Patricia Marie Patty Laney was a 21-year-old University of California-Santa Barbara student who went missing on January 18, 1977 after being seen in Isla Vista posting missing-person flyers for two other victims. Her body was found the next day in Refugio Canyon, north of Santa Barbara. The autopsy concluded she had been sexually assaulted and fatally shot in the head with a small-caliber pistol.

Her killing became part of a series of Isla Vista crimes that targeted young women with similar appearances and long, straight hair, later linked to Thor Nis Christiansen. Christiansen’s method reportedly involved offering rides to hitchhikers, shooting them in the head with a .22 caliber pistol and committing post-mortem sexual assault. He was questioned in February 1977 and, following identification by a survivor in July 1979, was arrested and later charged in Patty’s death. Christiansen pleaded guilty and received a life sentence in June 1980.

If anyone knew Patty, saw her in Isla Vista on January 18, 1977, or has information about that day, please come forward.