On the evening of November 7, 1979, 19-year-old college student Linda Ann Jozovich left her job at a Mervyn’s in Santa Clara, walked to her orange Datsun in the parking lot to have a snack, and never returned. Coworkers notified her parents when she failed to come back. Her car was later found abandoned near a San Jose medical center; the interior had been ransacked and the contents of her purse scattered on the floor.

In 1995 a hiker near Lexington Reservoir discovered a human jawbone and ribs that were later identified as Jozovich’s. More remains, including her skull and upper jaw, were found in the same wooded area in 2004. The case was long cold with investigators and family lacking leads.

In October 2007 inmate Terry Childs—already serving life for other murders—confessed to abducting and killing Jozovich the night she disappeared, saying he beat, tortured, strangled, and repeatedly stabbed her at a remote spot near the reservoir. Prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty; in 2008 Childs was convicted and given another term of life without parole.

If anyone knew Linda, saw her that night, or has information about where she was between leaving work and when her car was found, please come forward.