Remains Of Victim Of Wilseyville Serial Killers Returned To Family
San Andreas, CA — The Calaveras Cold Case Task Force used modern forensics to identify another victim of the Wilseyville serial killers, using the evidence to bring closure to her family.
In January, as reported here, a former San Francisco man, Reginald “Reggie” Frisby, was identified as being one of the bodies uncovered in Wilseyville in 1985. Investigators believe serial killers Leonard Lake and Charles Ng murdered anywhere from 11 to 25 people at the remote cabin in Wilseyville, gaining national attention.
On April 9, task force members and community leaders came together at the sheriff’s office in San Andreas to return the remains of Brenda Sue O’Conner to her family. The image box pictures show the hearse carrying the remains draped in a white cloth adorned with flowers that left after a short invocation by a sheriff’s chaplain.
While sheriff’s officials did not disclose how she met the killers or how she was murdered, her remains were interred in a San Andreas crypt along with over 1000 unidentified pieces of human remains until they were exhumed in 2021 by the Cold Case Task Force, who believed DNA technology had advanced far enough to get a possible identification match.
The identification of the remains was made possible by a combination of sophisticated analysis by the California Department of Justice, extensive, cutting-edge work by private laboratories, and the use of Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy, according to task force officials who, three years later, still work on these cases on top of their regular responsibilities. Sheriff’s officials noted that this case underscores the power of modern forensic science in bringing families the closure they deserve, even after decades of uncertainty. They added that the task force continues to work to identify the rest of the remains, which will be returned to the San Andreas Crypt at the end of the project.
“These additional investigative efforts have finally provided answers to the family of Brenda O’Connor, and the pending return of Brenda’s remains will signify the first reunification of Brenda with her family in a heartbreaking yet necessary reunion,” stated sheriff’s officials. “It is our hope that Brenda can finally rest in peace.”
The task force, a tax-exempt non-profit organization, raised the funding for the work by the private laboratories and genealogists; click here for more task force information.
