very recently and he was just very unlucky to have run into them? Then again, if they wanted his gun they must have known he had it.

cvaldez1975 · Oct 19, 2016

i wonder if the santa cruz co sheriff would release any info on the case since the perps are already convicted?

MelmothTheLost said:
Maybe. Is there anything to suggest how long he had been in California? Long enough to have had some prior dealings with the men who killed him, or very recently and he was just very unlucky to have run into them? Then again, if they wanted his gun they must have known he had it.

Gardener1850 · Oct 19, 2016

This kid might be a little too old, but it's the only Eric/Erik from Florida missing in the 90's that I could find. Erik Patchin was 20 when he went missing in 1994. He had brown hair in a mullet at the time: https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/6498/

Gardener1850 · Oct 19, 2016

Gardener1850 said:
This kid might be a little too old, but it's the only Eric/Erik from Florida missing in the 90's that I could find. Erik Patchin was 20 when he went missing in 1994. He had brown hair in a mullet at the time: https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/6498/

Oh yeah and Erik has two threads here: http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...allahassee-24-May-1994&highlight=Erik+Patchin
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...0)-Tallahassee-FL-1994&highlight=Erik+Patchin

Classito · Oct 19, 2016

George Erick Jones is missing from Alabama under circumstances that are similar. He was last seen with his ex-wife. Alabama had white license plates at the time. He had just bought a car, luggage and clothes. Heading to FL or Mobile AL and car broke down. Time missing fits but height is off--weight is on---Had several tattoos that may rule him out and photos do not show a pony tail but they are jail photos and may be outdated

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1394dmal.html

Classito

Helpmefeel · Jun 3, 2018

i read newspaper articles and John Doe was first of all really decomposed...

Identified! CA - Santa Cruz Co, WhtMale 17-20, UP3067, ''Eric from Florida'', Dec'98 - Eric Cupo

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