Mother identified in 1989 Arizona desert homicide tied to two infants abandoned in California, investigators say

After more than three decades, investigators say they have identified Marina Ramos as the woman found murdered in the Arizona desert in 1989 and linked her to two infant daughters who disappeared at the time of her death. Ramos, a Bakersfield, California, resident, was found Dec. 12, 1989, naked with multiple stab wounds in Mohave County, about 50 miles south of Las Vegas. Her two daughters, Elizabeth, then 14 months old, and Jasmin, then 2 months old, were missing with Ramos at the time of her death, according to Mohave County authorities.

For years, the case remained unsolved as investigators struggled to identify Ramos. DNA testing at the time did not yield matches, hampering identification efforts. In February 2022, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit resubmitted fingerprints from the case to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, and the FBI matched the prints to Maria Ortiz, an alias Ramos had used after being arrested for shoplifting in Bakersfield in 1989. The discovery established a direct link between Ramos and the 1989 homicide, according to law enforcement.

The two daughters disappeared with their mother in 1989 and were later located in California. Authorities say Elizabeth Ramos and Jasmin Ramos were found abandoned in a park restroom in Oxnard, California, in December 1989, just two days after Ramos’s body was discovered in Arizona. A witness reported seeing a Hispanic woman with two Hispanic men carrying the children in a black mini pickup, and the girls were found crying on the restroom floor without any nearby adults. The siblings were placed in foster care and eventually adopted by a family in Ventura County.

A timeline established by investigators indicates that the girls were taken to Oxnard shortly after their mother’s death and that the discovery of the bodies in Arizona and the abandonment of the children in California occurred within a tight window. In August, authorities confirmed through a DNA match that the two girls found in Oxnard are the same children who disappeared with Ramos in 1989. The revelation came as investigators continued to review witnesses, public records, and other evidence in an effort to determine who was responsible for Marina Ramos’s killing.

While the identity of Ramos’s killer remains unresolved, sheriff’s officials emphasized that solving the early homicide remains an ongoing priority. The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said the case is a long-running investigation and that original leads are still being pursued. Community members who may have information about the circumstances surrounding Ramos’s death or the men described by witnesses are encouraged to contact the sheriff’s office with any details.

The case illustrates how advances in forensic science can eventually link disparate elements of a decades-old crime. It also highlights the long arc of investigations into missing persons cases, where identification of a victim or a suspect can come years or even decades after the fact. Authorities say they will continue to pursue leads related to Marina Ramos’s killing as they work to identify the person or persons responsible and bring clarity to the families affected by the tragedy.