Jana VanSickle, 51, was reported missing to the Phoenix Police Department by her son on November 28, 2016, after she had not been seen or heard from for several weeks that autumn. In December 2016 a body was found in a welded gun safe partially exposed by animals in the desert on the Gila River Indian Community. Investigators recovered .22 caliber shell casings, an empty beer can, and found the remains covered in a white powder identified as calcium hydroxide. The safe had been welded shut.

Dental comparison confirmed the remains were Jana VanSickle on December 28, 2017. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death gunshot wounds and classified it a homicide. A breakthrough came October 5, 2018, when a witness told investigators they had heard Paul Palandri admit on several occasions to shooting VanSickle twice with a .22 caliber gun in the back room of his home, and to having others sand down the walls where the shooting occurred. Palandri was arrested in October 2018 and faced accusations of second-degree murder; he denied killing her. If anyone knew Jana, her movements that autumn, or has information about the safe or the location where the body was found, please share what is known.