Southern California authorities asking for public's help solving 1988 cold case murder

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office is asking for new leads to help solve the murder of a Long Beach woman whose body was discovered 36 years ago in the Inland Empire.

On Dec. 26, 1988, the body of a 25-year-old woman was found in Perris on the 300 block of East 4th Street, officials said.

For decades, the woman’s identity was a mystery until the Riverside County Regional Cold Case Team took up the case, had her body exhumed and used the latest genealogical technology to determine she was Jacqueline Danette Ebel.

Thanks to these renewed efforts, authorities have been able to learn more about Ebel, who had been reported missing in Long Beach just days prior to her body being found.

Jackie, as she was known to loved ones, had lived in Long Beach and Bellflower at times and had previously used Yonkers and Palmer as surnames.

She’s described as a white woman with auburn hair and blue eyes, standing around 5 feet 5 inches and weighing around 130 pounds. She had various tattoos, including a horse and flower on her right shoulder blade, the name “John” and a Harley Davidson eagle on her left shoulder blade, and a rose and “Stoney” written on her lower abdomen.

Ebony Caviness, senior investigator with the Cold Case Homicide Team, said it was their “greatest desire to grant dignity and justice to this victim and her family.”

Authorities are asking for the public’s help to find the person responsible for Jackie Ebel’s death, urging anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward by contacting the Cold Case team by email or by calling the Cold Case Hotline at 951-955-5567.

They add that anyone who believes they may be related to a victim of an unsolved homicide can contact GedMatch for a DNA comparison.