Dismembered Body Found In Suitcase By California Fisherman In 1973 ID'd As NJ Mother

Arminda Grangela Rodrigues da Silva Ribeiro, a Newark mother, has been identified as the victim of a 1973 San Diego killing, according to the SD Crime Stoppers.

Her body was found June 13 of that year by a fisherman, in the San Diego Bay between Laurel Street and the US Coast Guard Station. Arminda's body had been dismembered and placed into an orange suitcase and several plastic bags. 

In 2020, Arminda's remains were exhumed by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office to attempt to identify her through DNA. A positive ID was made with financial help from NaMus (National Missing and Unidentified Persons System), a private, forensic biotechnology company.

Arminda was born in Portugal, and her family emigrated to the Ironbound neighborhood in Newark, home to a large Portuguese community, SDCS said. She was married and had two children, and still has family in the Newark area.

Arminda worked at a trailer fabrication company in Newark at the time of her disappearance. Her connection to San Diego is unclear, and police are seeking assistance in identifying the company she worked for in Newark.

Anyone with information on this murder is asked to call the San Diego Police Department’s Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477. Visit the Crime Stoppers website at www.sdcrimestoppers.org for more information on how to send anonymous web and mobile app tips.

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