A body found in a shallow grave near Sugar Loaf Mountain in Southern California in 1981 has been identified as Thelma Jeanette Gaston, an 80-year-old Los Angeles County real estate investor and multimillionaire, authorities confirmed Wednesday. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office stated that forensic advances, including dental records and genetic genealogy, enabled the identification more than four decades after her murder.

Victim Identified in 1981 Homicide Case

According to the sheriff’s office, Thelma Gaston was the victim of a 1981 homicide that occurred in Los Angeles County. Her remains, described as “severely decomposed,” were discovered in November 1981, but the condition of the body prevented immediate identification. Investigators from the Riverside Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau and the Cold Case Homicide Team positively identified her in May 2025.

Gaston was last seen on June 28, 1981, after leaving a note at her Rancho Park home stating she was searching for her cat, the Los Angeles Times reported. Additional letters, allegedly written by Gaston, claimed she was transferring her affairs to Lawrence Remsen, a 39-year-old man she had been involved with. The letters, which included statements like “everyone is after my money” and “I am going to have some fun in life,” were later deemed inconsistent with Gaston’s character by her nephew, John Mittrick.

Forged Documents and a Murder Conviction

Investigations revealed that the documents were certified with a stolen notary stamp, and Gaston’s signatures had been forged, according to SFGate. Remsen, a former carpet salesman and burglar alarm company worker, had attempted to sell Gaston’s possessions and withdraw over $100,000 from her bank accounts. Police raided his West Los Angeles apartment, finding stolen items belonging to Gaston, including her Mercedes, which was initially not confiscated but later disappeared.

Remsen was apprehended in Texas in September 1981 while attempting to cross into Mexico. He claimed Gaston died of natural causes and that he buried her at sea. However, a judge convicted him of second-degree murder in 1983, stating he acted “intentionally and with malice.” Despite the body not being identified at the time, Remsen was sentenced to life in prison. Now 83, he has been denied parole four times since 2016, with his most recent denial on April 12, 2023, NBC News reported.