Mary Edith Silvani was 33 when her body was found by hikers on July 17, 1982, in the Sheep’s Flat area near Lake Tahoe in Washoe County, Nevada. She was dressed for a day at the lake in a sleeveless blue shirt, Lee jeans, a one-piece swimsuit and light yellow tennis shoes. Autopsy details noted hazel eyes, brown hair tied in a bun, a height of about 5 feet 5 inches and weight of 112 pounds, vaccination scars on her left arm and abdomen, and a large bruise under a toenail. Investigators determined she had been sexually assaulted and shot in the back of the head while bent over; the bullet hole was later covered with men’s underwear.

Initial leads questioned whether she might be from Europe, but her shirt was sold only on the West Coast of the United States. Identification came through DNA analysis and genetic genealogy in 2018 and was confirmed in 2019 as Mary Edith Silvani. The same genetic genealogy work linked convicted killer James Richard Curry to the crime scene.

Silvani was buried at Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Cemetery in Reno.