After 45 years, Jane Doe found near Pinyon Pines identified through DNA technology

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. — More than four decades after a woman's remains were discovered in a shallow grave in the mountains of Riverside County, investigators have finally restored her identity.

The Riverside County Coroner and the Riverside Cold Case Homicide Team (RCCHT) announced that a female homicide victim, known only as "Jane Doe" for 45 years, has been positively identified as Thelma Gaston, bringing long-awaited closure to a case that dates back to 1981.

On November 28, 1981, passersby searching for firewood near Sugar Loaf Mountain and the Pinyon Crest community discovered a shallow grave containing the severely decomposed remains of a woman. Due to the condition of the remains, investigators were unable to determine her identity despite extensive investigative efforts.

For more than 40 years, the victim remained unidentified.

A breakthrough came after the Riverside County Coroner received funding in 2022 through the Missing and Unidentified Human Remains Grant, allowing investigators to revisit cold cases using modern forensic techniques. Combined with significant advances in DNA technology, the funding created new opportunities to identify previously unknown victims.

In May 2026, investigators used investigative genetic genealogy, along with dental records, to positively identify the victim as Thelma Gaston.

Authorities determined that Gaston was the victim of a 1981 homicide originally investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department. According to investigators, the suspect, Lawrence Remsen, falsely portrayed Gaston as a missing person after killing her.

A Newport Beach man originally pleaded innocent to charges he murdered Gaston, at the time his 80-year-old companion, to gain control of the woman's multimillion-dollar estate.

Remsen eventually entered pleas to charges of murder, forgery, grand theft, and attempted grand theft in the disappearance of Gaston.

Remsen, described by police as the widow's 'sometime companion,' was arrested in Eagle Rock, Texas, after Gaston's business associates received allegedly forged letters naming Remsen as the man to whom her $20 million estate was to be entrusted.

Although Gaston's body had never been located at the time, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office successfully prosecuted Remsen in a rare "no-body" homicide case. Remsen was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

"The identification of Ms. Gaston represents the dedication and perseverance of everyone involved in this investigation," the Riverside County Coroner said in a statement. "Together, these efforts have ensured that Ms. Gaston has her name—and her story—returned to her."