San Diego County Sheriff's Department: Media Advisory - Cold Case Solved

Press release from San Diego County Sheriff's Department:

03/15/2022 4:30 PM

Dahn was 29 years old when she was murdered in May of 1988. She failed to show up to work so a colleague went to her apartment in Santee and discovered Dahn had been stabbed to death. Dahn's two-year-old son was found wandering the apartment complex. His mother would have turned 63 years old two weeks ago on March 2. 

Sheriff's Homicide Detectives kept working on her case as significant advancements in DNA technology came along in 2000, 2010, 2020 and 2022. This is the fifth time the Sheriff's Homicide Unit has used Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) to identify a suspect in a cold case (Orbin Holloway, Teresa Solecki, Michelle Louise Wyatt, Laurie Diane Potter). Combining DNA samples with family trees is the core of forensic genetic genealogy. DNA analysts work with detectives to piece together family history and discover how people are related to track down possible suspects.

A news conference will discuss how IGG helped in finding leads to solve this case and bring long-awaited answers to the family of Diane Dahn.  

Wednesday, March 16 
Noon
Sheriff's Technology and Information Center Media Room 
5575 Overland Avenue, Kearny Mesa (located next to County Medical Examiner Office)

You will need your San Diego Police issued media credential to attend this news conference. A deputy will provide access to a secured facility. Park in areas marked for the media. 

Speakers:
Acting Sheriff Kelly Martinez
Sheriff's Homicide Lieutenant Tom Seiver
Sheriff's Homicide Detective Brian Patterson 
Sheriff's Homicide Crime Analyst Jeffrey Vandersip 
Victoria Dahn-Minter, Diane's sister 
Mark Beyer, Diane's son 
Lieutenant Alex Navarro (En Español) 

This press release was produced by San Diego County Sheriff's Department. The views expressed here are the author’s own.