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Unsolved case · 1998
The short answer
Between November 1998 and January 1999, one man and four women were killed in and around Pittsburg, California. Investigators considered whether the deaths were connected, but did not establish a single offender, and the killings remain unsolved.
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Suggest coverage for Pittsburg serial murdersThe case file
Between November 9, 1998, and January 9, 1999, five people were killed in or near Pittsburg, California. The victims were Michael Tan, 27, who was beaten and drowned; an unnamed 15-year-old who disappeared after leaving a quinceañera rehearsal and was later found strangled; Jessica L. Frederick, 27, who was found stabbed; Rachael Cruise, 32, who was found strangled; and Valerie Dawn "China" Schultz, 27, who was found dead in a ditch. Another woman survived a serious assault in nearby Bay Point and gave police a limited description of her attacker.
The proximity and timing of the deaths prompted concern that some or all might be connected, but contemporaneous police statements said investigators had not established such a link. The FBI assisted local investigators, and then-Governor Gray Davis offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the killing of the 15-year-old.
In January 1999, police arrested two men on suspicion of killing the juvenile victim. Prosecutors declined to file charges, and both were released the following day. In March 1999, police arrested an adult victim's former partner as a suspect; further forensic analysis in 2001 excluded him as the killer in that death and the other cases.
Investigators later examined other persons of interest, but searches and follow-up inquiries did not produce evidence linking them to the five deaths. The killings remain unsolved.
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9 named in this file
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
27-year-old woman found stabbed to death December 5, 1998[3]
15-year-old girl who disappeared November 6, 1998, and was found strangled[3]
27-year-old man found beaten and drowned in a ditch on November 9, 1998[3]
32-year-old woman found strangled in a ditch, December 1998[3]
27-year-old woman found dead in a ditch on January 8, 1999[3]
Convicted killer of Suzanne Bombardier; investigated for the Pittsburg killings with no established connection[3]
Officially named a person of interest by Pittsburg police; not charged. Arrested in January 1999 over the murder of Lisa Norrell; the Contra Costa County District Attorney declined to file charges for lack of evidence.[3]
Officially named a person of interest by Pittsburg police; not charged. Arrested in January 1999 over the murder of Lisa Norrell and released after the Contra Costa County District Attorney declined to file charges for lack of evidence.[3]
Arrested in March 1999 as a suspect in Jessica Frederick's murder; excluded by forensic testing in 2001[3]
From the record
3 cited
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
PressThe Mercury NewsAccessed Jul 13, 2026
PressSan Francisco ChronicleAccessed Jul 11, 2026
EncyclopedicWikipediaAccessed Jul 10, 2026
Trust
Jul 13, 2026Correction
Catalog QA: Added the documented series range.
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Near this case
Credit: Unknown author·Public domain·SourceSOLVEDListenBryan (Wong Gee) ranch, near Fairfield, Solano County, California · 1920s
On August 22, 1928, eleven people, including seven members of the Wong family, were shot and hacked to death at the Bryan (Wong Gee) ranch near Fairfield, California. Leung Ying, a former ranch worker, confessed, was convicted in a one-day trial, and died by suicide on death row before his scheduled execution.
Walgreens parking lot area, Vallejo, California · 2020s
Sean Monterrosa, a 22-year-old man, was shot and killed by Vallejo, California police detective Jarrett Tonn on June 2, 2020, while kneeling with his hands above his waist; police said Tonn mistook a hammer in Monterrosa's pocket for a gun.
SOLVEDListenVallejo, California · 2010s
In March 2015, Denise Huskins was kidnapped from the Vallejo, California home she shared with boyfriend Aaron Quinn by Matthew Muller, who drugged the couple and held Huskins captive for two days before releasing her; police initially and publicly dismissed the account as a hoax before Muller was later linked to the crime through physical evidence.
Credit: Woodlawn High School·Editorial use·SourceSOLVEDListenLeakin Park, Baltimore, Maryland · 1999
Hae Min Lee, an 18-year-old Baltimore County high school student, was strangled and found buried in Leakin Park in February 1999. Her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed was convicted of first-degree murder in 2000; the case gained international attention after the 2014 podcast Serial, and Syed's conviction underwent multiple vacaturs, appeals, and reinstatements through 2025.
Image record·Editorial use·SourceSOLVEDListenCalifornia Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo, California · 1996
Kristin Smart, a 19-year-old Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student, disappeared in the early hours of May 25, 1996, after leaving an off-campus party with fellow student Paul Flores, the last person known to have seen her. Flores was convicted of her murder in 2022 and his conviction was upheld on appeal; Smart's remains have never been recovered.
Credit: Via Wikipedia·Editorial use·SourceUNSOLVEDListenFulham, London · 1990s
English television presenter Jill Dando was shot dead outside her London home in 1999, and the case remains unsolved.
