27 February 2023 , 22:33
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A mystery woman whose body was found bound and gagged in a fridge submerged in a canal has finally been identified after nearly 30 years.
DNA analysis was used to identify the 'lady in the fridge' as Amanda Lynn Schumann Deza, a mum of three who was 29 at the time she died.
Her body was found in 1995 by a man looking for recyclable cans. He saw the fridge in an irrigation canal in San Joaquin County, California, US, and pulled it out, only to find a woman's body wrapped in a blanket.
Investigators believe her body had been in the fridge for around six months.
The stretch of canal where the fridge was found (Fox 40)Her hands had been tied and her mouth gagged. A coroner found she had been killed by blunt force trauma.
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The body was found near Whiskey Slough, a marina in Holt, California.
The victim had no ID when she was found and no missing persons reports were ever filed meaning police couldn't identify her.
But after 27 years police used DNA analysis and genealogy research to finally find out who she was.
Sheriff Patrick Withrow said: "I'd just like to take this time right now to give her her name back, to give her her story back."
The victim had been living in the Napa, Oakley and Delta areas before she died.
Withrow explained that she had been going through a difficult time at the time of her death but her family were shocked at the latest news.
A compartment connected to the case that had been in an archive since April 1995 (Fox 40)Lt. Linda Jimenez, the head of the cold case unit, said: "Amanda is a daughter, she's a sister, she's a mother, she's a friend,' Jimenez said during the press briefing.
"And there's many of you out there who know and have information about her life, the activities she was involved with, the friendships that she had, as well as any intimate relationships."
Her killer has never been found. A reward of $10,000 is being offered to anyone who can provide information on the person behind the mum's death.
The victim was a mum of three (SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE)District Attorney Ron Freitas said "this case is far from being closed, and justice is far from being served."
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He added: "I look forward to prosecuting (to) the fullest extent of the law the coward that committed this heinous act … and only then, when I'm able to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law, can true justice and true closure be given to her family."
The Sheriff's office is urging the public to contact them about the case by emailing [email protected].