DNA Renews Hope For Catching Newark Woman’s Murderer – 50 Years Later

NEWARK, NJ — There is renewed hope for solving a gruesome homicide that took place 50 years ago, and it may involve a connection between Newark and Southern California, investigators say.

The victim – Arminda Grangeia Rodrigues da Silva Ribeiro – was a Portuguese immigrant who lived in the Ironbound neighborhood of Newark prior to her death. She still had family who lived in that area, according to Othram Inc., a private, forensic biotechnology company that is assisting with the investigation.

According to Othram, a fishing crew found the body of an unidentified woman in the San Diego Bay between Laurel Street and the U.S. Coast Guard Station in June 1973. The woman’s body was dismembered and placed into an orange suitcase and several plastic bags.

Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

In 2020, the remains were exhumed by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office to attempt identifying the person by analyzing their DNA. With financial assistance from NamUs, a portion of the highly-degraded skeletal remains was sent to Othram, whose researchers recovered a DNA extract.

With their new leads in-hand, San Diego police investigators were able to identify the previously unknown homicide victim as Ribeiro, who was born on Sept. 16, 1943.

According to investigators:

“After getting married and having two children, her family emigrated from Covões, Portugal, to Newark, New Jersey, which is home to a large Portuguese community. After speaking with people who knew of Ribeiro, investigators learned that she worked at a trailer fabrication company in 1973. Even though San Diego also has a large Portuguese community, it is unknown what connection Ribeiro may have had between Newark and Southern California.”

Now that Ribeiro’s body has been identified, there is a homicide investigation underway to determine who is responsible for her murder, a spokesperson with Othram told Patch.

Police are seeking assistance trying to identify the company she worked for in Newark and any potential connections she had to San Diego. Authorities said anyone with information can call the San Diego Police Homicide Unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

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