Santa Ana detectives reopen 1988 cold case to identify 'Jane Doe,' find killer

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- Santa Ana Police Department detectives reopened a 27-year-old case in the hopes of finding the killer who left a woman's headless body in a dry creek bed.

On March 31, 1988, a man walking his dog at Santiago Park found the woman's body. An exhaustive search for clues and the victim's head came up empty, until four days later.

Detective Gus Moroyoqui shows Eyewitness News where the scene happened, about eight to 10 steps east of where the body was found.

Attempts to identify the woman have been unsuccessful despite numerous sketches and DNA tests, and no family members have come forward.

The case was closed, until recently, when Moroyoqui reopened it in an attempt to find the killer.

He is part of the Orange County Homicide Task Force, a new team devoted to revisiting old, unsolved cases. There's more than 1,000 unsolved cases countywide.

The team hopes new technological advances and clues can lead them to answers, starting with the identity of "Jane Doe."

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Orange County Homicide Task Force at (866) 673-2574 or visit the website www.ochtf.org.