🕯️🔎 42 YEARS LATER, NJ POLICE RENEW SEARCH TO IDENTIFY MURDER VICTIM AND FIND HER FAMILY 💔
New Jersey State Police are using advanced DNA testing to identify a woman murdered in East Orange 42 years ago. Investigators hope genetic genealogy will reveal the true identity of the victim, who was known only by the nickname "L.A."
EAST ORANGE, NJ — More than four decades after a young New Jersey woman was murdered, authorities are renewing efforts to determine her identity and locate the family she left behind.
The New Jersey State Police announced Monday that investigators are asking the public for information that could help identify the woman, whose remains have remained unidentified for 42 years.
According to investigators, the woman was killed in an apparent act of domestic violence on September 14, 1984, on Eppirt Street in East Orange.
At the time, people who knew her reportedly referred to her as “L.A.” or “Loranda.” However, authorities say her true identity remained unknown for decades.
🧬 NEW DNA EFFORT
Investigators with the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and the East Orange Police Department recently renewed efforts to solve the cold case.
Authorities said her remains were located and exhumed so a new DNA profile could be developed.
With federal grant funding and assistance from Ramapo College of New Jersey, investigators are now pursuing investigative genetic genealogy, a technique that can potentially help identify unidentified remains by examining genetic connections.
The goal is to determine who the woman was and ultimately connect her with surviving family members.
📞 HAVE INFORMATION?
Anyone who may have information about the woman’s identity or her family is asked to contact the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit.
📧 missingpinformation@njsp.gov 📞 609-882-2000, ext. 2554
After 42 years, investigators are hoping renewed DNA technology and information from the public can finally provide answers about who she was and help bring her story to a close.
🕯️ Garden State News Network will continue sharing information on New Jersey cold cases and efforts to identify victims and reunite them with their families.
📸 Photos by: New Jersey State Police