"Lady in the Fridge" cold case victim identified after 27 years; search continues for her killer
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY - There has been a major break in a cold case known as "The Lady in the Fridge".
Detectives used DNA analysis and genealogy research to identify the victim, Amanda Lynn Schumann Deza, 27 years later.
Her remains were found in March 1995 inside a sleeping bag, wrapped in a refrigerator, in an irrigation ditch in the San Joaquin County community of Holt.
Deza was wearing socks, hiking boots, and jewelry. Authorities believe she died of blunt force trauma to the head at least six months before she was found. They are still searching for her kidnapper and killer.
"I look forward to prosecuting the fullest extent of the law, the coward that committed this heinous act and the individual who decided to take this lady's life and take her away from her family," said San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas.
Amanda was a daughter, sister, and mother who lived in the Napa and Oakley areas, as well as the Delta.
The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office urges anyone with information about Deza's death or possible details about her murder to contact them at (209) 468-5087 or by email at coldcase@sjgov.org.