Anita Piteau: Huntington Beach Jane Doe 1968, Part 2 — Murder, She Told: Maine & New England True Crime

This is part 2 of a two part series. Click here for part one.

Huntington Beach, 1968 - Discovery of Jane Doe

On March 14th, 1968, just outside of Los Angeles in the growing suburb of Huntington Beach, California, three boys were playing near their homes after school. The area was only partially developed, with large, empty fields adjacent to newly-built tract housing. For these boys, that meant a wide-open play area to run and yell as much as they wanted.

Suddenly, their game ended, and one of the boys yelled for the others to come over and look at something. At first, they thought it was a scarecrow that had fallen from its position guarding the fields. Instead, it was the body of a woman lying face-down. They didn’t know who she was, but they could tell she was dead.

When police arrived to the scene, they carefully turned her over. The woman was dark-haired and wore a black faux-leather jacket. They guessed she had not been there for long. She was young and average-sized, and wore purple capri pants and black loafers that were covered in mud. Her multi-colored floral blouse had been ripped open and was missing a button. She wore a flashy but inexpensive ring. She did not have any identification. If she had been carrying a purse, the killer had taken it.

A cigarette butt, half-smoked, with a tiny column of gray ash leading to its filter, was left in a tire track. After photographing it, they carefully wrapped the cigarette for storage. They also photographed the tire tracks and footprints.

The body was Anita Piteau’s, but to the Huntington Beach police, she was Jane Doe, and she would remain unidentified for 52 years.

The attack was brutal: Jane Doe had been stabbed and beaten, and her throat was slit so deeply that her trachea was cut and she died by “aspiration of blood”—in other words, she suffocated, inhaling her own blood as if she were drowning in it. The police captain said “She was killed the way one would slaughter an animal.”

The police called the murder “a sexually-motivated crime.” Her black bra and yellow underwear were both ripped. According to the case file, the “Orange County crime lab found evidence of semen on the victim’s body and clothing. She had bruises on the side of her head and possible teeth marks left upon her breast.”

According to Anita’s niece, Laurie Quirion in her book, The Last Letter, the medical examiner ordered a toxicology test, which proved that Jane Doe had no drugs or alcohol in her system. The ME estimated that she had died in the early morning hours of March 14, the day she was found, which suggested that the scream reportedly heard around 2:00AM might have been hers.

Because Jane Doe had been found soon after she was killed, it’s possible that no one in her life was missing her just yet. But as the days went on, her absence would have raised concern.

She might have missed a Saturday night date to go out dancing. She would not have shown up to work, not even to pick up her paycheck. Her roommate had to have noticed her absence immediately, and might have tried to file a report. She had recent photographs of her and months of experience to understand her habits. But since they had only known each other for a brief time, and were not related, the police may not have taken her concern seriously.

Two months after her disappearance, Whittier PD got a call from Anita’s brother-in-law, Archie, long-distance from Maine. Why didn’t they connect the dots? Whittier was only 16 miles away from Huntington Beach. Her body had been waiting at the morgue, burial forestalled, authorities awaiting someone to come forward and identify her. Was Whittier unaware of the Jane Doe that needed their help just 30 minutes away?

Jane Doe’s fingerprints were collected for Huntington Beach’s records in 1968, and years earlier, Anita Piteau’s fingerprints were collected for Augusta’s records (because of her juvenile offenses and her time at the reform school). If only someone had known to look—to compare these records—she could have been conclusively identified.

New Technology, New Leads

When DNA became a factor in solving cold cases, their hope was renewed. In 2001, the Orange Country crime lab created a DNA profile for Jane Doe’s killer from the semen found on the body. Police were confident that a man this violent must have had a criminal record, but the killer’s DNA was not yet in CODIS. They assumed that “the killer could have been incarcerated before inmates were required to submit [DNA].” State laws mandating DNA collection only come into effect between 1997 and 2002.

In 2010, a new sketch of Jane Doe was released on The Doe Network and a few other sites. It was more realistic than previous sketches, and incredibly, soon after it was posted, Anita’s grandniece, Dakota, found it and recognized the resemblance. But when Dakota and her mother called in the tip to police in Whittier, it was dismissed and ignored.

Identifying Anita Piteau and Johnny Chrisco

In 2017, Huntington Beach police turned to forensic scientist Colleen Fitzpatrick, who was able to identify Jane Doe and her killer. This was a difficult task that took a few years and some lucky breaks. First, she zeroed in on the perpetrator. Although his specific DNA was not in CODIS, available DNA records from GEDMatch made it possible to narrow down a list of suspects.

Colleen analyzed all of the DNA from the evidence that had been collected in 1968, that, through decades of careful storage, had been well-preserved. She started with the suspect, for whom they had developed a full DNA profile. Colleen, using this profile to search on GEDMatch, found four brothers from California. Three out of the four had died; only one was still alive. He agreed to give a DNA sample. It was not an exact match (which proved he was innocent), but it confirmed that one of his brothers had been guilty. That left three possible suspects. Laurie explained what happened next in her book:

“They found out that one of the brothers had died from lung cancer. They could check the lab where he had his biopsy done. [If the biopsy sample were preserved, it would contain his DNA]. To their surprise, the sample was still there and was [adequate] for them to run the test.”

There was only a one out of three chance that they had found the right brother, but they lucked out—it was a match. The killer was Johnny Monrow Chrisco.

In 2020, a genetic link was made to a man who had enough centimorgans in common with Jane Doe that he might be a cousin. Police contacted him successfully, but he didn’t know of a missing relative. He did a little research, though, and learned of a cousin he had never met—Anita Piteau—and suggested her name to police. The police then contacted Anita’s youngest sister, Ann, who was 9 years her junior. They sent Ann and her brother Raymond DNA kits and photos of Jane Doe, including the sketch that Dakota had identified years earlier.

Detective David Dierking, formerly with the Huntington Beach PD, was the one who called Anita’s sister Ann, and put to rest a mystery that had haunted both coasts.

In July 2020, Anita came home. Several Huntington Beach police officers, including David, traveled to Maine with Anita’s remains and attended the memorial service.

With the mystery of Anita’s identity put to rest, the police turned their eyes to the killer: Johnny Chrisco.

Johnny Monroe Chrisco

Johnny Chrisco had a history of juvenile delinquency, but unlike Anita, his crimes were violent, and continued throughout his life. At 17, Johnny was charged with statutory rape. This apparently had few consequences attached to it, as he immediately joined the army. Little is known about this initial rape charge, but it likely involved his future wife, Frances, who was 5 years his junior. The age of consent in California was 18 and Frances would have only been 11 or 12. Soon afterwards, Frances gave birth to a son who lived for only 20 days and died of a mysterious intestinal infection. Two years later, in 1962, Frances gave birth to their second son when she was no older than 14.

In 1963, when this son was almost a year old, Johnny was discharged from the army. His specific discharge status was not reported, but had something to do with his mental condition and personality. A psychological evaluation described him as “quick to anger, [quick] to feel unjustly treated, chronically resentful, immature and impulsive.” He was diagnosed as having “positive aggressive reaction.”

He was enlisted for about 3 or 4 years, but was never deployed. Yet, for the rest of his life, he would brag about serving in Vietnam, which he never did. He fabricated his entire identity out of this lie, and everyone who knew him later in life assumed his erratic behavior was a result of PTSD, which afflicted so many actual veterans.

In 1968, Johnny was 24 years old. Somehow, he and Anita crossed paths. We know Anita needed transportation, and could have gotten a ride with him. We also know she dated. Johnny was handsome as a young man, and could appear charming for a short time. She might have gone with him willingly at first, then been unable to leave. He had been arrested for kidnapping before. Was he the mystery man Anita was possibly seen with at the motel in Woodland, California? Perhaps he was a customer at a restaurant she worked at. Or, maybe he was a complete stranger and Anita simply ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whether he had planned it all along, or he just lashed out in spontaneous violence is unknown.

As it is, we know very little about the man who killed her.

Though he had already had some legal trouble by the time he was 24 years old, most of the charges against Johnny were filed after he had murdered Anita.

In 1971, he was booked for an unknown offense by Huntington Beach PD. The booking photo remained in the police files, but there was no information on why he had been booked.

In 1972, his drunk driving caused a car accident that killed his 10-year-old son and left his wife, his friend, and him injured. It’s not known if Johnny was held criminally responsible.

Despite a history of domestic violence, and charges of “assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping and child molestation,” Johnny had only had a few slaps on the wrist.

Two women who dated him near the end of his life, Cynthia and Karen, found him abusive. By that time, he was living in Kitsap County in Washington state. Johnny dated Cynthia for a few years in the 90s. The physically abusive relationship ended in 1995 with an order of protection. Cynthia was not surprised that Johnny had committed murder—he had threatened her life, and the lives of her children.

After Cynthia, he dated Karen from 1997 until her death in 2014. That relationship ended when she died of natural causes. He died the following year, making this his last known relationship.

Although his stepdaughter, Karen’s daughter, was surprised to learn he had committed a murder, she also said, “he had a temper, […] and he talk[ed] about slashing throats when he was irritated, and he never went anywhere without packing two pistols. He would talk about how if somebody pissed him off, he would shoot them. ‘Just as well slit their throat or shoot them rather than deal with them.’” Despite these red flags, she noted his charm and ability to make people like him.

Laurie reflected,

“The fact that her killer never faced justice for what he did to her will always haunt me. […] Why should he have gotten to live out the rest of his life however he wanted, when he ripped all of Anita's experiences, plans, and dreams away from her? It just seems so unfair…”

If there’s any consolation, Johnny Chrisco died alone, missed by no one. Since no one wanted to claim his body from the Kitsap County Coroner’s office, the military covered his funeral expenses and, in his final con, he was “buried with veteran's honors at the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent [Washington].”

Although Johnny had not served in Vietnam, he might have qualified for military burial on the grounds of having completed a full term of enlistment with a general discharge. But if he had been found guilty of Anita’s murder before he died, he would have certainly been ineligible for military burial.

Just a side note, his gravestone reads ‘Johnny Monrow Chrisco’, which is a different spelling than the archival records, court news, and a marriage announcement we have spelling it Johnny Monroe Chrisco. It’s unclear which is correct.

A Natural Born World-Shaker

There isn’t much left of Anita. Of her 6 siblings, 4 have passed and 1 has severe dementia. Her mother has been gone for 28 years. Anita had no children. What’s left of Anita is teased out of photographs and family memories.

There is another story that could have been told, if things had turned out differently. If Anita had had a few seconds to run away, if someone had come down that lonely dirt road and noticed Johnny’s car, if one small chance occurrence had kept Anita away from Johnny at the right time, it might have been yet another one of those stories many women tell—the time they got away.

The detective who had originally worked her case, delighted the young woman had finally been identified, said that she was “starstruck and [had come] to California to make it in the movies.” This cinema version of Anita also appeared in a Reddit post that described her “styling her dark hair in glamorous curls like a Hollywood starlet.” But Anita had never shown any ambition to become an actress—she just wanted to see the place… and maybe enjoy some of the nightlife… she did say, “they sure have nice places to dance here.” In the absence of her true story, people instinctively paint over her with their own stories. But the fact is that Anita’s story was cut short.

One thing is certain, though—no one knows what Anita would have done next, but chances are, she would have, yet again, surprised us all.

Huntington Beach Police are seeking information on Johnny Chrisco to try and answer questions about Anita’s death. If you have any information that can help, please contact them at (714) 960-8811.

This text has been adapted from the Murder, She Told podcast episode, Anita Piteau: Huntington Beach Jane Doe, Part 2. To hear Anita Piteau’s full story, find Murder, She Told on your favorite podcast platform.

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The crime scene of Anita Piteau; 450 feet south of the intersection of Newland St. and Yorktown Ave., Huntington Beach, CA, in 1968 (Orange County DA’s office)

Anita Piteau, her blue pants, crime scene, found with her body — Anita’s pants, found with her body

Anita’s funeral, July 18, 2020 (Huntington Beach PD)

Sources For This Episode

Newspaper articles

Various articles from Chula Vista Star-News, Kennebec Journal, Kitsap Sun, Los Angeles Times, Morning Sentinel, New York Post, Newsday, Orange County Register, Press-Telegram, Santa Maria Times, Sun-Journal, TCA Regional News, Telegraph Herald, The Daily Review & Sunday Review, and the Lompoc Record, here.

Written by various authors including Alejandra Molina, Andrew Galvin, Andrew Binion, Anthony DeStefano, Bill Hazlett, Colleen Shalby, David Li, Eric Russell, Frank Anderson, George Laine, Hannah Fry, Keith Sharon, Leila Miller, Michael Levenson, Nate Jackson, Nick Sambides, Nicole Santa Cruz, Robert Gettemy, Scott Schwebke, Selene San Felice, Steve Emmons, and Wendy Post.

Online written sources

'457UFCA - Unidentified Female' (TheDoeNetwork), 5/9/2010

'Calif. Police "Desperate to Identify" Murder Victim in 1968 Cold Case' (CBS News), 1/28/2011, by Naimah Jabali-Nash

'68-00745-C - John/Jane Doe Summary Form' (Orange County Sheriff's Department), 10/1/2016

'Anita Louise Piteau' (Find a Grave), 7/23/2020, by John P. Bell

'Family gets 'sense of peace' after DNA identifies Maine woman as 1968 homicide victim' (Bangor Daily News), 7/23/2020, by Nick Sambides

'Southern California Police Solve 52-Year Murder Mystery, Identify Victim at Last' (Courthouse News Service), 7/23/2020, by Martin Macias

'Investigative genetic genealogy helps Huntington Beach Police, District Attorney’s Office identify Maine woman as 1968 homicide victim and finds her killer' (Orange County, Office of District Attorney), 7/23/2020

'Maine family grateful after 52-year-old cold case murder solved' (WGME CBS 13), 7/24/2020

'Anita Piteau' (Fandom), 5/4/2022

'Hallowell library to host program on Stevens School May 5' (CentralMaine.com), 4/29/2023

'(Huntington Beach PD announcement)' (Facebook), 7/23/2020, by Huntington Beach Police Department

Books

The Last Letter by Laurie Quirion, written by Dakota and Marisa Allen

Interviews

Special thanks to Laurie Quirion for sharing her memories

Official records

Special thanks to the Maine State Archives for allowing us to view all of the publicly available Stevens School Records (aka Maine Industrial School for Girls). They also made an exception at the request of the family and provided certain documents from Anita’s student file.

Photos

Laurie Quirion and Anita’s family, the Maine State Archives for Murder, She Told, Huntington Beach PD

Episode Credits

Vocal performance, research, and audio editing by Kristen Seavey

Research, photo editing, and additional writing by Byron Willis

Writing by Anne Young

Additional research by Sarah Lafortune and Samantha Coltart

Murder, She Told is created by Kristen Seavey.