CA CA - Elizabeth Nichols, 19, Sacramento, 4 March 1983

On Friday, 4 Mar 1983, a passerby spotted a body in a drainage canal near I-5 and Del Paso Road in Sacramento. Investigators determined the victim had been assaulted, receiving at least one blunt force trauma to the head. Unable to determine the identity of the brown-haired, blue-eyed victim, she remained a Jane Doe until 2009 when DNA testing positively identified her as 19-year-old Elizabeth Jean Nichols. Elizabeth suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and was currently receiving treatment at a mental institution. The Friday (25 Feb 1983) prior to her disappearance, Elizabeth appeared in Shasta County Superior Court to request release from the mental institution. Her court session was postponed until the following Monday (28 Feb 1983) and she was assigned to the Shasta County Psychiatric Hospital in South Redding for the weekend. Her mother reported her missing to police on Monday, 28 Feb 1983.

Her case remains an unsolved homicide with Sacramento Police Department.

Description of Elizabeth Jean Nichols (Sacramento County Coroner):
http://www.coroner.saccounty.net/Li...TypeId=0x0100E110048E8D184C48B947C183B06CF12D

Sketch drawing of unidentified victim (later identified as Elizabeth Jean Nichols can be found here:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/identified10.html

Bumping for Elizabeth...it's now been over 37 years.