CA CA - Willits, MultMale, pre-50, UP78870, found in barrel covered w/ lime, prob. homicide, Apr'94

[citizen_sleuth]

NamUs #UP78870​

Demographics​

Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White / Caucasian, American Indian / Alaska Native
Estimated Age Group: Adult - Pre 50 [Note: Newspaper reports say 25-50]
Estimated Age Range (Years): N/A
Estimated Year of Death: 1985 - 1993
Estimated PMI: N/A
Height: 5'8" - 5'10" (68 - 70 inches), Estimated
Weight: Cannot Estimate

Circumstances​

Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: April 28, 1994
NamUs Case Created: March 18, 2021
ME/C QA Reviewed: N/A
Location Found: Willits, California
County: Mendocino County
Circumstances of Recovery: On April 28, 1994, California Department of Forestry fire prevention officers discovered human remains in a wooded area off Sherwood Road in Mendocino County following an anonymous call. At the time of the discovery, officials with the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office were tight-lipped about the discovery and declined to specify the manner in which the skeletal remains were found although Sheriff's Capt. Berle Murray did say it was likely a homicide. The NamUs listing for the unidentified man specifies that the bones were found in a barrel "that appeared to have been covered with lime or other type of agent."

Inventory of Remains: N/A
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Partial skeletal parts only

Physical Description​

Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinctive Physical Features: No information entered

News Coverage​

Lois O'Rourke, "Human remains discovered in woods," Ukiah Daily Journal, 29 April 1994, pg. 1.

"We're going to handle it as a homicide, even though we can't tell one way or another," [Sheriff's Capt. Berle] Murray said. "But chances are it was."

Sheriff's officials declined to release the manner in which the bones were found.

"I have to be guarded about this," Murray said, adding detectives knew little about the circumstances surrounding the death and discovery.

Lois O'Rourke, "Remains definitely not missing FB woman," Ukiah Daily Journal, 5 May 1994, pg. 1, 16. [part 1] [part 2]

The remains were discovered last Thursday by a California Department of Forestry fire prevention officer on logging property just off Sherwood Road between Willits and Fort Bragg.

The officer went to the location after receiving an anonymous call from a man who said he discovered the remains while cutting wood the previous week.

"More clues as to skeleton," Press Democrat [Santa Rosa, CA], 6 May 1994, pg. B2.

The preliminary description of a man between 25 and 50 years old, standing 5-feet-8 to 5-feet-10, eliminates any possibility the skeleton might have belonged to Kristi Krebs, a 24-year-old Fort Bragg woman missing since August.

[...]

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office is investigating the case as a homicide but has not released details of the find or speculated as to cause of death.

 

[Lexie<3]

Sorry if this isn't very helpful as this is the first case I've done on here so I'm not sure where to find extra information from but this is what I've found so far!

Have you looked into Bhupinderjit Singh Ghumman? An American-Indian. Went missing 1st January
1993 (matching the estimated year of death of the unknown homicide victim), was born in 1965, making him 28 in 1993 (fits the estimated age and year of death, but extremely tightly), is 5'9. Alemeda County Sheriff's Office was the place in charge of investigating his missing case, and that office is extremely close to Sherwood Road and leads me to believe that both Bhupinderjit Singh Ghumman and the person in this homicide died in the same area.

Here is Ghumman's missing person file:

Bhupinderjit Singh Ghumman

oag.ca.gov

Sorry if it doesn't help!!

 

[iulia]

There is also this thread open for this UID: CA - CA - Willits, Wht/NtvMal, Pre-50, in barrel, April '94