Thanks to investigative genetic genealogy, an Orange County John Doe homicide victim, discovered 43 years ago, has been identified.
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In May 1980, the remains identified only as a black male, 17-24 years old, who had suffered a gunshot wound to the face, were recovered in the unincorporated area of Tonner Canyon near the city of Brea.
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Years went by, and the case went cold until December 2021, when the Sheriff's Department was contacted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), who wanted to conduct a forensic investigative to identify the victim.
In May 2022, the John Doe was exhumed to obtain samples for analysis, and later that year, thanks to a DNA profile, the FBI Genealogy Team was able to generate new potential leads.
After months of working to identify family members, OC Sheriff investigators contacted a woman in Compton believed to be the mother.
By comparing DNA samples, investigators identified the deceased as Lonnie Raymond Thomas, who was 20 years old at the time of his death.
Now that Thoma's mother knows what happened to him all those years ago, the question of who did it still remains.
OC Sheriff investigators ordered a gravestone be placed to mark Thoma's final resting place and ask that anyone with information related to this case contact Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS or crimestoppers.org.
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