Identified: Maria Belmontes Blancas, Piru Jane Doe 1981

Read the original case announcement here

Written by Samantha Dunne, co-team-lead

On January 27, 1981, the body of an unidentified female homicide victim was found in a citrus orchard in Piru, California.

Piru Jane Doe was estimated to be between 18 and 30 years old, and was found within days of her death. She was of Hispanic descent and stood at approximately 5’1 and 195 pounds. She was found fully clothed and wore several pieces of jewelry, including two yellow metal rings, earrings, and a yellow metal cross necklace. Without any leads as to her (or her killer’s) identity, the case quickly went cold. 

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office contacted Dr. Redgrave in April of 2024, requesting assistance in the Piru Jane Doe case. Student intern Samantha Dunne, under the guidance of lead Forensic Genetic Denealogists Dr. Anthony Redgrave and Lee Bingham Redgrave, co-led the genealogical research. 

Piru Jane Doe’s ancestry could be traced back to several different families in southern Mexico, particularly in the states of Michoacán and Jalisco. This included the Mendoza family from Cotija de la Paz, the Blancas family from Chavinda, and the Garcia family from Mazamitla. These families were heavily endogamous in their own communities and did not begin mixing with each other until approximately the mid-1800s, when they resettled in small ranches in the area of Aguililla and Coalcomán de Vazquez Pallares, two neighboring towns in southern Michoacán.

The research process was characterized by low initial DNA matches, high levels of endogamy, and sporadic availability of genealogical records. Many civil and parish records were lost or destroyed during the Cristero War (1926-1929), and most of the digitized records from Aguililla and Coalcomán de Vazquez Pallares were unindexed, requiring the team to search through them manually and even index certain collections themselves. Owing to the high degree of endogamy in the target population, most of the initial DNA matches proved to be related to Piru Jane Doe in multiple different ways, making them appear more closely related to her than they actually were.

The team utilized a combination of target testing, traditional genealogical research methods, and DNA segment analysis to identify people who were likely to be close relatives of Piru Jane Doe. Because it was customary for the same one to five families to live on the same ranch for generations, the team was able to narrow in on a handful of specific ranches in the area, including Chapula, El Potrero, and Los Oscuros. This team began researching the descendants of Tomas Blancas Garcia, who was born in Chapula in December 1890. Records indicate that Tomas Blancas had at least 15 children between 1916 and 1945, including eight with his second wife, Maria Jesus Aguilar Perez. 

Reynalda Blancas Aguilar (b. 1929) was the oldest daughter of Tomas Blancas and Maria Jesus Aguilar. Because Piru Jane Doe was believed to have been 18 to 30 years old at the time of her death (placing her year of birth sometime between 1951 and 1963), the team theorized that Reynalda could potentially be the mother of Piru Jane Doe.

Reynalda Blancas married Francisco Espinoza in Aguililla in March 1950. For reasons that are unclear, they later began using the names Francisco Belmontes and Reynalda Ortega. Through interviews with the family, VCSO Investigator Ruiz-Acevedo learned that Francisco and Reynalda had seven children together, including a daughter who currently resides in the United States. Investigator Ruiz-Acevedo established contact with the woman, who revealed that she had a sister named Maria who lived in the US — and no one had seen her since 1980. 

Maria Belmontes Blancas was born in Aguililla on March 2, 1957. She moved to California sometime in 1980. Little is known about her time in the United States; her family knew she was residing in California, but they did not know exactly where or who she may have been staying with. Detective Ruiz-Acevedo traveled to Arizona to obtain a DNA sample from one of Maria’s siblings for direct comparison to Piru Jane Doe. On August 19, 2025, a one-to-one comparison confirmed that Piru Jane Doe was Maria Belmontes Blancas. 

Redgrave Research Forensic Services would like to thank the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office for entrusting us with this case and for their tireless efforts in doing all that could be done to give Maria her name back. We would also like to acknowledge the many family members who contributed their own pieces of the puzzle over the last year and a half, whether it was by agreeing to take a DNA test and upload to GEDmatch, offering information about their family history, or even producing their own genealogical research to assist the investigation. We express our deepest condolences to Maria’s family at this time.

Maria has been identified, but her killer has not.  Maria's case is an open homicide investigation, and anyone who has any details that may help in finding her killer should contact:

Araseli Ruiz-Acevedo

Ventura County Sheriff's Office-Major Crimes Investigations

(805) 383-8739

coldcase@ventura.org

Forensic Genetic Genealogy team for this case:

Dr. Anthony Redgrave (team lead)
Lee Bingham Redgrave (team lead)
Samantha Dunne (co-team lead)
Jenna Robertson
Viktor Veltstra