Donna Gentile, a 22-year-old white woman from East County, California, was found murdered June 23, 1985, by a man walking his dog at a remote turnout off Sunrise Highway, north of Interstate 8. Her nude body had been left in brush; her undergarments and dress were cut off and placed on top. Investigators reported a deliberate brush out to hide footprints or tire marks. Cause of death was asphyxiation with gravel forcibly packed into her throat, and she sustained a fractured neck at the second cervical vertebrae.

Gentile worked as a sex worker along El Cajon Boulevard in the early 1980s and had several prostitution arrests. In the weeks before her death she testified before the San Diego Civil Service Commission about a relationship with San Diego police officer Larry Avrech and assisted internal affairs with information about alleged officer misconduct. Her testimony preceded Avrech’s dismissal from the force by about five weeks, a timing that has fueled longstanding speculation about retaliation.

No one has ever been arrested or charged in connection with the killing. Retired homicide detective Tom Streed has said he believes police involvement is a possibility; the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department has acknowledged that Avrech and another officer, Lieutenant Carlton Black, were considered persons of interest early on, though neither was charged. Did anyone who knew Donna or worked the El Cajon Boulevard beat in 1985 see anything that might shed light on what happened?