Photo not related to article. [Getty Images Bank]
Photo not related to article. [Getty Images Bank]

An unidentified woman's body found in a shallow grave in California 45 years ago has been identified as a missing 80-year-old heiress — and her killer was a lover 39 years her junior.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Office announced Friday that skeletal remains discovered near Sugar Loaf Mountain in November 1981 have been identified as those of Thelma Jeanette Gaston, a Los Angeles County real estate investor whose assets were estimated at around $20 million.

"After more than 40 years, the Riverside cold case homicide team has positively identified the female victim as Thelma Gaston," police said. "Gaston was the victim of a 1981 homicide that occurred in Los Angeles County."

Severe deterioration of the remains had made identification impossible for decades. Advances in forensic technology eventually provided the breakthrough, and investigators used dental records and genetic genealogy analysis to crack the case in May.

Gaston was last seen on June 28, 1981. The Los Angeles Times reported that the final trace of her was a note she left at her home saying she was going out to find her cat.

Letters that surfaced afterward stated that Gaston was transferring control of her estate to a man named Lawrence Remson. The documents contained phrases such as "everyone is after my money" and "I am going to enjoy my life and no one can stop me." The documents were later found to have been authenticated with a stolen notary stamp, and Gaston's signature on them was determined to be forged.

Remson, a carpet salesman and burglar alarm technician, had worked his way into Gaston's life as her romantic partner and had reportedly discussed marriage with her before her death. Police found evidence that he had sold her belongings and attempted to withdraw more than $100,000 from her bank accounts.

Remson vanished shortly after Gaston's disappearance. Police raided his apartment and recovered stolen items belonging to Gaston, as well as a Mercedes-Benz from his garage.

He was arrested in September 1981 while attempting to cross into Mexico from Texas. Remson claimed that Gaston had died of natural causes at her home and that he had buried her body at sea.

The court found that Remson had killed Gaston "deliberately and with malice" and convicted him of second-degree murder. Even though the victim's identity had not been confirmed at the time, the judge called him a "bumbling villain" and sentenced him to life in prison.

Remson, now 83, has been denied parole four times since 2016.


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