Snohomish sheriff's office releases new sketch of unidentified 1977 murder victim

Snohomish County sheriff's deputies today released a new sketch of a 1977 murder victim whose remains haven't been identified.

Last month, deputies exhumed the woman's remains with the hope that new forensic technology will finally help identify her.

Cold-case detectives, a forensic anthropologist and the now-retired detective who was once assigned to the case composed the new sketch of the victim. The sketch reflects what the woman looked like before she was found near Paine Field in summer 1977, said sheriff's spokeswoman Rebecca Hover.

The anthropologist who has examined the bones has determined that the victim was likely 15 to 21 years old — much younger than case detectives initially believed, Hover said.

Until now, investigators have known only that the woman was tall, had a tan and had healthy teeth. She weighed about 155 pounds, had short, light-brown hair and was dressed in cutoff jeans, a striped tank top and blue-and-white tennis shoes, Hover said.

Blackberry pickers found the woman's remains about five days after David Roth strangled her with an elastic cord and shot her with a .22-caliber rifle. Roth had picked up the woman when she was hitchhiking and killed her when she refused to have sex with him, according to court files.

Roth was convicted of first-degree murder in 1979 and has since been released. He didn't know her name, Hover said.

People with information are asked to call the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office tip line at 425-388-3845.

Includes information from Seattle Times archives.