Melinda Raye Kimball was 29 and living in Palm Springs when she was murdered on July 16, 1978. She had an infant daughter and was in a relationship with Phillip Carl Jablonski, whose behavior had become increasingly violent. Kimball’s mother, Isobel Pahls, reported obscene calls and other malicious acts that police believed were Jablonski’s, and on July 7 he threatened Pahls with a sharp object and apparently attempted to rape her.

Kimball repeatedly sought help. She drove Jablonski to the Veterans Administration hospital in Loma Linda on July 10 and again on July 14; psychiatrists described him as antisocial and potentially dangerous and recommended voluntary hospitalization, but he refused and staff concluded they lacked grounds for involuntary commitment. Kimball moved temporarily into her mother’s home on July 12 but returned to the shared apartment on July 16 to collect items for their daughter, where Jablonski attacked and killed her.

Kimball’s daughter later sued, alleging the hospital failed to convey police warnings and prior records; a federal court found those failures contributed to Melinda’s death and awarded damages, a decision later upheld by the Ninth Circuit. Does anyone have memories of Melinda, her daughter Meghan, or contacts who knew the family in Palm Springs in 1978?