Sheriff's Department Seeks Public's Help in Solving Murder Cold Case

Just a little after noon on June 18, 1980 Ventura County Sheriff's deputies responded to a report of a possible dead body at Westlake High School. When they arrived, they found a young woman who was clearly deceased. Though a homicide investigation was initiated, detectives were never able to identify the victim.

The Ventura County Cold Case Task Force is now reviewing the case and is seeking the public's help in identifying the female.

Investigators now have reason to believe the victim may have been from either the San Fernando Valley or Kern County, according to a statement from the Sheriff's Department.

The victim is described as a 15-25 year-old, five-foot two-inch tall Hispanic or Native American weighing about 110 to 115 pounds. She had brown eyes and black, shoulder length hair with bleached tips. She had shaved eyebrows with penciled brows drawn in above the brow line. The woman was four months pregnant and there was evidence she'd been pregnant before, the statement said.

She wore a white pullover short-sleeve top, black bra, red corduroy pants and black high-heeled open-toed shoes.

Evidence at the scene suggested that the victim may have been killed at another location and her body moved to the parking lot, possibly because of its remote location at that time. An autopsy determined the victim died as a result of multiple stab wounds.

The Sheriff's Department asks anyone with information about the woman or who thinks they may have known her to call 805-384-4735.