Overview
- Authorities announced the identification of the woman found slain at Westlake High School in 1980 as 22-year-old Maricela Rocha Parga of Los Angeles.
- The DNA Doe Project led a seven-year effort that assembled a family tree of more than 125,000 people with help from over 40 volunteers.
- Researchers traced distant matches to relatives linked to Zacatecas, Mexico, contacted family in December 2025, and confirmed the identification in January 2026.
- DNA had previously tied Wilson Chouest to the case; he was convicted in 2018 for this murder and another killing and is serving life without parole.
- Parga was discovered with multiple stab wounds and was pregnant, and Ventura County has since received a $700,000 federal grant to expand DNA and genealogy work on other cases.