Crime & Safety

Healdsburg Police: Body of Girl Found in Foss Creek Exhumed

Probe triggered after Joseph Naso's notes mentioned 'girl in Healdsburg.'

NOTE: This story was updated three times between Tuesday evening and Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 to add breaking news in the case.

Healdsburg police said they have exhumed a body of a Jane Doe found in Foss Creek in the 1980s to investigate a possible connection with

But Healdsburg Police Chief Kevin Burke said Tuesday there are many pieces of the puzzle that need to be put in place before making any association with Naso, a 78-year-old Reno man charged with the murders of four women.

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"We can't even call it a murder," Healdsburg Police Chief Kevin Burke said of the body of a Jane Doe found in Foss Creek in the 1980s. "We don't know how she died."

Despite the girl's body being very badly decomposed, Burke said the exhumation uncovered what may be enough evidence for DNA testing to try to determine the girl's identity through familial matches, Burke said.

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DNA samples were sent last spring to the California Department of Justice's state crime lab, but results have not  come back yet, Burke said.

He said he authorized a press release Tuesday to make it clear that police have not tied Naso to the Healdsburg cold case at this time.

"There has been no connection made to Mr. Naso, and he is not considered a suspect in the case at this time," Healdsburg Sgt. Matt Jenkins said in the news release Tuesday afternoon.

Jenkins said the Jane Doe's body was exhumed on April 28, 2011, and a secondary autopsy performed the next day.

That was following the arrest of Naso in April in connection with the murders of two Bay Area women who were killed in the late 1970s and two Yuba County women whose bodies were found in 1993 and 1994. 

The exhumation came to light this week after Naso's preliminary hearing in Marin County Superior Court. At the preliminary hearing, investigators testified that they had found a document in Naso's home that lists nine "girls" and one "lady" with geographic locations written next to each.

Number one on Naso's list is a reference to a "girl" in Healdsburg.

Burke said Tuesday night that the girl's body was found in Foss Creek in 1983 near the current site of the

He said it was possible that Naso's upcoming trial may put pressure on the state crime lab to return the DNA results faster.

However, Burke said even if the Jane Doe's identity could be determined through familial matches, it was not immediately clear if there would be any way to tie her to Naso, Burke said.

Jenkins said that Healdsburg police were notified in early 2011 about the written notes from Naso referencing the "girl in Healdsburg." At that point, Healdsburg police looked into the unsolved cold cases.

According to Jenkins, "a case from the early 1980s, involving an unidentified Jane Doe, has been re-opened in an effort to determine if there is a connection with Mr. Naso," he said.

"The case had previously been suspended due to lack of leads," Jenkins said.

Bay Area News Service contributed to this report.


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