In an usual sequence of events, forensic genetic genealogy has now identified the remains of a homicide victim from 1981—even though a suspect was convicted of her murder 45 years ago.
The woman has been identified as 80-year-old Thelma Gaston of Los Angeles County, California. Lawrence Remsen, the man convicted of her murder, was described as her “sometimes companion.” Police ultimately discovered the then-39-year-old Remsen was after Gaston’s reported $20 million fortune (about $77 million today).
Murder case background
On June 28, 1981, Gaston disappeared with only a note left behind that she was looking for her missing cat. Los Angeles Police found letters purportedly written by Gaston that said she was off to enjoy “some fun in life” and was leaving her entire estate to Remsen.
Police later determined Remsen killed Gaston and forged her name on documents in an attempt to transfer money to an account in the Cayman Islands in his own name.
Remsen went missing around the same time as Gaston. He was ultimately arrested crossing the border from Mexico into Texas in September 1981.
Once arrested, Remsen claimed he found Gaston dead of natural causes and tried to take financial advantage of her death. He claimed he dumped her body at sea.
Despite her body not being recovered, Remsen was convicted of Gaston’s murder and forgery charges in a nonjury trial in 1983. Now 83, Remsen is still currently in prison at the California Institution for Men. He’s been denied parole four times since 2016.
Identification case background
Five months to the day after Gaston disappeared, a passerby gathering firewood in the mountainous area near Sugar Loaf Mountain and the Pinyon Crest community discovered a shallow grave containing the remains of a severely decomposed female.
Due to the condition of the remains, investigators were unable to establish her identity. It is unclear at this time if the remains were ever considered to be Gaston—who police thought was dumped in the sea based on Remsen’s confession.
For more than four decades, the woman remained unidentified.
In 2022, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau received funding through the Missing and Unidentified Human Remains Grant. Combined with significant advances in forensic science since the 80s, the funding opened new avenues for identification.
Investigators started revisiting the case in November 2024 by exhuming the remains for additional testing. DNA samples were sent to Othram, who worked to develop a DNA profile for the woman using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing. This profile was then used by law enforcement in a forensic genetic genealogy search, in conjunction with dental records, to positively identify the remains as Thelma Gaston.
Ramsen’s next parole suitability hearing is scheduled for July 2028.