Identified! WY - Granger, WhtFem UP11332, pregnant, in remote area, Apr'82 - Christine Thornton

[creepedout]

It apparently is a recent ID, since Doe Network still has the case -

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1055ufwy.html

 

[Alleykins]

I wonder who it turned out to be and how they made the ID? Linda Peterson's case is still in NamUs, so it doesn't appear to be her.
I wonder if CarlK knows.

 

[taramarie]

Are you sure she was identified? I'm only asking because if you're basing this off of the fact that her profile was pulled, then she wasn't necessarily IDed. I've seen Namus block profiles for other reasons. I sure hope you're right though!


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[verdandie]

I contacted the regional admin on NamUs today, the response was she had been identified, but they haven't seen any media on the case.

 

[verdandie]

Taken from the Rocket Miner

Rocket-Miner Newspaper added 2 new photos.
18 mins ·
BREAKING NEWS:
Notorious serial killer charged for murder in 30-year-old local cold case
SWEETWATER COUNTY — A California man has been charged for his involvement in a 1977 Sweetwater County homicide.
In a joint press release from the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office and the Sweetwater County Attorney’s Office, Sheriff Mike Lowell and County Attorney Dan Erramouspe announced that murder charges have been filed against Rodney James Alcala, 73, of California following a 34 year investigation by the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office. Alcala, a condemned California Department of Corrections inmate, has been charged with first degree murder, though it is unknown when he will be returned to Wyoming to answer the charges against him.
Authorities believe that during the summer of 1977 Alcala murdered Christine Ruth Thornton, 28, of San Antonio, Texas and disposed of her body in a remote area northeast of Granger, a small rural community in western Sweetwater County. In April 1982, Thornton’s remains were located by a local rancher, but would remain unidentified until 2015 despite efforts by the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office and Wyoming State Crime Laboratory to identify the remains. Though evidence located at the scene was dilapidated, it was determined that the individual was the victim of homicide.
In 2013 Detective Jeff Sheaman picked up the cold case and continued the investigation. A tissue sample from the remains was submitted to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification for mitochondrial DNA analysis and inclusion into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUS). NamUS assists law enforcement agencies in the identification of missing persons through various means, including comparison of DNA samples from unidentified and missing persons and relatives of these people who can submit their own DNA samples for analysis.
Alcala was tried and convicted for the 1979 murder of Robin Samsoe in 1980. In 2005 a California grand jury indicted Alcala for the murders of Jill Barcomb, Georgia Wixted, Charlotte Lamb, and Jill Parenteau. Alcala was convicted at trial of all four murders in 2010, and sentenced to death by a California jury. Following Alcala’s 2010 conviction, detectives of the Huntington Beach Police Department Robbery-Homicide Unit released to the public a series of photographs that were found in Alcala’s possession in 1979 in hopes of identifying other potential victims.
Though unknown to Sweetwater County detectives, Thornton’s family had been searching for her since her disappearance from the San Antonio area in 1977, and in 2013 a relative was reviewing the Alcala photographs and located a photograph of Thornton. Thornton’s family contacted Huntington Beach Police Department detectives and reported their findings. In 2014 two of Thornton’s siblings submitted their DNA samples for inclusion into the NamUS system. In July 2015 Sweetwater County detectives were contacted by NamUS and alerted to the possible identification of Thornton.
Detectives continued their investigation, and positively identified the remains as those of Thornton. Detectives were able to determine that the photograph of Thornton in Alcala’s possessions was taken a short distance from where her remains were found. Other evidence discovered during the investigation has linked Alcala to Thornton’s homicide.
Alcala, commonly known as the “Dating Game Killer” for his 1978 appearance on the popular television show, was also linked to two additional murders in New York in the 1970’s. Alcala was charged and convicted of these crimes in 2012 and given a lengthy prison sentence before being returned to California. While Alcala has been deemed a prolific serial killer, authorities don’t know the full extent of his crimes, though they estimate he may have up to 130 victims across the United States.
If convicted, Alcala could face punishments of death or life in prison in Wyoming. Alcala is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Anyone who has further information on the case, particularly anyone in contact with Thornton or Alcala during 1977, is encouraged to contact Sergeant Joe Tomich at 307-922-5295.

 

[taramarie]

WOW! RIP Christine.


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[verdandie]

Christine Thornton is still in NamUs.

 

[Alleykins]

Wow. Just wow.

 

[Nikon]

Rodney Alcala, in Wyoming? This changes everything. Previously, he was active in California between 1977-'79. Christine was from Texas. Where and when did they meet?

Christine had been laying undiscovered from summer of 1977 to spring of 1982. She was pregnant when she disappeared.

Christine's Namus page

Rodney Alcala took this photograph of Christine near where her remains were found.

Another news outlet on Christine

 

[taramarie]

I am a little surprised about the match though since there was no indication in Christine's case file of a pregnancy. 6 months is pretty far along. I wonder where she was in the meantime.


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[taramarie]

I am a little surprised about the match though since there was no indication in Christine's case file of a pregnancy. 6 months is pretty far along. I wonder where she was in the meantime.


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Oh! Nevermind! Her Namus does say she was pregnant.


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[Alleykins]

Oh! Nevermind! Her Namus does say she was pregnant.
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Yep, it does. I wonder how they ended up in Wyoming.

 

[Alleykins]

Rodney Alcala, in Wyoming? This changes everything. Previously, he was active in California between 1977-'79. Christine was from Texas. Where and when did they meet?
Christine had been laying undiscovered from summer of 1977 to spring of 1982. She was pregnant when she disappeared.

Christine's Namus page

Rodney Alcala took this photograph of Christine near where her remains were found.

Another news outlet on Christine

What's really odd is that on the thread for this photograph, it states this picture was not of Christine, that some other woman said it was her. I read that somewhere else, too, so this is all kind of bizarre. I remember reading about this case and Christine's, but never put them together because of the time discrepancy and the location. Just goes to show you, you never know.

PS I'm really bad with geography, but it looks like NV desert to me in the background, not someplace in WY. Does WY really look like that in some places?

 

[cvaldez1975]

it is utterly chilling to look upon a pic of a very much living person who probably was killed shortly after it was taken

Rodney Alcala, in Wyoming? This changes everything. Previously, he was active in California between 1977-'79. Christine was from Texas. Where and when did they meet?

Christine had been laying undiscovered from summer of 1977 to spring of 1982. She was pregnant when she disappeared.

Christine's Namus page

Rodney Alcala took this photograph of Christine near where her remains were found.

Another news outlet on Christine

 

[taramarie]

Wonder how many others he's responsible for. Poor Christine. And her baby.


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[carbuff]

Yes Wyoming does look like that in places. But I agree about the whole thing being bizarre. Several different people made the connection between Christine in the photo.


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[Nikon]

PS I'm really bad with geography, but it looks like NV desert to me in the background, not someplace in WY. Does WY really look like that in some places?

Sweetwater county is in southwestern Wyoming. It's a large area. Some areas are more mountainous. Some areas look like that. At first, I assumed it was taken in the Mojave desert in California where he was most active. I've been to the Mojave desert, and it resembles the scenery in Christine's picture.

it is utterly chilling to look upon a pic of a very much living person who probably was killed shortly after it was taken

This is the first confirmation that his cache of slides were of a victim linked to him.

 

[Onfortuneswheel]

I'm so surprised to see Alcala linked to this one. Isn't he only known to have committed murders in California, Washington, and New York? Being linked to Christine's case really changes things.

 

[carbuff]

Sweetwater county is in southwestern Wyoming. It's a large area. Some areas are more mountainous. Some areas look like that. At first, I assumed it was taken in the Mojave desert in California where he was most active. I've been to the Mojave desert, and it resembles the scenery in Christine's picture.

This is the first confirmation that his cache of slides were of a victim linked to him.

I-80 runs through the southern part, going from San Francisco through Reno, Salt Lake City, then Rock City and Cheyenne Wyoming, and on east to Omaha, Des Moines, Chicago, Cleveland, and central PA on into New York City, so Alcala was probably quite familiar with it driving as he did from CA to NY. It intersects US 191, a main north-south route that runs from Morgan, Montana, on the Canadian border all the way south to Mexico (Agua Pieta, if memory serves), going through Yellowstone and Teton Parks, Flaming Gorge, Moab and the arches, and a whole lot of wild and beautiful territory.

I'm thinking Alcala's photo looks an awful lot like the wide open plains around Farson and the Sublette Cutoff, maybe along the Lincoln Sweetwater Road from Farson to Fontenelle. https://goo.gl/maps/Je3ZKTS8wGq I'm not sure that road is open to the public any more but it would have been in 1977, which is about when I traveled it (1975 probably). It's the most awesome thing driving along the road where the ruts from the westbound Oregon Trail wagons are still visible, and you can find the remains of items the pioneers unloaded to make their loads light enough to be able to reach the water at Fontenelle. And the wind never stops. And you can see the earth curve.

All of which probably has no bearing on the murder, but...

 

[Alleykins]

Yes Wyoming does look like that in places. But I agree about the whole thing being bizarre. Several different people made the connection between Christine in the photo.
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They did, and one woman even claimed it was her, not Christine.