Mystery of headless woman drained of blood deepens in California

Some murder cases are horrifying. Others are so disturbing that even veteran homicide detectives say they’ve never seen anything like them.

More than 15 years after a mutilated body was discovered abandoned in a Kern County vineyard, investigators are once again asking for the public’s help in solving the killing of 64-year-old Ada Beth Kaplan Moore, a case they say still haunts those who first responded, per KHTS.

Moore’s remains were discovered on March 29, 2011 along a dirt road near a grape vineyard east of Wheeler Ridge Road in Arvin, roughly 60 miles north of Santa Clarita, where she had been living. But for more than a decade, she was known only as “Jane Doe 2011.”

The Kern County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in solving the killing of Ada Beth Kaplan Moore.

According to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, every traditional effort failed to identify the victim. There was no missing person report, fingerprint comparisons led nowhere, and investigators were left with almost no clues about who she was.

Authorities later revealed why identifying her proved so difficult.

Investigators say whoever killed Moore went to extraordinary lengths to conceal her identity. Her body was found without clothing, her head was missing, both of her thumbs had been removed, and detectives believe her blood had been drained before her remains were left in the vineyard.

The gruesome crime scene stunned even seasoned investigators.

Former Kern County Sheriff’s detective Ray Pruitt told KGET that everyone at the scene struggled to comprehend what they were seeing.

“I remember looking at the detectives and the sergeant on scene and the coroner investigator who had arrived on the scene and we were all kind of speechless,” admitted Pruitt. “We were all just looking at each other trying to get our minds around what we were looking at. It was surreal.”

While bodies are occasionally found in remote agricultural areas throughout Kern County, detectives have said this case was unlike anything they had encountered.

Pruitt has described it as the type of homicide an investigator might only experience once in an entire career, if ever. 

KCSO Homicide Sgt. David Hubbard agreed, adding, “Something this gruesome is very unusual.”

Authorities believe the killer deliberately staged the body after death rather than simply dumping it and leaving. Investigators have said the remains appeared to have been intentionally positioned, suggesting the person responsible wanted the body to be discovered.

Detectives also believe significant effort was taken to destroy evidence and prevent identification. For years, the victim remained a mystery.

That finally changed in January 2024, when the Kern County Sheriff’s Office announced that advances in investigative genetic genealogy had identified Jane Doe as Ada Beth Kaplan Moore, according to KHTS.

Moore was born in New York, attended Forest Hills High School, and received a New York State Scholarship Award during her senior year. According to yearbook records, she once dreamed of becoming a prima ballerina before eventually relocating to California and marrying.

An August 2011 letter to the editor published by The Santa Clarita Valley Signal from Moore’s estranged husband, who said they had separated in 2009, claimed she had left him for “a multimillionaire.”

Investigators have not publicly indicated whether that statement is connected to the homicide.

Despite finally restoring Moore’s identity, the person responsible for her death has never been found.

The Kern County Sheriff’s Office is now urging anyone who knew Moore, whether as Ada Beth Moore or Ada Kaplan, to come forward. Detectives say even seemingly insignificant details about her relationships, daily routines, employment or acquaintances could provide the breakthrough the investigation has lacked for more than a decade.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Thompson at (661) 861-3110. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through the Kern Secret Witness Line at (661) 322-4040.

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