El Cajon police use new technology to investigate 26-year-old cold case murder

El Cajon police are using new technology to investigate a cold case murder from a quarter century ago.

For investigators, it is at least a potential lead and at best a break in the 26-year-old case.

Retired police officers Fran Deck and Kevin Trotter returned to the El Cajon Police Department as cold case investigative volunteers.

“Somebody might recognize her, and that’s why we are here,” Deck said.

“When you don’t know who your victim is, you don’t know who would want to kill them,“ Trotter said.

Retirement did not diminish their skillset or curiosity.

“After I retired, and you see all these cases that aren’t solved, it just kind of stays with you," Deck said.

Such is the case of a woman who was found August of 1998 with a crushed skull and no identity.

“We call her Jane Doe because we don’t know her name,“ Trotter said.

A neighbor found Jane Doe’s skeletal remains on Avocado Avenue in a field just south of Chase Avenue.

Investigators say she was killed there and estimate she had been dead for two to three weeks. She was wearing multiple layers of clothes. It appeared she was homeless and living in an encampment.

There were few leads. The t-shirt she was wearing looked promising. It reads, "Woodruff Warriors 20 year reunion 1971-1991."

“We did locate three people in the San Diego area that were from that class, but none of them were able to help us,“ Trotter said.

In 2004, police used clay reconstruction to come up with a face. From it, an artist created a version on paper.

Police say Jane Doe was in her thirties, and at some point pregnant. Why she was killed is only speculation.

“A number of possibilities from an argument to — we don’t believe she was a victim of sexual assault. There is no evidence to support that,” Trotter said.

Ordinary investigative techniques weren’t working so Deck and Trotter sent Jane Doe’s DNA to Parabon — a company that uses a technique called phenotyping. With it, technicians can determine the physical appearance of a person using only their DNA.

“It’s basically based on their best interpretation of the data that they have,“ Trotter said.

The process called “Snapshot” can predict face shape, hair color, skin color and even freckles. Parabon created a composite likeness of Jane Doe at the age of 25.

“She’s somebody’s daughter and mother,” Deck said.

Parabon also used public databases with stored DNA information, often used to help find missing family members.

Cold case volunteers have one name. It’s Vivian. Through the use of familial DNA, they tracked down Vivian. She is somewhere between the second and fourth cousin to the victim. They’ve gone to her home. They have called her on the phone, but so far, Vivian has not responded to their questions. She lives in Chula Vista.

“We would have to get to that person and work with them through talking to their parents and family members to try to figure out where this person is missing from,“ Trotter said.

Just how good is this new technology? Investigators won’t know for sure until someone can recognize the face.

"Her family should know. Somebody is related to her and is probably missing her,” Trotter said.

For now, Jane Doe’s remains are in a grave marked only by a number. The mystery of her life and murder are for now buried with her.

Investigators say this technology could prove extremely useful in cold cases. The El Cajon unit is currently working on 10 unsolved cases.