“Unidentified Murder Victim ‘Claudia’ Connected to Santa Barbara: Help Solve the Case”

Accident – death – Obituary News : The Riverside County District Attorney is seeking the assistance of individuals on the Central Coast to provide answers in an unsolved murder case. This case dates back to August 30, 1992, when the body of an unidentified woman was discovered in a remote area along Highway 95, north of the small city of Blythe. The perpetrator of this crime, Keith Hunter Jesperson, infamously known as the “Happy Face Killer,” is currently serving multiple life sentences for her murder, as well as the murders of seven other women across the country.

Despite the extensive investigation, the woman, only known as “Claudia” to investigators, has never been positively identified. However, recent DNA testing has linked her to the Santa Barbara area, suggesting that her father, Alfonso Sandana Gonzales, who has since passed away, resided in that region around the time of her birth. Moreover, investigators have uncovered the existence of several half-siblings of “Claudia” who were unaware of her existence.

Riverside County District Attorney Michael Hestrin expressed his determination to restore the victim’s identity. He stated, “This woman was brutally murdered here in Riverside County. Her remains were dumped on the side of the road, you know, near Blythe, in the desert area of Riverside County, and she deserves to have her identity back. She was a human being, and even though we know her killer, we want to put some effort into seeing if we can identify her to give her back her identity and then perhaps give some closure to anyone who may have loved her.”

“Claudia” remains the only unidentified victim of the “Happy Face Killer.” Jesperson, who worked as a long-haul truck driver, earned this nickname due to the smiley faces he drew on confession letters sent to journalists and police departments nationwide.

According to investigators, the unidentified woman was reportedly hitchhiking to Los Angeles when Jesperson picked her up at a truck stop south of Victorville. An argument between them ensued after stopping for lunch in Indio, which ultimately led to Jesperson killing her and disposing of her body along the side of the road.

In an effort to assist with identification, Hestrin hopes that artist renderings of “Claudia” will prompt recognition from individuals in the Santa Barbara area. Descriptions of the victim reveal that she was white with a fair complexion, aged between 25 and 35 years old, standing at 5’7″ tall, and had a medium build. Additionally, she had either brown or dyed blond hair and a tattoo of two dots on her right thumb. At the time of her death, she was wearing a t-shirt featuring a skeleton riding a motorcycle with the words, “Ride Me, Ride Free, California.”

Investigators have discovered that the woman’s father had lived in various locations, including Texas, Washington, and Oregon. They also suspect that her mother may have had connections to Louisiana and/or southeast Texas. Consequently, authorities are interested in speaking with anyone who may have known Alfonso Sandana Gonzales or anyone he was dating during the 1970s and 1980s.

If you possess any information that could aid investigators in identifying the victim, please contact the Riverside County District Attorney’s Cold Case Hotline at (951) 955-5567 or send an email to coldcaseunit@rivcoda.org.

.