14-year-old girl who was strangled to death and set on fire in California is identified

IRVINE, Calif. (TCN) -- Through DNA testing, investigators recently identified the remains of a young teen missing out of Reno, Nevada, who was found fatally strangled and burned in a parking lot nearly 15 years ago.

According to the Irvine Police Department, on the morning of Sept. 5, 2009, employees found the victim’s partially burned body and officers responded to the scene. Police deemed her death suspicious and believed she was likely burned in the parking lot hours before the discovery.

Investigators were unable to identify the victim but initially believed she was in her 20s, and she became a Jane Doe.

Authorities collected DNA from under Jane Doe’s fingernails, along with other evidence at the scene. The following year, police connected two brothers, Gabino Valdivia-Guzman and Zenaido Valdivia-Guzman, to the crime using DNA testing.

Police determined on the night of Sept. 4, 2009, Gabino Valdivia-Guzman allegedly convinced Jane Doe to get into his van. As he reportedly drove, his brother sat in the back so Jane Doe couldn’t see him. According to officers, Jane Doe "began to panic" after she saw the second man inside the vehicle, and she tried to escape. Zenaido Valdivia-Guzman allegedly pulled her into the back and beat her in the face and neck as the other brother continued to drive.

According to police, Zenaido Valdivia-Guzman fatally strangled Jane Doe, and Gabino Valdivia-Guzman drove them to the parking lot where the girl was later found. The defendants reportedly poured gasoline on the victim and set her on fire. The brothers then took Jane Doe’s cellphone and fled the scene.

On Nov. 5, 2010, Gabino Valdivia-Guzman and Zenaido Valdivia-Guzman were each charged with one felony count of special circumstances murder with sentencing enhancements for murder during the commission of a kidnapping.

More than a decade later, on Nov. 15, 2022, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced that a jury convicted Zenaido Valdivia-Guzman of one felony count of first-degree murder and the special circumstance of murder in the commission of a kidnapping. Gabino Valdivia-Guzman has not yet been tried in the case.

In an update posted July 25, police said investigators identified the victim as 14-year-old Marcia Shirree Thomas through DNA.

Irvine Police Chief Michael Kent said, "The Irvine Police Department has been committed to this case since 2009. Marcia’s family remains in our thoughts during this difficult time. We appreciate the agencies that have assisted in providing crucial information to support the case and the family."

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