by Jessica
In the 1980's a series of murders occurred in the area of San Diego along Interstate-8 that, at the time, police believed could be committed by one or more serial killers. The victims were mainly sex workers who worked along El Cajon Blvd, in San Diego. Their bodies were found in rural areas and culverts on the side of the roads in the area.
According to a 1988 article, titled "Green River Killer in San Diego?" in the Sacramento Bee, the police were looking at 25 unsolved murders of women in the area and even considered the possibility that the Green River Killer, a serial killer named Gary Ridgway, may have been responsible. The murders took place between 1985-1988 and many of those murders remain unsolved today. To add to their suspicion was the fact that the victims were all women who police believe were sex workers or transients.
A task force was created to aid in solving the cases in San Diego and 8 cases in particular were put together as victims possibly murdered by the same person. The victims in these cases were all women found murdered very near Interstate 8 in East San Diego County and all on the side of the road. There doesn't seem to be hard evidence connecting all of the murders to a single perpetrator but they remain unsolved. It's important to note that several of the victims were found some time after they went missing so finding physical evidence may have been more difficult. One of those victims was a 20 year old named Diana Gail Moffitt.
Unfortunately, there is very little information on Diana Moffitt. She lived in Oregon and had only been in California a short time. During that time she was working as a sex worker and may have had connections with a man who was arrested in Oregon a few years after her murder. This man was convicted of "running a prostitution ring" that may have stretched from California to New Jersey. According to the Albany Democrat-Herald, a newspaper in Oregon, this man plead no contest in 1988 to "compelling prostitution" in a case involving Diana Moffitt in California, a year after her body was found.
The details of Diana Moffitt's murder come from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department website as there isn't a newspaper article covering the crime. In 1987, Diana Moffitt went missing in San Diego. The dates are unclear, but according to an article in the Sacramento Bee, a "male companion" had reported her missing. Then on October 9, 1987, her body was found near 9688 Blossom Valley Road, about 8 miles north-west of El Cajon, CA and only 2.8 miles from Interstate 8.
This area of Southern California is only about 40 miles from the California-Mexico border and only 20 miles from a road in the North Park area of San Diego known as El Cajon Boulevard; and nicknamed the "Boulevard of Bad Dreams." This area in the 1980's was considered dangerous and crime-ridden. Among it's more common crimes is sex work and it's where the majority of arrests for prostitution in San Diego have taken place. Interestingly, anyone in this area would be close to both Interstate 15 and Interstate 8, where Diana's body was found, and where the other victims were found.
The day Diana was found a road crew had been using a back hoe to clear a ditch of weeds when the men found her body covered by underbrush. She was decomposed and only partially clothed. Other details of her death are unknown. San Diego County Sheriff's need people to come forward and hope that with the passage of time anyone who has any information will be compelled to come forward. We've talked at length about how fear can keep witnesses from coming forward and time can prove to be the one thing someone needs to feel safe enough to speak out. Victims like Diana Moffitt, and all of those who loved her, deserve answers and those who carry that information with them have the ability to help answer questions, bring justice and lift the burdens of grief and confusion for those still waiting.
In 1988, Diana's mother, Gayle Moffitt, became vice-president of a group in Portland called, Parents of Murdered Children. This group's goal was to provide support to those who had lost children and to help "...police, courts, and mental health professionals better understand the frustrations and struggles suffered by murdered victim's families." When Gayle first considered joining the organization she was concerned that they wouldn't understand or judge her because her daughter was a sex worker, a stigma long attached to ideas about pure victims. The organization not only embraced her but she would go on to become one of it's leaders.
It does not appear that there is a task force that has continued to look into the cases of murder along Interstate 8 or that anyone has been arrested for those crimes. Without more evidence it is difficult to narrow down who and how these women were murdered. It's entirely possible that each of the victims was murdered by a different person, a possible serial killer, or were even victims of a trafficking ring.
In 1988, Diana's mother told the newspaper she believed she knew who had hurt her child but did not use his name. What is known is that police need people to come forward with any information they have so they can finally find answers in Moffitt's case. If you have any information on this case please call the San Diego Sheriff's Department during business hours at 858-285-6330 or it's Communication Center at 858-565-5200. You can also contact crime stoppers at 888-580-8477 or fill out their online tip form here: https://www.sdsheriff.net/coldcase/8768903/index.html
For anyone interested there is also a TV movie from 1993 called Moment of Truth: Why My Daughter? starring Linda Gray and Antonio Sabato Jr. that is about the murder of Diana Gail Moffitt.
More Information:
Diana Gail Moffitt Cold Case, San Diego County Sheriff's Department Website: https://www.sdsheriff.net/coldcase/8768903/index.html
Cavanaugh, Maureen and Pat Finn. (Host). (2009, Oct 12) "El Cajon Boulevard: Boulevard of Bad Dreams." KPBS News [Radio Report]. https://www.kpbs.org/news/2009/oct/12/el-cajon-boulevard-boulevard-bad-dreams/
"Parents of Murdered Children Gather." Albany Democrat Herald, 10 Aug 1992, via newspapers.com.
"Prison Inmate Linked to Prostitution Ring." Albany Democrat Herald, 08 Jan 1992, via newspapers.com.
Hecht, Peter. "Green River Killer in San Diego?" The Sacramento Bee, 15 Aug 1988, via newspapers.com.
"Prisoner Goes On Trial for Part in Prostitution." Albany Democrat Herald, 13 Feb 1992, via newspapers.com.
"Portland Man Convicted in N.J. Prostitution Case." Albany Democrat Herald, 27 Mar 1992, via newspapers.com.
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