Desarae Ellemae Jones, a 29-year-old African American female, was found murdered on May 16, 1993, near a vacant residence in the Vermont-Slauson neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Her body was discovered partially nude and showed clear signs of strangulation. The location of her death—along the 6800 block of Estrella Avenue—was part of a corridor in South Los Angeles that had become notorious for a series of violent crimes against women during that period.
Jones had previously
worked at a nursing home and was known to reside in the Los Angeles area. Her death did not initially receive widespread media attention, a reflection of the broader neglect often shown toward victims from marginalized communities. However, her case later became a critical piece in the investigation of a serial killer operating in the region.
Years after her murder, DNA evidence linked her death to Chester Dewayne Turner, an African American male born in 1966, who was later identified as one of Los Angeles' most prolific serial killers. Turner was convicted of murdering at least 14 women between 1987 and 1998, many of whom were African American females, and several were found in similar conditions—strangled and left near vacant buildings or alleyways. Turner's crimes were concentrated in a narrow corridor along Figueroa Street, an area plagued by poverty, drug activity, and violence.
Turner was arrested and convicted in 2007 for the murders of Jones and nine other women. He was sentenced to death and remains incarcerated. His conviction was based largely on DNA evidence collected after a 2002 rape conviction, which led investigators to reexamine cold cases. The forensic matches to Jones and other victims helped unravel a pattern of killings that had previously gone unsolved.
Jones' murder, along with others attributed to Turner, highlighted systemic failures in how law enforcement and media treated crimes involving vulnerable women in South Los Angeles. Her death, once overlooked, became a pivotal moment in bringing justice to the victims of a long-ignored killing spree.
