Homicide victim labeled as Jane Doe for 28 years identified

EL CAJON, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) -- The El Cajon Police Department on Monday released the identity of a woman whose body was found in a ravine in El Cajon in 1998.

Over 27 years later, she has been identified as Alicia Ledezma Sanchez, the El Cajon Police Department (ECPD) said in a news release Monday.

On Aug. 13, 1998, the body of a female partially decomposed and believed to be deceased up to six weeks was found in the ravine covered in heavy shrubbery in the 1300 block of Avocado Avenue, according to law enforcement.

Authorities on scene were not able to identify the victim.

Then in 2003, the El Cajon Police's Cold Homicide Unit reexamined the death case, retrieving the victim's skull and sending it to a forensic artist who completed a forensic sculpture, according to authorities.

Although photographs of the sculpture were released to the public to help identify the woman, there were no viable leads and the case remained cold.

"Over a 2-year period beginning in 2023, members of the ECPD volunteer Cold Case Unit worked with Othram Labs and Parabon Labs to conduct genetic genealogy and phenotyping, advanced DNA techniques to reveal human characteristics and potential family members," ECPD said.

In August, ECPD posted Sanchez's story on social media and heard from a potential family member who believed she knew the woman’s identity. A DNA test with the decedent’s son confirmed a familial match.

Anyone who has information about Sanchez is asked to contact the El Cajon Police Department’s Investigation Division at 619-579-3320, or email the volunteer Cold Case Unit at coldcaseunit@elcajon.gov. Tips can also be shared anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 888-580 -8477 or online at sdcrimestoppers.org.