Cold case victim ID'd over 40 years after dismembered torso found in California

A woman whose dismembered torso was found in an empty field in northern California has been identified, more than 40 years after her murder, officials said.

Now, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said investigators are hoping to find her "depraved" killer.

The victim -- 54-year-old grandmother Vivian Moss -- was found dismembered with multiple stab wounds to the chest in San Jose on July 11, 1981. Officers found her in an empty field that is now the site of a BART station parking structure with no identification. Two religious pendants were found near her body.

For decades, her name was unknown. In 2023, the district attorney's office partnered with forensic genealogists at Parabon NanoLabs in an effort to identify her. Parabon believed the victim was likely Moss, which the DA's office said it confirmed last year by comparing her granddaughter's DNA to crime scene evidence.

"Our investigators at the cold case unit reached out to this granddaughter, and she told us, 'Yeah, in 1981 I was supposed to spend the night at my grandma's house, and she never showed up to pick me up, and I never saw her again,'" Rob Baker, the deputy district attorney for Santa Clara County, told ABC News' San Francisco station KGO.

Moss may have worked at an elementary school in Oakland at some point before she disappeared, the DA's office said. She was also an active member of the Mt. Zion Spiritual Church in Oakland, Baker said. One of the religious medallions found near her said, "Saint Christopher protect us," while the other depicted the Virgin Mary.

The DA's office has released an AI-generated photo of Moss, based on family photos, and is now asking the public to come forward with any information about her.

"Does anyone know Vivian Moss, where she might have been, what could have led to her killing? Were there any men or people in her life that maybe were a threat to her?" Baker told KGO.

"Please help us find out what happened to Vivian," he told the station. "We know who she is now. We have a name. We just want to find out what happened to her."