27-05-2025
Woman found dead by San Jose police in 1981 identified by cold case detectives
More than four decades after a woman's dismembered torso was found in a San Jose field, cold case detectives said they have identified the victim.
According to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, Vivian Moss was found dead on July 11, 1981, in a field where the VTA Berryessa Transit Center and BART station parking garage are now located. Detectives used genealogy to identify Moss, who was 54 years old at the time of her murder.
Moss was born in Arkansas in 1927. The DA's office released an AI-generated image of Moss based on her family photos.
An AI-generated composite image of Vivian Moss, who was found dead in San Jose on July 11, 1981.
Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office
"Vivian Moss was her name. My Office knows it. I know it. Her family knows it. And now our community knows it," District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement.
Moss had no identification when she was found, but two religious pendants were found near her body. Investigators at the time ruled her death a homicide from multiple stab wounds to the chest and dismemberment.
The case went unsolved for decades. In 2023, the DA's office partnered with forensic genealogists at Parabon NanoLabs to identify the woman.
Last year, the lab hypothesized the victim was likely Moss. Investigators interviewed Moss' granddaughter who said that Vivian had planned to pick her up to stay the night at her home, but she did not show.
The DA's office concluded the victim was Moss based on genealogical testing comparing the granddaughter's DNA to crime scene evidence.
Investigators said Moss attended Mount Zion Spiritual Church in Oakland and was close to leader Louis H. Narcisse, who died in 1989. Moss may have also worked at an Oakland elementary school before she disappeared.
The Cold Case Unit and Moss' surviving family are hoping the identification will lead them to her killer and are asking the public to come forward with any new information about the case.
"One day soon, I hope we will know the depraved person who took her life and left her in a field, hoping she would be forgotten. If her murderer is still alive, they will know that we don't forget in Santa Clara County," Rosen said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact 408-792-2466 or to email the Cold Case Unit at coldcasetips@
