Colour photograph (1 ½ inches by ⅞ (0.875) inch) of a woman posing on a sidewalk. She appears to have long hair and is wearing a white sleeveless top and blue jeans
(FIRST) Small piece of paper with “0446696717695 Lupita” (or “Lupitia“) handwritten on it
(SECOND) Spanish Bible with various writing inside
(FIRST) Metal wristwatch with analog face and leather wristband (Brand “Mossimo”); two “stiff fabric items”
(SECOND) Black shoe with buckle (No brand or size noted)
Dulzura John Doe (February 17, 2004)
- DATE OF DISCOVERY: February 17th, 2004
- LOCATION OF DISCOVERY: Dulzura, San Diego County, California, 91917
- ESTIMATED YEAR OF DEATH: 2004
- POSTMORTEM INTERVAL: 4 months
- CONDITION OF REMAINS: Not recognizable – Mummified
- CAUSE OF DEATH: Not stated/Unknown
- SEX: Male
- ESTIMATED AGE: 20 – 25 years old
- RACE: Hispanic / Native American
- WEIGHT: Cannot estimate
- HEIGHT (ESTIMATED): 5’4” (64 inches; 162.56 cm)
- EYE COLOUR: Unknown
- HAIR: Black (straight, ¾ (0.75) inch (1.905 cm) which extends onto the back of the neck and is present on the temples)
- DISTINGUISHING MARKS/FEATURES:
- Black moustache (measuring up to 3/4 (0.75) inch (1.905 cm) in length)
BACKGROUND
At approximately 4:00 p.m., on February 17th, 2004, mummified remains were discovered “…near a freshly graded road…” (NamUs) in Dulzura, California. It is believed that the individual had been deceased approximately 4 months.
The individual is believed to be a Hispanic and/or Native American male between 20 to 25 years of age. He stood at 5’4” in height. He had black, straight hair that was ¾ inch in length; it extended onto the back of his neck and was present on his temples as well. He had a black moustache that measured up to ¾ inch in length.
Clothing discovered included:
- Denim blue jeans with thigh pockets and detachable (zip off) lower pant legs (brand “One Tuff Brand”; size “33 Waist, 32 Length”)
- Black shoe(s) with a metal buckle (these are not listed under items discovered but a photo is included on NamUs of one, so I am unsure if one or two were found) (no brand or size noted)
- Metal wristwatch with an analog face and leather wristband (Brand “Missimo”)
Other items discovered included:
- Two “stiff fabric items” were also found in the right thigh pocket of his jeans. These fabric items each measured 6 inches by ⅜ (0.375) inch wide. Both had a loop at one end and 3 ½ inches of loose, frilly string on the other end. One was yellow and blue with the sewn-on name “Rodolfo”, the other was red, green, and a yellow, and had the sewn-on name “Josefina”.
- Small piece of paper with “0446646717695 Lupita” handwritten on it.
- Colour photograph (1 ½ inches by ⅞ (0.875) inch) of a woman posing on a sidewalk. She appears to have long hair and is wearing a white sleeveless top and blue jeans.
- Spanish Bible which appears to be from “The Gideons International” church in Nashville, Tennessee. There is handwritten text (in pencil) on some pages, including: “2930 The (illegible) Race Castiac CA 91384 NCCF”, “765997”, “Raymundo Hernandez” (or possibly “Hernandes”), “799259 4A”, “oaxaca“, and “3761960”. I describe this Bible more in depth in the paragraphs below.
Regarding the Bible:
On the first page (left side/page), there appears to be printed text at the top, but due to the condition of the pages it is hard to read.
Underneath this, there is handwritten text (all handwritten text was done in pencil) that reads, (at least in part, as the beginning difficult to read), “2930 930 the old Road Castiac CA 91384 NCCF”.
Underneath this, at the bottom of the page, there is printed text that reads “ESTE LIBRO NO SERA VENDIDO”.
On the second page (right side/page), there appears to be printed text at the top, but due to the condition of the pages it is hard to read, however, it looks to at least end with “A”. There is handwritten text above which NamUs says states “765997”.
Below that are five black lines which appear to be for writing information (possibly the information of the owner of the Bible?). Each line has handwritten text.
On the first line, it appears to read “Raymundo”.
The second line appears to read “Hernandez” (or possibly “Hernandes”?).
The third line appears to read “799259 4A”.
The fourth line appears to read “oaxaca”.
The fifth line appears to read “3761960”.
Underneath the fifth line, there is printed text that reads
“FECHA
By
THE GIDEONS INTERNATIONAL
2900 LEBANON ROAD
NASHVILLE, TENNESSE 37214
U.S.A
www.gideons.org”
Below is more information as well as some of my thoughts on the Bible.
First: “2930 the old Road Castiac CA 91384 NCCF” appears to refer to the North County Correctional Facility which is a county jail and one of four hails within the Pitchess Detention Center. This center is located at 29340 The Old Road, Castaic, California. The zip code is 91384. NamUs notes that this handwriting says “2930 The (illegible) Race…” but when reading it myself it appears to possibly be “the old Road” which matches up with the rest of the address. Was he at some point at this location, possibly an inmate or seeing a friend or family member there?
Second: The Gideons International is a church with headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. They distribute free copies of bibles in numerous languages. They are known for placing many of these bibles in hotel rooms, as well as hospitals, prisons, schools, etc. There is a chance that this Doe was at a hotel or other institution and that is where he acquired this Bible, or someone else got it from a hotel or other institution and then gave it to this Doe, or he somehow encountered someone else that was part of the Gideons International that gave him a copy. I am leaning more towards another institution other than a hotel as I feel most hotels in the U.S. would have English bibles in the rooms, but I am not sure in the area he was discovered, if they sometimes put Spanish or both English and Spanish versions in rooms. Could he have acquired it from the county jail (mentioned previously), or someone he met or knew acquired it from there and gave it to him?
Third: NamUs states that a handwritten line reads “Oxacai:” but when reading it myself it appears to read “oaxaca”, which is a state in Mexico (the capital city of Oaxaca, Oaxaca de Juárez, is often simply referred to as Oaxaca as well). It looks like a small box was drawn around the “o”, possibly just doodling when writing as there appears to be a small doodle(?) above the “o” as well.
CLOTHING/ITEMS – Near the body, the following was noted
- Denim blue jeans with thigh pocket; lower pant legs are attached but can zip off (Brand “One Tuff Brand” (OTB); size “33 Waist, 32 Length”)
- Black shoe(s) with metal buckle (Not listed on items found but a photo of one is included on NamUs; unsure if one or two shoes were found) (No brand or size noted)
- Metal wristwatch with analog face and leather wristband (Brand “Mossimo”)
- Two stiff fabric items both measuring 6 inches (15.24 cm) long by ⅜ (0.375) inch (0.9525 cm ) wide; both have a loop at one end and 3 ½ inches (8.89 cm) of loose frilly string at the other end; one is yellow and blue and inscribed with the sewn-one name “Rodolfo”; the other is red, green, and yellow, and had the sewn-on name “Josefina”.
- Small piece of paper with “0446646717695 Lupita” (or “Lupitia”) handwritten on it
- Colour photograph (1 ½ inches by ⅞ (0.875) inch (3.81 by 2.2225 cm)) of a woman posing on a sidewalk. She appears to have long hair and is wearing a white sleeveless top and blue jeans.
- Spanish Bible which appears to be from “The Gideons International” church in Nashville, Tennessee. There is handwritten text (in pencil) on some pages, including: “2930 The (illegible) Race Castiac CA 91384 NCCF”, “765997”, “Raymundo Hernandez” (or possibly “Hernandes”), “799259 4A”, “oaxaca“, and “3761960”.
IDENTIFIERS – I could not find any information regarding identifiers
- Dentals: Unknown
- Fingerprints: Unknown
- DNA: Unknown
INVESTIGATING AGENCY & OTHER CASE INFORMATION
AGENCY ONE
- Agency Name: San Diego County Medical Examiner’s office
- Agency Contact Person: Tessa Lee (Medical Examiner Investigator III)
- Agency Phone Number: 858-694-2895
- Agency Case Number: 04-00383
OTHER INFORMATION/CASE NUMBERS
- NamUs Case Number: #UP55722
REFERENCES
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