Accident – death – Obituary News :

Decapitated Body Found in California Vineyard Identified as Ada Beth Kaplan

Editor’s Note: Details in this story may be distressing; reader discretion is advised. Video above is from a 2018 update on the investigation.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — In a shocking revelation, authorities have finally identified the decapitated body that was discovered nearly 13 years ago in a vineyard outside Arvin, California.

In March 2011, a woman’s decapitated body was found in a vineyard located in Kern County. This gruesome discovery left investigators perplexed and disturbed. “The body was completely nude and lying on its back, meticulously posed by the person responsible for leaving it there,” revealed Ray Pruitt, a former member of the Kern County Sheriff’s Department, during an interview with Nexstar’s KGET in 2018.

While finding bodies in vineyards and orchards throughout the county was not unheard of, the level of brutality in this case was highly unusual. Former Kern County Sheriff’s Lt. David Hubbard described it as “gruesome” and “very uncommon.” “Mutilated bodies in homicides are pretty rare. We don’t come across many cases like this. Full decapitation is especially uncommon,” Hubbard stated in 2018.

Unidentified Victim

The victim’s blood had been drained from her body, and the crime scene itself was meticulously cleaned, according to Pruitt. It was evident that the person responsible had taken their time to carefully place the body on a dirt access road, posing it in a sexual manner. It seemed as though the perpetrator wanted the body to be found in this explicit state.

The case quickly turned cold as authorities struggled to identify the victim. Investigators found no distinctive features on the woman that could help in her identification. Additionally, her thumbs had been removed, suggesting that the killer intentionally made her unidentifiable. Since thumbprints are typically collected for identification purposes such as driver’s licenses and passports, the absence of this crucial information further complicated the investigation.

Furthermore, the woman’s head was never recovered, adding another layer of mystery to the case.

Breakthrough in the Case

However, there has been a significant breakthrough in the investigation. The woman’s remains have finally been identified as Ada Beth Kaplan, a 64-year-old resident of Canyon Country, according to coroner’s officials. After exhausting all leads, Kaplan was laid to rest in Union Cemetery. It was only in 2020 that the coroner’s office collaborated with the nonprofit DNA Doe Project, which constructed a family tree based on her DNA profile.

In July, two potential family members were identified, and their DNA samples were obtained for comparison. Through this process, Ada Beth Kaplan was finally identified.

Surprisingly, it was revealed that no missing person report had been filed for Ada Beth Kaplan, leaving investigators with limited information about her disappearance and subsequent murder.

Unanswered Questions

Despite the breakthrough in identifying the victim, crucial questions regarding the location and the identity of her killer remain unanswered, according to coroner’s officials. The Kern County Sheriff’s Office has not yet responded to Nexstar’s request for comment, and authorities have not released any further details about the case.

As the investigation continues, the hope remains that justice will be served for Ada Beth Kaplan and her grieving family.

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