Sacramento police are asking for the public's help in solving a cold case from three decades ago in which the homicide victim's identity remains a mystery.
Police say that the unidentified man's body was found at 9:15 p.m. Jan. 17, 1980 on the bleachers at a softball diamond at 6th and X streets. He was killed by a single gunshot, through his head, according to an account in The Bee at the time.
Police said at the time they had been unsuccessful in identifying the man through fingerprints. Detectives this century have also not been able to find his name through a national DNA database.
Not much is known about his time in Sacramento. Clerks at the Burger King that once was inside the downtown Greyhound Bus station remembered selling him a beverage about an hour before his body was found.
The Burger King soft drink cup was in front of him. Beside him was a pack of Salem cigarettes and a lighter.
A witness told police that the victim had recently moved to the Sacramento from Los Angeles.
But for more than three decades there has been no name to connect with the man. And no solution to his murder.
This much is known: he was in his 20s, white or Hispanic, 5 feet 9 inches tall, 147 pounds with brown hair, a moustache and goatee.
He was wearing a light blue denim cap, a LeChevron Collection jacket, a navy blue Sigallo brand sweater with a gray collar and blue jeans. On his feet were Adidas tennis shoes with gold stripes.
Apparently the "John Doe" had slimmed down. Stretch marks indicated he had once had been obese and then lost a lot of weight.
It also looked like he recently visited the dentist, maybe even the week before he died, a police press release noted today. He had a partial dental plate and his upper four front teeth were false.
An autopsy also revealed that he once had his appendix removed.
Anyone with information is asked to call the police dispatch center at (916) 264-5471 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357. Callers to Crime Alert may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.
PHOTO CAPTION: Sacramento police are asking for the public's help in solving a cold case from three decades ago in which the homicide victim's identity remains a mystery.
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