WA WA - Celia Victor, 26, Seattle, Nov 1988

[shadowdancer]

This is an interesting case. We have TWO unidentified persons here, although they are strongly believed to be one and the same.

'Rita Lang' is/was the last known alias of a woman who was arrested and jailed on many occasions for drugs and prostitution between 1977 and 1988. She used various different names (Brenda O'Neil, Sheri Edwards, Janet Dee, Rita Lang), but fingerprints showed that these were all the same person.

In 1988 (September 1st) she got out of jail for the last time and was never heard of again. In November 1988 she failed to show up in court on drug charges. They still don't know her true identity.

Here is her Namus page - https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/23748/9/

........................................................................................................

This UID was found a year later. Namus says October 13th 1989, Doe Network says October 3rd 1989. She had been murdered. The investigators strongly believe that she is 'Rita Lang', but they cannot prove it because they have no DNA or dentals for 'Rita'.

The UID had been dead for about a year and is possibly a victim of the Green River Killer.

Here are her Namus and Doe Network pages -

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/11887

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/454ufwa.html


And here is a great article and video which gives more information about 'Rita Lang', the UID and the links between the two. http://catchwmw.com/2014/02/14/who-...-to-solving-possible-green-river-killer-case/

 

[carbuff]

One possibility I found:

http://doenetwork.org/cases/107dfny.html

Cesilia Pena, 14, NYC. She was 4'9" then so she likely grew up to be a small woman. Rita's only five feet. She was last seen in New York in 1976, which would allow her to be in California in 1977 under an assumed name. She has a scar on her left forearm.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/st...s-help-identifying-woman-found-dead/21321379/

According to the FBI, Sacramento may hold the best clue to the woman's true identity. In 1977, an FBI number was issued after an arrest by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department on Feb. 4. The number was used to track the woman's fingerprints. The number was issued to Brenda N. O'Neil, who said at the time she was born on April 27, 1958.

She told police she lived in Sacramento and listed an alias of Brenda Victor on her booking sheet. The name Brenda O'Neil may also be an alias. She may have also used an alias of Rita Lang, who was arrested multiple times in Washington. Police have linked the woman to arrests in California, Arizona and Washington.

She may have used the name Sherri Marie Edwards while in the Central Valley.

 

[DexterMorgan]

The crack era was brutal on women. Especially for those who elected to be loners while moving to different drug infested areas.

 

[carbuff]

I posred her to my Facebook.

 

[shadowdancer]

I find this case so interesting, but it is so multi-layed that it will probably be very difficult to get to the bottom of all of it.

Even if they can prove that the UID is 'Rita Lang', they still don't know who 'Rita Lang' really is.

Cesilia Pena looks like she could be a younger version of Lang, but its difficult to be sure. This is a case (along with FLEK) which could benefit from an age regression sketch being done.

 

[bflocket]

This is an interesting case. We have TWO unidentified persons here, although they are strongly believed to be one and the same.

'Rita Lang' is/was the last known alias of a woman who was arrested and jailed on many occasions for drugs and prostitution between 1977 and 1988. She used various different names (Brenda O'Neil, Sheri Edwards, Janet Dee, Rita Lang), but fingerprints showed that these were all the same person.

In 1988 (September 1st) she got out of jail for the last time and was never heard of again. In November 1988 she failed to show up in court on drug charges. They still don't know her true identity.

Here is her Namus page - https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/23748/9/

........................................................................................................

This UID was found a year later. Namus says October 13th 1989, Doe Network says October 3rd 1989. She had been murdered. The investigators strongly believe that she is 'Rita Lang', but they cannot prove it because they have no DNA or dentals for 'Rita'.

The UID had been dead for about a year and is possibly a victim of the Green River Killer.

Here are her Namus and Doe Network pages -

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/11887

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/454ufwa.html


And here is a great article and video which gives more information about 'Rita Lang', the UID and the links between the two. http://catchwmw.com/2014/02/14/who-...-to-solving-possible-green-river-killer-case/

There is some conflicting info (or unknowns) in the links on this case. The only site to mention her cause of death is DoeNet. It says COD was shotgun blast. NamUs and a few news stories on here, or ones I found searching, do not mention a COD.

The story mentions her being a possible Green River Killer victim. I don't think she would be (if the shotgun is true) as he mainly strangled the victims. Gunshot was mentioned on the King County website, where DoeNet got its info. Ridgeway liked to strangle. He found a way to do it easily and that's why he kept it going. I don't think he would ever go around looking for a prostitute to shoot or slash since he liked strangulation.

But she could very well be one of Gary Ridgeway's victims if the shotgun blast is incorrect. Of the sites I generally trust, it's 2-vs-2 on the cause of death.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Murder victim found in Washington identified decades later

http://www.aol.com/article/2016/02/18/murder-victim-found-in-washington-identified-decades-later/21314900/

Nearly a year later, skeletal remains were found by some construction workers in King County. The remains went unidentified until very recently. Through bone reconstruction and sketches, forensic detectives were able to figure out who it was. It was the woman who called herself "Rita Lang."

Investigators distributed her picture to the media, hoping the public would help find her real name and where her family lives and who might have killed her.

The picture made its way back to Sacramento, where Arlene Seuell lives.

Seuell was sure the woman was her sister, and DNA testing later confirmed that.

The woman's real name was Celia Victor.

Celia Victor murder: DNA leads to big breakthrough, real name of woman killed in 1988

 

[azure]

Murder victim found in Washington identified decades later

http://www.aol.com/article/2016/02/18/murder-victim-found-in-washington-identified-decades-later/21314900/



Celia Victor murder: DNA leads to big breakthrough, real name of woman killed in 1988

RIP Celia. One interesting thing to note here is that one of her aliases used her real last name. May be something to search for with future UIDs who have used an alias.

 

[Jake479]

RIP Celia Victor

 

[shadowdancer]

Very glad this has been solved, I really feared it would never be.

Condolences to Celia's sister and other loved ones.

 

[Redwood146]

Seems that Celia had a pretty tough life.... I hope her kids fared better and have learnt want happen to their mother.

 

[the_missing]

Might want to email Doenet and tell them to take down 454UFWA, because it's still up (http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/454ufwa.html).

 

[WyomingSkyAngel]

My guess is a pimp or someone she stole from...

 

[carbuff]

RIP Celia. Condolences to family and friends.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article74326417.html

Vasquez credits social media with solving the mystery of her sister’s identity...

Saturday’s memorial service is open to the public, and Seuell and Vasquez invite people who may be searching for missing loved ones to attend. The service will include a presentation on what they have learned in the last year, not only in identifying the Seattle homicide victim as their sister, but also in working to find Victor’s children.

The service is scheduled from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at Church of the Sovereign God, 3232 51st Ave., Sacramento.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article74940027.html

Rodney Blockton II didn’t know his mother, Celia Victor, well as a child – but remembers her warm and cheerful phone calls. When he was 9 or 10, they suddenly stopped coming, he said. No one knew why.

“I was always wondering what had happened – it was unusual,” he said Saturday, standing near the flower-covered altar at his mother’s memorial. “I was glad to get some closure, to find out that she didn’t leave me”...

On Saturday, the white-walled Church of the Sovereign God in south Sacramento was packed with loved ones in flowered headbands and luau necklaces, a tribute to Victor’s Hawaiian heritage and her middle name Nalei, meaning flower.

 

[Tulessa]

Another Gary Ridgway victim perhaps.

 

[Jems]

Something nice to come out of this case:

http://fox40.com/2017/04/14/cold-case-investigation-brings-woman-niece-together-for-first-time/

 

[imstilla.grandma]

26 years later, KCMEO identifies unknown homicide victim – PUBLIC HEALTH INSIDER

After 26 years of investigation, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office (KCMEO) identified the remains of an unknown homicide victim, who died from a shotgun wound to the torso.

publichealthinsider.com