Identified! CA - Westlake Village, HispFem 18-30, UP11249, pregnant, in parking lot, Jul'80. Maricela Rocha Parga

[rose_quartz]

This is such amazing news! I'm so happy she has been identified!

 

[DS2021]

Maricela Rocha Parga

Is that confirmed spelling?

 

[DS2021]

Is that confirmed spelling?

Ventura Co Jane Doe | DNA Doe Project

dnadoeproject.org

Maricela Rocha Parga

 

[Blurgle]

That poor family. At least they got answers in the end.

 

[Triss]

Rest in eternal peace, Maricela. My heart breaks for you and your family.

 

[djanga]

Finally, after years of research, the team began to home in on the family of the unidentified woman. A couple born in the late 1800s in the Mexican state of Zacatecas were identified as the likely great grandparents of Ventura County Jane Doe, at which point the team and investigators began tracking down their descendants. On 9 December 2025, investigators spoke with a great grandson of this couple, and he shared some critical information – his sister, Maricela Rocha Parga, had been missing since 1980.

Maricela was born in 1958 in Monterrey, Mexico, but she later moved with her family to Los Angeles. Following her disappearance, her siblings spent years looking for her, but they were never able to find out what happened to her. After speaking with investigators, two of Maricela’s siblings immediately booked flights and flew to California the next day, where they provided DNA samples. These samples were later used to confirm that the woman known for decades only as Ventura County Jane Doe was in fact Maricela Rocha Parga.

Ventura Co Jane Doe | DNA Doe Project

dnadoeproject.org

 

[moonglow123]

Heartbreaking, but I’m so glad she was finally identified and her family was able to be contacted and aid them. RIP Maricela and baby.

So much amazing hard work being done lately to identify Does and give them their names back, it’s wonderful to see.

 

[MarziPanda]

Not ashamed to admit I cried a little when this popped up on the DNA Doe Project FB page. It's been so long coming. Hours of dedication and hard work. Maricela was so loved by those of us who followed her story, and so loved by her family. RIP.

 

[Friday Fan]

Finally!!

Parga was one of the surnames in Doe DNA's list.

CBS News said her older sister still lives in the house where they were living in 1980 hoping that she would return home.

Is there a link to the press conference??? The vimeo link doesn't work.

 

[Friday Fan]

Found the press conference on YouTube

She was working as a waitress, living in downtown LA
Attending school in the evening, studying to be a nurse
Family became concerned when Maricela failed to show up for her little sister's birthday party. (I assume this was several days later)

Didn't Choust say something about going to a diner? (I think the chain is now out of business)
I think awhile back, we were going over a location at a particular intersection.

 

[djanga]

Do they say if she had another kid? There was evidence of prior pregnancy(s).

 

[The4TierBridge]

Do they say if she had another kid? There was evidence of prior pregnancy(s).

One daughter aged 2 at time of disappearance who is still alive.

 

[CarlK90245]

Finally!!

Parga was one of the surnames in Doe DNA's list.

CBS News said her older sister still lives in the house where they were living in 1980 hoping that she would return home.

Is there a link to the press conference??? The vimeo link doesn't work.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1245613753762116

 

[Lebowski]

the facts of this case seem really similar to another one. Jane doe, identified through FGG, Mexican, moved to LA around 1980, and then was never heard from again.

can't remember the name in the other case, but I think the identification was just in the last year or so, maybe even a fee months.

 

[sasha17]

the facts of this case seem really similar to another one. Jane doe, identified through FGG, Mexican, moved to LA around 1980, and then was never heard from again.

can't remember the name in the other case, but I think the identification was just in the last year or so, maybe even a fee months.

Maria Belmontes Blancas, Piru Jane Doe?

 

[Lebowski]

that's the one! is anyone thinking SK in either case? (sorry, I don't know much about either)

 

[The4TierBridge]

that's the one! is anyone thinking SK in either case? (sorry, I don't know much about either)

The body this thread is about is tied by DNA to a known serial killer who has been convicted for her murder as of 2018 (Wilson Chouest): Wilson Chouest - Wikipedia

I don't believe there is a suspect for the case you were thinking of.

 

[Friday Fan]

that's the one! is anyone thinking SK in either case? (sorry, I don't know much about either)

The killer in this case, was already locked up by the time the other Jane Doe was found.

He was wild. He was thrown in jail for rape a few months after he killed Maricela. He got a life sentence back then because he was pretty much a serial rapist.

 

[Springrain]

Wellll I've been emotional all day about this and couldn't hop on and watch 'til now (special educator life). You all know I've been waiting for this for years. ENDLESS THANK YOUS to Carl, of course, and all members of her DNA Doe team for bringing her home. Her case is a good example of amazing people tackling what appears to be an insurmountable task. Not only is she finally able to rest peacefully, this also, I believe, will bring in a new era of Does with complex genetic genealogy cases being identified. I am thinking especially of our Hispanic and Latino Does since their genealogy can be tough, there's a LOT of them, and Latinos in general are already so underrepresented in DNA databases.

For anyone who didn't watch the press conference or didn't catch all the details, here's what was discussed: Maricela was a mom of a 2 y/o at the time of her death (Accounting for previous pregnancy history), and was of course expecting her second child then. Maricela was born in Mexico, and was living in Los Angeles when Wilson Chouest took her life. She was working as a waitress during the day and attending nursing school at night. Her family realized she was missing when she didn't bring a cake (which she had planned to do) to her younger sister's birthday party. Tragic and terrible, not only for the world to lose someone in such a violent way, but for the child who lost their mother, the family who lost their loved one, all her friends and everyone who cared for her...and for Maricela herself for her suffering.

Say her name - MARICELA - and let her be at peace at long last.

 

[CarlK90245]

I wonder if DDP was able to find any new information on some of the Parga sisters (Josefa, Sotera, Bacilia/Monica)? Ancestry doesn't seem to have much other than birth or baptism records.

Sotera is Maricela's great grandmother. Her mother Catarina passed away when Sotera was 5 years old. Her father Martin passed away when she was 12. Somewhere around then, Sotera was adopted by her maternal aunt Paula Montellano, and Sotera's surname was changed to Hernandez. All subsequent records mentioning her name referenced her as Sotera Hernandez, daughter of Vicente Hernandez and Paula Montellano.