On June 13, 1973, at approximately 11:20 a.m., fishermen found the body of an unidentified female in the San Diego Bay between Laurel Street and the US Coast Guard Station. The woman’s body had been dismembered and placed into an orange suitcase and several plastic bags. For decades following her discovery, the female remained unidentified, but local investigators continued to devote efforts to solving the case. In 2020, the remains were exhumed by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office to attempt to identify the victim through DNA.

With financial assistance from NaMus (National Missing and Unidentified Persons System), a private, forensic biotechnology company, Othram, was able to develop a DNA profile from the exhumed remains. Ultimately, this profile led to the identification of the victim as Arminda Grangela Rodrigues da Silva Ribeiro. Ribeiro would have been 29 years old at the time of her death.

Investigators have learned Ribeiro was born in Portugal. Her family emigrated to the Ironbound neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, which is home to a large Portuguese community. Ribeiro was married and had two children. She still has family in the Newark, New Jersey, area. Investigators also learned that she worked at a trailer fabrication company in Newark at the time of her disappearance. It is unknown what connection Ribeiro may have had to San Diego.

Police are seeking assistance in identifying the company she worked for in Newark, any potential connections she had to San Diego, or any information that might help investigators determine what happened to Ribeiro. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.