'Jane Doe' Orange County homicide victim identified after 41 years

SANTA ANA, Calif. - The Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) has identified a Jane Doe homicide victim whose remains were discovered over 41 years ago.

In April 1983, children playing near the area of Canada and Old Trabuco roads in what is now Lake Forest found a human skull in a culvert. An excavation followed, recovering approximately 70 percent of a female's human remains. An anthropology examination revealed the victim to be a Black or mixed-race female, aged 18-24, standing between 5’3" and 5’6" with a slight build and a distinctive gold tooth. Despite numerous efforts, her identity remained unknown for decades.

In 2022, OCSD submitted a DNA sample from Jane Doe to Othram Laboratories, with funding provided by the National Missing and Unidentified Person System (NamUs). The DNA extraction and testing yielded a genetic profile, enabling OCSD’s Cold Case investigators to initiate investigative genetic genealogy in collaboration with the FBI’s Regional Genealogy Team. Despite exhaustive efforts, a direct family line could not be identified, and multiple forensic renderings of Jane Doe were released over the years.

In late 2023, investigators contacted a distant genetic relative of the victim, who suggested sharing Jane Doe’s forensic renderings on a Facebook group dedicated to Jane Does and missing women from the 1970s and 1980s. About a month after the posting, a woman reached out to investigators, believing the Lake Forest Jane Doe might be her missing mother.

Maritza Glean Grimmett, a Panamanian native, married a U.S. Marine in the summer of 1978 and gave birth to a daughter. The family moved to the U.S. later that year, residing in Columbus, Ohio, and Millington, Tennessee from late 1978 through mid-1979. In July 1979, the couple initiated divorce proceedings. Maritza informed her sister of her plans to move to California, after which her family never heard from her again.

Relatives of Maritza submitted DNA samples, and Jane Doe was positively identified as Maritza Glean Grimmett, who was 20 years old at the time of her disappearance.

Investigators are actively pursuing Maritza’s homicide case. Anyone with information is urged to contact Investigator Bob Taft at 714-647-7045 or coldcase@ocsheriff.gov. Anonymous tips can be submitted to OC Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS (855-847-6227) or occrimestoppers.org.