39-year-old cold case murder solved…halfway

LONG BEACH—After almost four decades, Long Beach Police arrested a suspect in connection with a mysterious murder. But there’s still one impediment to completely solving the cold case: identifying the victim.

The unknown victim in a composite image. She is also described as 5'2", 135 lbs., brown hair and eyes, teenage to early 20's.

According to a Long Beach Police Department press release, detectives arrested 61-year-old Gary Stamp on May 28^th, almost 39 years after the May 20^th, 1974 murder of “Jane Doe #40,” as the LBPD refer to her. Decades earlier, the victim’s body was discovered on Alamitos Beach near Alamitos and Ocean Boulevard, clothed in a two piece pink pantsuit, a black waist length fur coat, and wearing a 14 karat gold ring with a diamond solitaire. She also bore a distinct scar on the top of her left hand. Despite all these defining features, no one came forward to identify the Jane Doe, and with no other evidence, police had neither a suspect nor a victim ID.

The case remained cold until Long Beach Police received a grant from the National Institute of Justice with the purpose of solving cold cases with DNA. While “Jane Doe #40” did not contain any usable DNA samples, Long Beach Police turned over the case to homicide detectives Todd Johnson and Malcolm Evans for review.

Their investigation led them to Texas, where they identified a potential suspect or witness. Upon questioning, the man admitted to helping the suspect dispose of the body at Alamitos Beach and pointed them towards Stamp, who resided back in California.

The victim's body was found at Alamitos Beach in May 1974

After multiple interviews with Stamp, the suspect admitted to Evans and Johnson that he had raped, strangled, and ultimately murdered “Jane Doe #40” after he had met her at a Downtown Long Beach bar. While he could not provide any more information about Doe’s identity, he thought that her first name could have been “Anna.”

After Stamp’s arrest, his arraignment was set for June 12^th. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office is still looking into the involvement and culpability of the alleged accomplice.

The Long Beach Police Department was not immediately available for comment.

Anyone with any information regarding the identity of Jane Doe #40 is urged to contact Homicide Detectives Todd Johnson or Malcolm Evans at (562) 570-7244.

Read More:

Press-Telegram: Long Beach police arrest man for 1974 murder

CBS Los Angeles: Police Arrest Man For 1974 Murder – Now Just Have To Figure out Who Victim Was