Homicide victim identified decades after body was found in vineyards

Investigators reopened a cold case homicide from 1979 and identified the victim nearly 45 years after her body was found in Rancho Cucamonga vineyards, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said in a statement on Wednesday.

The victim was Karen Marie Heverly, 16, originally from Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, the statement said

A vineyard worker on June 7, 1979, found the body of a female who had sustained traumatic injuries in vineyards near Eighth Street and Rochester Avenue, near the 15 Freeway, the statement said.

Investigators at the time described the victim as a White woman with shoulder-length light brown hair and brown eyes, between 18 to 30 years old, the statement said. No identifying marks, scars or tattoos were found on the body.

After the homicide investigation went cold, the victim remained unidentified, but in 2023, deputies from the cold case homicide team reopened the investigation in an attempt to identify the body, the Sheriff's Department said.

Investigators sent the victim's DNA samples to Othram Inc., a company that specializes in handling forensic evidence.

The company used DNA testing and technology to create a DNA profile. This profile was then used to conduct a genealogical search to identify Heverly as the victim.

Heverly had left her parents' home at age 16 for a reason not yet known by investigators.

Anyone with information about the case can contact Detective Justin Carty or Sgt. Justin Giles at the Specialized Investigations Division at 909890-4904.