On December 4, 1997, a motorist was driving on Highway 88, just south of Lake Tahoe,

when he saw a dark object in the snow on the side of the road.

He got out of his vehicle and took a closer look, but when he saw it was the frozen body

of a young woman, he got back in his car and found somewhere to notify the police.

When an Alpine County Sheriff's Deputy arrived on the scene, he first assumed that the woman

was the victim of a car accident.

When he climbed down the embankment to look at the victim, he noted that she was fully

clothed with a backpack and a lunch bag.

She had her wallet on her and cash inside.

The young woman had been reported missing the previous day, but the location of the body

was 175 miles or 280 kilometers away.

Atter autopsy, it became clear that she had not been the victim of a car accident.

The first injuries identified by the medical examiner were bruising around her neck that

led the doctor to determine the cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation due to ligature

strangulation.

This is the medical term for when someone is strangled with a device other than someone's

hands.

As the medical examiner worked his way over the body, he found multiple bruises on both

sides of her buttocks.

It was further evidence of sexual assault and penetration of the rectum with a foreign

object.

This young woman had been tortured, raped, and then strangled before her body was dumped

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