DNA Evidence Identifies Suspect In 35-Year-Old Tilden Park Murder

BERKELEY, CA — The East Bay Regional Park District Police Department announced Tuesday that DNA evidence has conclusively identified the suspect in the 1990 murder of Maria Weidhofer, bringing closure to a decades-old cold case in Tilden Regional Park.

The suspect, Jon Lipari, was confirmed through DNA analysis following his death by suicide in Oregon in November 2024.

Weidhofer, an avid jogger and frequent visitor to Tilden Regional Park, was found dead on Nov. 16, 1990, near Inspiration Point. She had been reported missing the night before. Investigators at the time determined she had been strangled with a ligature and had sustained multiple abrasions and contusions, indicating a struggle. However, initial investigations in 1990-1991 failed to identify a suspect.

In 1997, biological evidence collected from Weidhofer’s body was analyzed by the Contra Costa Crime Lab and later submitted to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). Among the collected evidence was semen, which allowed investigators to generate a DNA profile. Despite this breakthrough, no match was found at the time.

The case remained unsolved until 2020, when the East Bay Regional Park District Police Investigations Unit partnered with the FBI to re-examine the evidence using advanced DNA techniques. By 2024, investigators identified Lipari as a possible suspect, prompting an extensive investigation in collaboration with the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office and the Curry County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon.

Lipari was living in Gold Beach, Ore., at the time of his death. In early November 2024, local law enforcement found him deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. DNA samples collected from the scene were analyzed by the Contra Costa County Crime Lab, confirming a match to the DNA evidence from Weidhofer’s case.

Investigators found no known connection between Weidhofer and Lipari.

"We hope that today’s development brings some measure of closure to the family, who have shown tremendous strength throughout this difficult time,” said Roberto Filice, Chief of the East Bay Regional Park District Police Department, at a news conference on Wednesday. “This breakthrough comes after years of relentless investigation, and I want to personally thank our dedicated staff for their perseverance and firm commitment to seeking justice.”

Authorities credited the FBI, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Forensic Services Division, and the Curry County Sheriff’s Office for their collaboration in solving the 35-year-old case.