Alice Sharitz. Credit: SJPD
Nearly three decades after the brutal murder of an elderly San Jose woman, advances in forensic science have led investigators to identify and arrest the suspect responsible for her death.
On Oct. 6, 1997, at approximately 12:25 PM, San José Police Department Officers responded to a report of a deceased person inside an apartment in the 40 Block of N. Jackson Avenue. Officers located 84-year-old Alice Sharitz, who lived alone, lying on the living room floor. A wooden-handled knife was embedded in her chest, and she had visible abrasions on both knees.
The homicide was reported by a neighbor who came to Sharitz’s apartment to deliver a card. Finding the front door ajar, he looked inside, saw her on the floor, and immediately called 911.
An autopsy revealed Sharitz suffered two stab wounds to the chest, multiple fractures, injuries to the neck, and numerous facial abrasions. The cause of death was determined to be multiple traumatic injuries. While processing the scene, investigators collected DNA, preserving it as potential evidence. But despite exhaustive investigative efforts at the time, the case went cold.
In 2021, a male DNA profile developed from the DNA collected from the crime scene was submitted for advanced forensic genetic genealogy analysis. In October 2024, the sample identified Joe Contreras as a potential source of the DNA.
In December 2024, with the assistance of Dallas Police Department of Oregon, a DNA sample was obtained from Contreras, and in February 2025, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Crime Lab confirmed the DNA profile from the crime scene matched that of Joe Contreras.
Following the DNA confirmation, San José Police Detectives, along with an investigator from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office Cold Case Unit, traveled to Dallas, Oregon. Contreras was extensively interviewed and Detectives determined Contreras was responsible for the death of Ms. Sharitz.
Detectives obtained a warrant for Contreras' arrest and he was safely taken into custody by the Dallas Police Department on December 19, 2025. On Jan. 6, 2026, Contreras was extradited back to the city of San José where he was subsequently booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for murder.
“Time does not erase responsibility,” said San José Police Department Chief Paul Joseph. “And thanks to the relentless work of our Homicide Unit and the District Attorney’s Cold Case Unit, it never will.”
“A team of resolute and creative investigators just solved the 27-year-old murder of a senior citizen," stated Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen. "Justice for Alice Sharitz and her loved ones was long in coming, but it is here. It took DNA. It took genealogy. And it took the mindset of the SJPD and the DA’s Cold Case Unit to never give up on a victim, ever.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Martinez #3934, or Detective Jize #4324 of the San José Police Department’s Homicide Unit via email: [email protected] or at 408-277-5283.
Republished courtesy of San Jose Police Department