Do you know who murdered Francine Trimble and Kerry Graham in 1978? Francine Trimble, age 14, was tragically killed alongside her friend Kerry Graham, in a homicide that occurred sometime in late 1978. Both girls disappeared from Forestville, California, in December 1978, after they set out to visit a shopping mall in Santa Rosa. Their remains were discovered in July 1979 in a wooded area off Highway 20 near Willits, California, approximately 80 miles north of where they had initially disappeared.
The remains were found in a shallow grave, wrapped in plastic and bound with duct tape, and had likely been disturbed by wildlife before discovery.
The initial investigation into their deaths faced numerous challenges, including the difficulty of identifying the remains. Due to the advanced state of decomposition, the bodies were initially misidentified—one of the victims was thought to be male. It wasn't until 2015, after extensive forensic analysis and a re-examination of the remains, that they were definitively identified as Francine Trimble and Kerry Graham. The cause of death for both girls could not be conclusively determined, but authorities have always believed they were victims of foul play.
Despite numerous leads over the years, the case remains unsolved. Investigators believe that the girls may have been killed elsewhere and later transported to the location where they were found. There was no clothing with the remains, but a single earring depicting a bird, believed to belong to Francine, was discovered at the scene. The case continues to haunt the local community and remains one of the many tragic unsolved homicides from that era.
