Woman found in shallow grave ID’d after 44 years as millionaire tied to estate murder plot

A woman whose remains were found in a shallow grave in Riverside County, California, more than four decades ago has been identified as a multimillionaire real estate investor who vanished in 1981.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau said advances in investigative genetic genealogy, along with dental records, confirmed the victim was Thelma Gaston, 80, whose disappearance sparked a high-profile Los Angeles murder investigation.

The case began on Nov. 28, 1981, when people searching for firewood near Sugar Loaf Mountain discovered skeletal remains protruding from a shallow grave.

Riverside County sheriff's investigators recovered the remains the following day near Highway 74, but the body had decomposed so extensively that authorities were unable to determine who the victim was despite extensive investigative efforts.

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For decades, the woman remained known only as an unidentified homicide victim.

According to UPI archives, Gaston, an 80-year-old wealthy real estate investor whose estate was estimated to be worth roughly $20 million, disappeared on June 28, 1981. A note was found on the door of her home stating she had gone out to look for a missing cat, but she never returned.

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Prosecutors later accused Lawrence Remsen, then 39, of killing Gaston to gain control of her multimillion-dollar estate. Police described Remsen as Gaston’s "sometime companion."

He pleaded not guilty to charges including murder, forgery, grand theft and attempted grand theft after authorities alleged business associates received forged letters naming him as the person who would control Gaston's fortune.

According to the Riverside County Sheriff's Coroner's Bureau, the Los Angeles Police Department ultimately identified Remsen as the suspect after determining he had falsely represented Gaston's disappearance.

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The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office later successfully prosecuted the case, and Remsen was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

While the homicide investigation had long been resolved, what happened to Gaston's body remained a mystery.

That changed after the Riverside County Sheriff's Coroner's Bureau received funding through the Missing and Unidentified Human Remains Grant, giving investigators the opportunity to revisit long-unsolved unidentified remains cases with modern forensic technology.

Investigators revisited the case in November 2024 by exhuming the remains for additional forensic testing. DNA samples were later sent to Othram, a forensic laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas, where scientists developed a comprehensive DNA profile using the company's Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing technology, allowing investigators to use forensic genetic genealogy and dental records to positively identify Gaston in May 2026.

The identification was made through a collaborative effort involving the Riverside Sheriff's Coroner's Bureau, the Riverside Cold Case Homicide Team and Othram.

"This identification ensures that Ms. Gaston has her name—and her story—returned to her," the Riverside County Sheriff's Coroner's Bureau said in announcing the breakthrough.

California prison records show Remsen, now 83, is serving a life sentence at the California Institution for Men in Chino. He was denied parole in July 2025, and his next parole suitability hearing is scheduled for July 2028.

Othram said the case marks the 85th publicly announced California case in which its forensic DNA technology has helped identify an unknown individual.

The case underscores how advances in investigative genetic genealogy continue to solve decades-old mysteries once thought unsolvable, helping investigators identify victims who for years had no name.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Riverside County Sheriff's Coroner's Bureau, Othram, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and the Los Angeles Police Department for additional information.