CA CA - Westlake Village, HispFem 18-30, UP11249, pregnant, in parking lot, Jul'80

[Springrain]

To me it's not at all surprising that the man doesn't remember the name of a woman he slept with 40 years ago, but that he claims to not remember her at all, or seemingly any random woman he could have gotten pregnant at that time. Not to start a witch hunt here, but I think it's very possible he is lying to cover his own behind. I do think there is a high probability it was a ONS.

 

[Friday Fan]

Damn. So close and yet so far with the baby's father not knowing anything about her. Maybe this is just me not being the type for one night stands, but I honestly don't understand how someone could sleep with a person and not have so much as a clue as to what her name was. Like not even something close like "Oh it was something like Mary or Maria or something like that but I can't remember specifics after all these years..." would be better than nothing. Granted, it was forty years ago, so who knows if a man likely in his late fifties or early sixties would remember much from his wayward youth.

If he still is in contact with any of his friends from back then, it might be time to go ask the one who has the memory of an elephant, cause there's always one of those in every friend group that remembers the most random details long after you yourself have forgotten them.

I agree, he might remember something...So I played a game with February 1980. (When VCJD got pregnant... I was 23 myself in February 1980)..

When I said: "Try to remember Feb 1980" at first my mind was blank. It was just a date.

But then there was,

"Where was I working?"
"Where was I living?"
"Who was I dating?"

Even if she was a sex worker, I think he could probably provide where he met her and how he knew her etc.

 

[Susikatze]

I agree.
I guess the one who killed and raped her is pretty certain via DNA analysis, ok.
But the baby daddy must know something, too. Even if only her name. Even if someone has an ONS, they would still remember a name. He is likely innocent in her death but may hide his past in any other way. From his work, wife, grandkids...?

Besides that I am not so sure about how common ONS were in Hispanic recent immigrant circles back in the day... id guess at least in the late 70s and early 80s, many were fairly conservative and religiously influenced.

 

[Susikatze]

I guess Wilson Chouest did not remember anything about her? He had quite a detailed memory of Shirley Soosay, though. In which bar he met her, that he paid for her drinks, that she was intoxicated. Why did he not remember VCJD?

 

[Springrain]

I guess Wilson Chouest did not remember anything about her? He had quite a detailed memory of Shirley Soosay, though. In which bar he met her, that he paid for her drinks, that she was intoxicated. Why did he not remember VCJD?

You're not wrong...all he really said that I recall was that he picked her up when she was hitchhiking from Visalia. No one seems to remember her, or at least admit to remembering her

 

[Friday Fan]

I guess Wilson Chouest did not remember anything about her? He had quite a detailed memory of Shirley Soosay, though. In which bar he met her, that he paid for her drinks, that she was intoxicated. Why did he not remember VCJD?

I also don't know if he actually said this.

I believe this was third hand info obtained from someone Wilson Chouest knew. I don't know all the details, but I did try to verify if this was accurate.

I don't believe Chouest confessed to law enforcement.

If someone has documentation that Chouest himself stated this to law enforcement, it would be great to have. But I have not found it.

 

[Friday Fan]

I agree.


Besides that I am not so sure about how common ONS were in Hispanic recent immigrant circles back in the day... id guess at least in the late 70s and early 80s, many were fairly conservative and religiously influenced.

I worked at the county hospital in the maternity ward. Poverty is a larger factor than religion in terms of relationships and all that...

Her eyebrows tell a big tale. Her brows were shaved and drawn 1/4 inch above her existing brows.
This means she was very likely a member of the "cholas" subculture Cholo (subculture) - Wikipedia


Portraits Of… 70’s & 80’s CHOLAS Culture - CVLT Nation

 

[szycs_fan]

I agree.
I guess the one who killed and raped her is pretty certain via DNA analysis, ok.
But the baby daddy must know something, too. Even if only her name. Even if someone has an ONS, they would still remember a name. He is likely innocent in her death but may hide his past in any other way. From his work, wife, grandkids...?

Besides that I am not so sure about how common ONS were in Hispanic recent immigrant circles back in the day... id guess at least in the late 70s and early 80s, many were fairly conservative and religiously influenced.

What's an ONS? Sorry, I'm not familiar with the term...

 

[luulabobss]

What's an ONS? Sorry, I'm not familiar with the term...

One night stand

 

[Springrain]

Does anyone have any record of Chouest saying he picked Jane Doe up in Visalia on hand? I kind of wonder if it's possible that information got muddled with him raping, but not murdering, at least one woman he picked up hitchhiking in Visalia. Although, based off his actions, he definitely looked for victims in Visalia. I just want to be sure that this info is accurate.

 

[CarlK90245]

Does anyone have any record of Chouest saying he picked Jane Doe up in Visalia on hand? I kind of wonder if it's possible that information got muddled with him raping, but not murdering, at least one woman he picked up hitchhiking in Visalia. Although, based off his actions, he definitely looked for victims in Visalia. I just want to be sure that this info is accurate.

Yes, that is accurate. He did say to investigators that he picked her up hitchhiking near the College of the Sequoias. Whether that is credible information, or just a story he made up is uncertain.

 

[Springrain]

Yes, that is accurate. He did say to investigators that he picked her up hitchhiking near the College of the Sequoias. Whether that is credible information, or just a story he made up is uncertain.

He also was charged for having raped the Visalia hitchhiker who he also picked up at/near College of the Sequoias, so that makes it more credible to me that he also picked our Doe from there, since he was known to prowl the area for victims.

 

[Friday Fan]

Yes, that is accurate. He did say to investigators that he picked her up hitchhiking near the College of the Sequoias. Whether that is credible information, or just a story he made up is uncertain.

I can't find documentation that he said this to investigators anywhere. In 1980, he made some teens clean his vehicle and at the time, he told one that he "picked up a broad from a bar and killed her and dropped her body off in Bakersfield."

Quote from casetext:

"In 2012, a forensic scientist analyzed items from Jane Doe-Ventura County's rape kit. The DNA found on her clothing matched Chouest's.

The following year, investigators from the Ventura County District Attorney's Office met with Chouest. Chouest said he was unfamiliar with the area around Westlake High School. He said he had never seen Jane Doe-Ventura County and did not have sex with her. He provided the investigators with a DNA sample.

The investigators reinterviewed Chouest in 2015. Chouest admitted that he lived with C.B. in the summer of 1980 and that he left her sons alone one night. He denied having the boys vacuum blood out of his car or clean a knife. He also denied that he said that he "pick[ed] up some broad in a bar and took her out into the country and killed her."






I guess this is some sort of court record:

People v. Chouest, 2d Crim. No. B291449 | Casetext Search + Citator

People v. Chouest, 2d Crim. No. B291449 | Casetext Search + Citator


In the summer of 1980, Chouest lived with C.B. and her three sons in Lemoore. From July 14 to 20, C.B. left her sons in Chouest's care. Chouest left the boys alone for one or two nights. When he returned, the carpet in the back seat of his car was soaked with blood.

Chouest made the boys vacuum his car. He told one of them that he had "picked up a broad from a bar and killed her and dropped her body off in Bakersfield." He also told him to soak a knife in bleach. Separately, Chouest told another of C.B.'s sons that he hit a deer and put it in the back seat of his car. One of C.B.'s sons later told his mother not to use the vacuum because they used it to vacuum blood from the car.

 

[cvaldez1975]

I agree.
I guess the one who killed and raped her is pretty certain via DNA analysis, ok.
But the baby daddy must know something, too. Even if only her name. Even if someone has an ONS, they would still remember a name. He is likely innocent in her death but may hide his past in any other way. From his work, wife, grandkids...?

Besides that I am not so sure about how common ONS were in Hispanic recent immigrant circles back in the day... id guess at least in the late 70s and early 80s, many were fairly conservative and religiously influenced.

not really in LA though. my dad was a lot older than my mom and he even once told me that teens/young adults in his day "do all the same things you do now".

 

[Springrain]

Is there a large Mexican presence in LA Koreatown? She will probably get ID'd through genetic genealogy before the message reached the right person, but since she had gotten pregnant by a man living in Koreatown, she obviously might've lived there too, and someone in a Mexican community in Koreatown could say "Oh, my mom and I were living in Koreatown in 1980 and then she disappeared..." If there is not a large Mexican presence there I imagine it'd be much harder. As I said earlier it probably is just a matter of genetic genealogy now, but I'd still like to know.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Is there a large Mexican presence in LA Koreatown? She will probably get ID'd through genetic genealogy before the message reached the right person, but since she had gotten pregnant by a man living in Koreatown, she obviously might've lived there too, and someone in a Mexican community in Koreatown could say "Oh, my mom and I were living in Koreatown in 1980 and then she disappeared..." If there is not a large Mexican presence there I imagine it'd be much harder. As I said earlier it probably is just a matter of genetic genealogy now, but I'd still like to know.

In 2000, it appeared to be almost a quarter Mexican. No idea what it was like 40 years ago, though.
(Koreatown)

 

[Friday Fan]

Is there a large Mexican presence in LA Koreatown? She will probably get ID'd through genetic genealogy before the message reached the right person, but since she had gotten pregnant by a man living in Koreatown, she obviously might've lived there too, and someone in a Mexican community in Koreatown could say "Oh, my mom and I were living in Koreatown in 1980 and then she disappeared..." If there is not a large Mexican presence there I imagine it'd be much harder. As I said earlier it probably is just a matter of genetic genealogy now, but I'd still like to know.

The father was identified to be a Honduran immigrant who was associated with a community of Central American immigrants in the Koreatown district of Los Angeles.
County detectives say they have been in contact with him but were unable to get any new info about her.

I look at the wording and it is vague: What does "associated" mean?

It also says, "was"..(does this mean past tense?? )

It doesn't say that if he is currently a resident...Was he visiting in 1980??



I don't know anything about Koreatown, but when I look on a map there are quite a few consulates there, including the Honduran Consulate. So was he in the US on a VISA and was in contact with Honduran Consulate? (Sorry, I don't even know enough about immigration) However, I assume legal "records" would be at the consulate as opposed to any 1980 rental lease, which would have been long gone...

For instance, if they contacted him and he now lives in Honduras. He could have said, "Yeah, I lived at xzy apartment"...However, those records would no longer exist. However, a record would probably exist at the Honduran Consulate which happens to be in Koreatown.

However, was Koreatown given because of an association with the Honduran Consulate or did he reside in the neighborhood?? Does he still reside in the area??? The wording is vague....

Maybe the statement is vague on purpose to protect his privacy.
He could have resided in greater Los Angeles and could still be residing in greater Los Angeles. He could have resided in Koreatown then and still is a resident now....He could have moved back to Honduras......There are quite a number of possibilities based on how it is worded.

I have no idea.....
Just speculating and throwing endless possibilities out there...LOL

However, it does establish that VCJD was probably residing in the Los Angeles area in February 1980.

Sorry this is so wordy..LOL

 

[Springrain]

I had no idea there was a Honduran Consulate in Koreatown! Thank you, Friday Fan, for that helpful info. I have no way to know, but hearing that he was associated with a Central American community in Koreatown AND there was a Honduran Consulate there makes me imagine he lived there. I can imagine Jane Doe associating with that community because of the heavily-Latino culture in the community, but again, there is no proof!

I find it so odd, surprising, and truthfully, incredibly sad, that her baby's father has been ID'd before she has and seems to have forgotten her. Everyone seems to have forgotten her. It really makes me sad. I know someone is out there somewhere looking for her - the kid(s) she gave birth to before she died, maybe her parents or siblings or even an aunt or uncle or cousin. She didn't exist in a vacuum. This lady was somebody. She had to have somebody who loved her and wanted to make sure she was safe and happy. With the possibility that she was an immigrant, maybe even a recent one, it is just possible that this person/these people can't reach the right authorities in the US, have language barriers, etc.

 

[Lightshade]

Something interesting that happened at work a few days ago. (I work at a large theme park in So Cal FYI and that's all I'm going to say for privacy reasons.) A girl was training at the attraction I work at and I was STUNNED by her resemblance to VCJD. She's Latina and probably in her twenties, has hair the same length and texture complete with brown roots and coincidentally with blonde hair going down about three inches from the end, the same face shape, same skin tone, her eyebrows were plucked and heavily drawn in, honestly it freaked me out a little bit how much she resembles the latest reconstruction given how much I've looked at it over the past year.

I am very tempted to bring it up the next time I see her but she doesn't know me from Adam and I don't want to come off as some creepy person with our first conversation revolving around "Hey, do you have a relative that might have disappeared in 1980 and that you haven't heard from since?" Anyone ever approach anyone in real life about one of these cases, and if so, how do you do so with some tact?

 

[Tired Professor]

Something interesting that happened at work a few days ago. (I work at a large theme park in So Cal FYI and that's all I'm going to say for privacy reasons.) A girl was training at the attraction I work at and I was STUNNED by her resemblance to VCJD. She's Latina and probably in her twenties, has hair the same length and texture complete with brown roots and coincidentally with blonde hair going down about three inches from the end, the same face shape, same skin tone, her eyebrows were plucked and heavily drawn in, honestly it freaked me out a little bit how much she resembles the latest reconstruction given how much I've looked at it over the past year.

I am very tempted to bring it up the next time I see her but she doesn't know me from Adam and I don't want to come off as some creepy person with our first conversation revolving around "Hey, do you have a relative that might have disappeared in 1980 and that you haven't heard from since?" Anyone ever approach anyone in real life about one of these cases, and if so, how do you do so with some tact?

Interesting! Probably the same place my family members worked as well! Anyway, we know Jane doe might have connections to that area and wasn’t it believed that she had a prior birth? This could be a relative. Are there any sort of lockers or mailboxes where a flier could be placed where she might see it?