NM GUADALUPE COUNTY JANE DOE: WF, 25, found at I-40 / US 84 in Guadalupe Co, NM - 11 July 1978 - R. Lanphear victim

[Romulus]

NamUs UP # 17089

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Unidentified White Female
Found July 11, 1978 at Hwy 219, junction of I-40/US 84 in Guadalupe County, New Mexico

Vital Stats
Estimated Age: Adult - Pre 20
Estimated Weight: 145 lbs
Height: 68 inches (5 feet 8 inches)
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Blue

Condition
Body Parts Inventory: All Parts Recovered
Body Condition: Recognizable Face
Probable Year of Death: 1978
Estimated PM interval: Days
Clothing and Accessories
Clothing: Dark brown moccasins; Blue denim Levi cutoffs; White and navy vest/halter-top type shirt
Piercings: Pierced ears, 3 times on the left, twice on the right

Circumstances of death
The deceased was found beside Highway 219 at the junction of I-40 and US 84 by a NM Highway Department foreman. It appeared that she had been shot multiple times and there were .22 shells present at the scene.

#JaneDoe was carrying a guitar, a coin purse carrying $1.50, and her birth certificate, according to her killers. Then why is she still unidentified?

Found July 11, 1978 at Hwy 219, junction of I-40/US 84 in Guadalupe County, New Mexico. Her killers disposed of her birth certificate and it was never seen again.

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[Romulus]

1497UFNM - Unidentified Female​

Artist rendition and map. To view a postmortem photograph, please click here.

Date of Discovery: July 11, 1978
Location of Discovery: Guadalupe County, New Mexico
Estimated Date of Death: Days prior
State of Remains: Recognizable face
Cause of Death: Homicide by gunshot

Physical Description​

Estimated Age: 17-25 years old
Race: White
Sex: Female
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 145 lbs.
Hair Color: Blond
Eye Color: Blue
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Left ear pierced three times, right pierced twice.

Identifiers​

Dentals: Unknown
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Dark brown moccasins, blue denim cut-offs, and white and navy-blue vest/halter top type shirt.
Jewelry: None.
Additional Personal Items: She was carrying a guitar, coin purse carrying $1.50, and her birth certificate, according to her killers.

Circumstances of Discovery​

The victim was discovered by a NM highway foreman beside Highway 219 at the junction of the I-40 and US-84. She had been shot two times with .22 shells present at the scene. Her murder was connected to serial killer duo Ronald Lanphear and Diana Geisinger. Lanphear escaped prison in South Dakota on July 8-9, 1978 and went on a trip with Geisinger, who was seven months pregnant at the time, to Texas and planned to get married in Las Vegas.

During the trip, they robbed a gas station on the night of July 9-10, 1978 and killed an attendant. After escaping, they picked this victim up near a hotel in Perry, Oklahoma and drove to New Mexico. The victim told them along the way that she was going to see her mother in California and she was seventeen. The victim also “bragged†about the money she spent on a guitar she was carrying with her. At this time, she was also carrying her birth certificate and a coin purse.

At some point, they stopped at a coffee shop and then a bar and the victim asked if they could stop so that she could call her mother on her (the victim’s) birthday. She was let out of the car on the side of the highway and then was shot in the back of the head by Lanphear and then shot a second time. Lanphear and Geisinger rolled the body off a cliff after taking the victim’s belongings. They disposed of the birth certificate and kept the guitar and coin purse.

Lanphear and Geisinger reached Las Vegas on July 13, 1978 and after a night at the casinos drove down to San Bernardino, California where they killed Robert Unger on July 14 after he picked them up when their car broke down. Geisinger and Lanphear were arrested for the murders on October 14 and October 18, 1978, respectively. Lanphear was tried with Geisinger as the prosecution’s star witness and sentenced to death.

Investigating Agency(s)​

Agency Name: Office of Chief Medical Examiner of New Mexico
Agency Contact Person: Wendy Honeyfield or Kurt Nolte
Agency Phone Number: 505-272-3053
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 1978-02998

Agency Name: New Mexico State Police
Agency Contact Person: Captain Nic Aragon
Agency Phone Number: 505-827-9604
Agency E-Mail: nmsp.pio(at)state.nm.us
Agency Case Number: 1978-02998

NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: 17089

Information Source(s)​

NamUs
Justia US Law
Wikia
Websleuths

1497UFNM