CA CA - Barbara Nantais, 15, Torrey Pines State Beach, 13 August 1978

It is hard to think it was anything but a serial killer. 1) the two murders had remarkable similarities and 2) someone who kills and mutilates doesn't just commit one murder and then stop.

 

I have a hard time believing it isn't a serial killer. Possibly you didn't read what I previously posted:
Both the Hough and Nantais murders have many conclusive and reported similarities that seem to be either a serial murderer or a copy cat. Outside of these possibilities it is difficult to see how the similarities could accurately be labelled as coincidences. The SDPD has said there is no link between the two BUT I think it is questionable whether this means they can't link the two or that they have CONCLUSIVELY eliminated the possibility of a link. Those are two ENTIRELY different positions. (I have noticed that in this case, if the SDPD says something, you should think very carefully about rather there could be more than one interpretation of that statement. Misleading statements seem at times to be deliberate.) Additionally, if SDPD keeps saying there is a link, it casts a shadow on whether they have actually solved Hough's murder.
Saying there is no link, helps them look better.

 

Sounds to me like they know who did this, and are waiting on forensics. Probably some inmate chatter brought this about.
Justice for all concerned.

 

Here is an article from People Magazine: Who Killed 14-Year-Old Claire Hough, Whose Mutilated Body Was Found on Calif. Beach in 1984?

And here something about the DNA: DNA results stun in Calif. beach cold case

 

This is a very interesting case. The Clair Hough Case is officially “solved” but since there has never been a trial an both suspects are dead, it isn’t reall all that settled. To accept that resolution, you must acknowledge that the Natais Case is unrelated to the Hough Case.

Beyond that is the whole question of Contamination. DNA was not used forensically in the US at that and no one had even considered the possibility of amplifying minute quantities of DNA. Standards used in forensic labs were based on existing technology. Besides efforts to avoid contamination, there are allegations that things were just” done differently” back then and that could explain the results of the Hough investigation.

 

I think that Tatro is the murderer and somehow Brown contaminated the DNA sample. I dont know if there is also a check with evidence in the Nantais case.

 

Bumping for Barbara in 2019.

https://timesofsandiego.com/crime/2...tion-murder-in-torrey-pines-remains-unsolved/
SEPTEMBER 13, 2017

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Renewed call for clues in 15-year-old girl’s brutal murder
SEPTEMBER 13, 2017

“SAN DIEGO – The mutilation murder of a 15-year-old girl at Torrey Pines State Beach remains unsolved 39 years later, but the teen’s sister and one-time boyfriend are not giving up on finding her killer.”
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The haunting Torrey Pines Beach murders
JUNE 7, 2018 / CBS NEWS

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Search for killer continues 40 years after 15-year-old girl’s murder
AUGUST 14, 2018

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40 Years After Gruesome Teen Death, Suspect Still at Large
AUGUST 14, 2018.

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(Article on Claire Hough for reference:

San Diego police solve 1984 killing of teen at Torrey Pines State Beach
OCT 23, 2014

“Both suspects in the strangulation and mutilation of 14-year-old Claire Hough are dead, the police said. Both were linked through DNA.” )

 

Yes, Tatro seems the most likely suspect. Brown, less so.

 

I will give this horrific case a bump. Not sure what the exact position is with these Torrey Pines Murders in the respect of whether they have actually been solved or not:



The haunting Torrey Pines Beach murders

 

Here are a list of cold cases in the San Diego area and this one is included:

On Aug. 13, 1978, Barbara Nantais and her boyfriend, James Alt, were sleeping on the sand at Torrey Pines State Beach when they were attacked by an unknown suspect or suspects. Nantais – only 15 years old at the time – was raped, and beaten and strangled to death. Detectives discovered the teen’s killer had also severed one of her breasts. Nantais’ killer was never found. Alt survived the violent attack, but suffered a severe head wound that left him semi-conscious with no recollection of the assault. A couple of years ago, Alt told NBC 7 the murder still haunts him. Nantais’ case has similarities to the killing of another San Diego teen, 14-year-old Claire Hough, who was murdered on the same stretch of beach as Nantais. Hough’s breast was also disfigured. Evidence in both cases suggest the killings could have been committed by the same perpetrator. In August 2015, Nantais’ loved ones were told detectives had identified a person of interest in the case. However, nearly 40 years later, her murder remains unsolved.

San Diego’s Unsolved Cold Cases

 

True Crime Files: Hope renewed for leads in teen's unsolved murder at Torrey Pines

 

A new episode of The Murder in My Family podcast EP 59 out now about the Torrey Pines Beach murder of Barbara Nantais in which I discuss the attack with Barbara's boyfriend James Alt who barely survived the attack . Episode 59 Barbara Nantais

 

Barbara Nantais, 15, murdered 13 August 1978


LINK:
Barbara Nantais: Police reopen 1978 murder of teen found naked and mutilated on Torrey Pines State Beach | Daily Mail Online