Sgt. Tom Keylon of the San Benito County Sheriff Department has recently reopened a murder case from February 1969 of a San Diego woman named Louise Johnson who was found strangled and burned to death in Aromas.
For nearly 40 years a killer has walked free, a family has been denied justice and a mysterious and brutal murder has remained just that - a mystery.
At the San Benito County Sheriff's Office, however, the unsolved murder case of Louise "Mindy" Johnson has been dusted off by Sgt. Tom Keylon. The 18-year veteran deputy said with the help of new-age science and old-school investigative work, the case might yet be solved.
"Leads to this case have been followed everywhere but nothing ever panned out," Keylon said. "The victim deserves justice."
Johnson was found dead and burning in an Aromas field off of Carr Avenue on Feb. 16, 1969. She was spotted by a newspaper delivery driver who said he saw a burning object in the distance during his morning delivery route. He investigated and found Johnson's body smoldering in the grass.
It took weeks to identify the 19-year-old woman because after she had been strangled with a nylon cord, the killer wrapped her in fabric, drenched her in flammable liquid and set her ablaze. Dental records were finally used to name the young, pretty brunette who was a long way from her San Diego home when killed.
A truck driver at the time said he saw a woman "dead or unconscious" inside a green 1968 or 1969 Chevrolet Impala driving south on Highway 101 near Morgan Hill. Although authorities immediately issued an "all-points bulletin" for the vehicle, they never found the car.
Sgt. Clint Dassel, since deceased, investigated the case back in 1969 and after two weeks - when he still had no idea who the killer was - appealed to the public for help through a story appearing in the Free Lance. But nothing came of it.
San Benito County Sheriff Curtis Hill's father Harry, then the coroner, worked the case at one point before his son picked it up again in 1983.
With the case now passed on to his detectives, Hill believes the office has a better chance to solve it. He also said he spoke with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's public safety liaison this week about offering a $50,000 reward on the case, and the sheriff was told the request would be "easily approved" with an answer expected within two weeks.
"She was a pretty young woman who had her whole life in front of her," Hill said. "But she ended up murdered here in our county and dumped on the side of the road."
From a six-inch-thick file at the sheriff's office Wednesday, Keylon pulled out photos of Johnson and a class ring inscribed with "GB" as well as newspaper clippings, statements from witnesses and original police reports. He said, however, that DNA evidence taken from clothing at the scene would most likely be the key to solving the case.
There is, however, a potential holdup. At DNA processing laboratories, there are new cases and fresh murders committed each day, and cold cases generally are not a priority. Keylon said he's been waiting more than a year to get back DNA test results.
Juan Bergado is a supervisor at the California Department of Justice Freedom Regional Laboratory in Watsonville, the nearest lab in the area. It prepares DNA samples for processing to aid criminal investigations. Bergado said he couldn't give any specific information or confirm if the office is handling the DNA testing for Johnson's case. He also said when it comes to processing evidence, the greater the need, the quicker the results come back.
"With older evidence, different things come into play," he said. "Weathering, effects of heat, bacteria and the age of the evidence can all affect the sample."
While Keylon waits for results, he said he still hasn't given up on old-fashioned detective work and he spends about 10 hours per week - most of which is on his own time - looking for clues that may have slipped through the cracks.
"I wish I could work on this case full time," Keylon said.
The following story, written by Rick Edge, on the crime that gave rise to the case now revived first appeared Monday, Feb. 17, 1969 in the Free Lance. It was titled "No Clues Found Yet in Murder."
San Benito County Sheriff's investigators today continued to seek clues to the identity of a young woman whose body was found Sunday morning burning in a field off Carr Avenue in Aromas
"We haven't got a thing to go on until she's identified," Sgt. Clint Dassell and Investigator Phil Broadfoot said of the bizarre murder.
They appealed to the public for help in identifying the apparently strangled victim, and any information should be directed to them.
The woman was described as a female Caucasian, 19 to 23 years old, about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 110 pounds. She had brown eyes and shoulder-length, reddish, possibly dyed hair, which was tied in pony tail, and wore small, gold, plain, wire-hoop earrings in her pieced ears.
The body was found about 6:15 Sunday morning by Irvin and Gladys Thomas of Salinas, who were delivering a morning newspaper on their rural route.
Mrs. Thomas saw a burning object in a field about a quarter-mile from the nearest house, the Zelda Greenup residence, 1000 Carr Ave., and the pair investigated. The sheriff's office was notified and Aromas firemen were sent to the scene. Deputies Louie Falconi and Dale Brown were called and investigators Sgt. Dassel and Broadfot began working on the investigation.
Deputy Coroner Harry Hill formally pronounced the woman dead at 7:45 a.m.
It appeared that the woman had been strangled and her nude body, wrapped in a muslin-like material and tied around the neck and mouth with a nylon cord, was dumped about 25 feet off Carr Avenue down a small hill. She also had sustained a blow to the forehead.
The body was then doused thoroughly with a flammable liquid and a trail was left up to the road where the liquid apparently was set aflame. The body and grass where the liquid had been poured were still burning when deputies arrived.
Dassel and Broadfoot said the woman was burned nearly beyond recognition. The lower extremities and her left side were most severely burned but investigators were able to obtain one fingerprint.
An all-points bulletin was issued statewide with special attention called to missing persons divisions of all law enforcement agencies.
Because Aromas is included in San Benito, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, Monterey Count Sheriff's detectives were at the scene for possible identification of the victim.
Stephens and Poletti Ambulance brought the body to Hazel Hawkins Hospital where an autopsy was performed. Deputies are awaiting results of some tests but have determined that the woman was not pregnant.
Curtis Cartier Curtis Cartier covers the City of Hollister and public safety for the Free Lance. Reach him at (831) 637-5566 or email him.
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San Benito Score: Playoffs for football, volleyball and cross country
Sheriff revives 40-year-old brutal slaying case
The following story, written by Rick Edge, on the crime that gave rise to the case now revived first appeared Monday, Feb. 17, 1969 in the Free Lance. It was titled "No Clues Found Yet in Murder."
