Overview

• The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in September that DNA links the now 37- and 36-year-old women to Marina Ramos, who was stabbed to death in December 1989.
• The infants, then 14 months and 2 months old, were found two days later in an Oxnard, California park restroom, placed in foster care, and later adopted together.
• Investigators identified Ramos using arrest fingerprints filed under the alias Maria Ortiz in records obtained in 2022, then located her daughters through genetic genealogy in August 2025.
• The homicide investigation remains active, with a 1989 witness reporting a woman and two men with two children in a black pickup near where Ramos’ body was found.
• Authorities are appealing for public tips on suspects; media reports reference a man called “Fernando,” while officials have announced no arrests.