In a chilling discovery, authorities have finally identified a woman whose remains were unearthed in a shallow grave in Riverside County, California, over 40 years ago. The victim, now confirmed to be a wealthy real estate investor, disappeared back in 1981 under mysterious circumstances.
According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau, recent breakthroughs in genetic genealogy and the examination of dental records have revealed the woman as Thelma Gaston, aged 80. Her sudden disappearance had previously triggered a fervent murder investigation in Los Angeles at the time.
The painstaking case dates back to November 28, 1981, when individuals foraging for firewood near Sugar Loaf Mountain stumbled upon skeletal remains partly emerging from a shallow burial site.
Riverside County sheriff’s investigators acted swiftly, retrieving the body the next day near Highway 74. However, the decomposition was so advanced that identifying the remains posed a significant challenge, despite extensive investigative pursuits.
A map highlights the Sugar Loaf Mountain region in Riverside County, California, where human remains lay unidentified since 1981. Decades later, advanced forensic DNA techniques finally solved the mystery. (Google Earth)
For decades, the woman remained known only as an unidentified homicide victim.
According to UPI archives, Gaston, an 80-year-old wealthy real estate investor whose estate was estimated to be worth roughly $20 million, disappeared on June 28, 1981. A note was found on the door of her home stating she had gone out to look for a missing cat, but she never returned.
Barbed wire fencing surrounds the California Institution for Men in Chino, highlighting security measures at the state prison. (Ann Johansson/Corbis via Getty Images)
Prosecutors later accused Lawrence Remsen, then 39, of killing Gaston to gain control of her multimillion-dollar estate. Police described Remsen as Gaston’s “sometime companion.”
He pleaded not guilty to charges including murder, forgery, grand theft and attempted grand theft after authorities alleged business associates received forged letters naming him as the person who would control Gaston’s fortune.
According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau, the Los Angeles Police Department ultimately identified Remsen as the suspect after determining he had falsely represented Gaston’s disappearance.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office later successfully prosecuted the case, and Remsen was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
While the homicide investigation had long been resolved, what happened to Gaston’s body remained a mystery.
That changed after the Riverside County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau received funding through the Missing and Unidentified Human Remains Grant, giving investigators the opportunity to revisit long-unsolved unidentified remains cases with modern forensic technology.
Investigators revisited the case in November 2024 by exhuming the remains for additional forensic testing. DNA samples were later sent to Othram, a forensic laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas, where scientists developed a comprehensive DNA profile using the company’s Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing technology, allowing investigators to use forensic genetic genealogy and dental records to positively identify Gaston in May 2026.
A guard walks outside the California Institution for Men in Chino, a state prison facility. (Photo by Ann Johansson/Corbis via Getty Images)
The identification was made through a collaborative effort involving the Riverside Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau, the Riverside Cold Case Homicide Team and Othram.
“This identification ensures that Ms. Gaston has her name—and her story—returned to her,” the Riverside County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau said in announcing the breakthrough.
California prison records show Remsen, now 83, is serving a life sentence at the California Institution for Men in Chino. He was denied parole in July 2025, and his next parole suitability hearing is scheduled for July 2028.
Othram said the case marks the 85th publicly announced California case in which its forensic DNA technology has helped identify an unknown individual.
The case underscores how advances in investigative genetic genealogy continue to solve decades-old mysteries once thought unsolvable, helping investigators identify victims who for years had no name.
News Media has reached out to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau, Othram, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the Los Angeles Police Department for additional information.