Oct 6, 2008 5:49 pm US/Pacific
SF Woman Identified In 1971 Central Valley Murder
MODESTO (AP) ―
Stanislaus County Sheriff's investigators say they are hopeful that now that they have learned the identity of woman killed 37 year ago, they will find her killer.
The body of Mary Alice Willey, 23, of San Francisco was discovered Sept. 11, 1971 in the Delta Mendota Canal near Westley. She had suffered 65 stab wounds to her face, neck, hands and upper body. Without an identification the investigation went nowhere and the coroner eventually buried her in an anonymous grave in the Patterson District Cemetery.
In April, sheriff's officials exhumed the remains to use DNA technology for an identification, and in July a forensic sculptor built a likeness of her face. A cousin who saw news reports contacted investigators, and Willey's DNA matched that of family members.
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