CA CA - Westlake Village, HispFem 18-30, UP11249, pregnant, in parking lot, Jul'80

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

The amazing team at DDP has updated their page again:

"Ventura County Jane Doe’s DNA has been extracted, passed quality control, underwent Whole Genome Sequencing at the genetics lab, completed data configuration with bioinformatics, and is now in the hands of our amazing team of genealogists. Hopefully this research will allow us to find Ventura County Jane Doe’s DNA’s family."

*fingers crossed*

 

[Alleykins]

In one of the replies to a comment, DDP stated she was pregnant with a little boy. I did not know her baby was a boy.

 

[MarziPanda]

I'm really hoping for a good outcome, here. Though, generally, ethnic minorities are less likely to take DNA testing kits (which I believe is one of the issues with DNA Doe project identifying Mill Creek Shed Man). If she was an agricultural labourer from Mexico she may not have family who have the disposable income for something like that. Still, I have my fingers crossed. It only takes a few distant relatives help bring her name back to her.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Our girl's ethnicity report is in, and her mtDNA haplogroup is A2 (NA). She's estimated to be about 60% Native American.

 

[Alleykins]

I'm thinking she must have had tribal affiliation with such a high percentage of Native American heritage.

 

[MandiH82]

Interesting. Would being Hispanic fall under the Native American category, or a different one?

 

[MarziPanda]

Interesting. Would being Hispanic fall under the Native American category, or a different one?

This is a fairly typical Hispanic DNA profile imo. Hispanic people tend to be a mix of native American DNA and Spanish DNA, which I assume is 'West Med' here. Most also have other bits thrown in, such as African DNA from the slave trade. Mexicans in particular will sometimes also have some (none Iberian) Western Europe, because of Mexico being so close to the US and there being a little crossover. She could still be American Native, but it's far more likely - given the amount of West Med she has - that she is Hispanic and therefore unlikely to be affiliated with a tribe.

MOO.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

A lot of (new) information in this news segment that popped up in my fb newsfeed! Apparently, the LE agency is working hard to provide the DDP with a sufficient sample of Kern Jane Doe's DNA so they can identify her, as well.

As for Ventura Jane Doe, they've identified a distant (third?) cousin, and her father is probably hispanic. She is said to have been hitchhiking from somewhere near Bakersfield.

Olivia LaVoice KGET 17 News

Edit: I wrote this in bed, half asleep; Al Ka's post below mine explains this so much better!

 

[Al Ka]

Kern County and Ventura County Jane Doe may be closer than ever to being identified

The nonprofit was eager to help identify Ventura and Kern Doe. The coroner's office is currently working on getting a viable DNA sample from Kern Doe to send off. Meanwhile, the DNA Doe Project has made progress on Ventura Jane Doe, who was four months pregnant when she was killed.

The nonprofit found Ventura Doe is 60% Native American. The rest of her DNA is a mix that suggests her father was likely partially Hispanic. Volunteer genealogists have successfully found a third cousin of Ventura Doe, and are working on finding more closely related family members that will hopefully reveal her identity.

They say it's a process that with other cases has taken as little as four hours, and as long as 10 months.

In recent months, we've also learned more about where the does came from before their bodies were dumped in Kern and Ventura County.

Information was given to law enforcement that Ventura County Jane Doe was abducted from Visalia, 80 miles from Bakersfield. She's believed to have been hitchhiking near the College of the Sequoias.

Kern County Jane Doe is believed to have been taken from a bar in Lemoore. Now closed, in 1980 it was called Rubys.

Again, while the process for identifying Ventura County Doe's family is further along than Kern Jane Does, the DNA Doe Project and the Kern County Coroner's Office are hopeful they will soon know the identities of both women.

Kern County and Ventura County Jane Doe may be closer than ever to being identified

Wow, DNA Doe Project is getting very close. Such a brilliant news.

 

[Alleykins]

Wow! That's great news, indeed! Is Kern Jane Doe also in the DDP pipeline?
That they've found a third cousin so far and are hopefully close to ID'ing Ventura CJD is encouraging.

 

[Al Ka]

Wow! That's great news, indeed! Is Kern Jane Doe also in the DDP pipeline?
That they've found a third cousin so far and are hopefully close to ID'ing Ventura CJD is encouraging.

Yes, DNA Doe project is working on Kern Doe right now as well. Article above in previous post stated that they are getting viable DNA sample from her.

 

[Alleykins]

Yes, DNA Doe project is working on Kern Doe right now as well. Article above in previous post stated that they are getting viable DNA sample from her.

Thanks, I totally missed she was in their pipeline.

 

[Goecke]

I've been looking into her and "Rebecca"'s cases for a while now. I'm so glad that DDP picked up on them. We're so close!
Also, does anyone think it's possible that this woman is a victim of the same killer? Unidentified Person Case
She was found in a citrus grove; Rebecca was found in an almond orchard. She was also found in the same county as this Doe, and only a year later.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

I've been looking into her and "Rebecca"'s cases for a while now. I'm so glad that DDP picked up on them. We're so close!
Also, does anyone think it's possible that this woman is a victim of the same killer? Unidentified Person Case
She was found in a citrus grove; Rebecca was found in an almond orchard. She was also found in the same county as this Doe, and only a year later.

That's a great find, Goecke! I don't think it's a Chouest murder, though. His MO was to rape and stab his victims. Piru Jane Doe was strangled and I haven't found any mention of her being sexually assaulted. It definitely has similarities, especially with her physical appearance, but as far as the location goes, I get the impression those types of orchards/groves are extremely common out there!

 

[Goecke]

That's a great find, Goecke! I don't think it's a Chouest murder, though. His MO was to rape and stab his victims. Piru Jane Doe was strangled and I haven't found any mention of her being sexually assaulted. It definitely has similarities, especially with her physical appearance, but as far as the location goes, I get the impression those types of orchards/groves are extremely common out there!

Thank you! Yeah, between her appearance, time frame and the location, I still feel like there might be a slight chance. I want to say that the Westlake victim was strangled in addition to being stabbed, but I'm not 100% sure.
I also found this woman: Unidentified Person Case. I think she has her own thread here.
Despite the time frame, I feel like it's VERY close. No mention of cause of death, though, but she was similar in age and appearance. She was also pregnant and found in an orange grove. If I remember correctly, Chouest wasn't apprehended until the 2000s. But it's still a long shot

 

[UnlicensedPI]

Thank you! Yeah, between her appearance, time frame and the location, I still feel like there might be a slight chance. I want to say that the Westlake victim was strangled in addition to being stabbed, but I'm not 100% sure.
I also found this woman: Unidentified Person Case. I think she has her own thread here.
Despite the time frame, I feel like it's VERY close. No mention of cause of death, though, but she was similar in age and appearance. She was also pregnant and found in an orange grove. If I remember correctly, Chouest wasn't apprehended until the 2000s. But it's still a long shot

I believe you're right about VCJD being strangled as well as stabbed.

***Graphic warning for the above UID. That poor woman. My heart broke when I saw her picture.

I was re-reading some of the details of the known Chouest cases. I had thought his DNA was matched because he raped those women, but I read his DNA was actually matched to fingernail scrapings. While rape is definitely his motivation, the authorities may leave out that detail in cases like the ones you posted. I still think it seems like groves and orchards are the most convenient places to dump bodies out there, and there were probably multiple psychopaths doing so, but it does seem like there may be more Chouest victims out there. He wasn't arrested until 2015 (!!!!!!!!!!!) so who knows how many there may be. God, what a monster. I hope his apprehension decades after his crimes puts fear in the hearts of all those like him who think they got away with it.

 

[Goecke]

I should have put a warning for the PM, sorry!
I know NamUs in particular isn't the best at listing cause of death, as well as other details like sexual assault. I'll try and find other sources on for these two women.

And 2015? Wow. If it took that long, I doubt he stopped killing after the two victims linked to him via DNA.

 

[Gaba]

I had this question in my mind whether Ventura county Jane doe and the father of her unborn child are related or not, and i knew that the DDP must have checked it because they have both the Jane Doe and her fetus's DNA so they can basically take the fetus's DNA and separate from it her mother's DNA and what would be left would be the father's DNA. So i asked it on their messenger and they said that it does not appear that they are closely related, adding further that it was a female fetus.

 

[aThousandYearsWide]

DNA Doe Project brought me here. What is interesting about this case is that statistically a pregnant woman is usually murdered by the father of the child. A man who didn't know her murdered her so that puts a partner(baby's father) and a young child not knowing where she is. And where's the missing report? Could the father be an illegal immigrant who didn't report her missing in fear of deportation? Could the child be told growing up that mom left US for (where ever she's originally from or has family) like Anjelica Castillo's sister was told. I also wonder that since it's 1980, if she was on a trip to visit family and didn't make it (which would explain why she wasn't recognized) maybe like Robby Hughes Floyd. She went missing with 3 of her children leaving behind a husband and infant at home, but still wasn't reported missing for two years and it wasn't the husband that reported.

Also did the killer ever explain why he chose a HS parking lot? It's just terrible!

 

[carbuff]

In 1980, it's very unlikely that a husband/father would have been concerned about immigration status. It just wasn't a concern before 2001. There may have been fear of law enforcement or worry about retaliation from the killer that might keep them from reporting though.