DNA match with son confirms identity of 1998 California homicide victim

Nearly three decades after her body was found in an El Cajon ravine covered by shrubbery, homicide investigators say they now know her identity.

Learning the identity of the victim, Alicia Ledezma Sanchez, who was born in 1968, helps put cold-case detectives one step closer to solving her killing.

Sanchez’s body was found in a ravine near Avocado and Chase avenues on Aug. 13, 1998, investigators said. She was wearing a T-shirt that read “Woodruff Warriors 20 year reunion 1971-1991,” a silver herringbone bracelet and black shoes.

The white or Hispanic woman in her 30s, who was 5-feet-2-inches tall and weighed about 110 pounds, also appeared to have had at least one pregnancy.

Investigators said the body was partially decomposed and that she had been dead for up to six weeks.

In 2003, the cold case unit at the El Cajon Police Department sent the unidentified woman’s skull to a forensic artist for a forensic sculpture. Photographs of the rendition were released to the public, but they didn’t yield any positive results.

Another attempt to identify the body in 2008 using DNA was also unsuccessful.

Two years ago, volunteers with the cold-case unit worked with Othram Labs and Parabon Labs to perform advanced DNA techniques to reveal human characteristics and potential family members.

The tests revealed the woman had ancestral roots in Michoacán, Mexico, and a possible relative in the San Diego area.

In August, the police department posted the woman’s story on their social media pages, and a potential family member reached out. A DNA match with her son confirmed the relationship, and Sanchez was identified.

Investigators asked anyone with information about the Sanchez’s death to contact 619-579-3320 or email coldcaseunit@elcajon.gov.