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Remains Of Woman Murdered, Dumped In Desert Identified 65 Years Later

SAN BERNARDINO (CBS/AP) — Authorities have identified the remains of a woman killed 65 years ago and dumped in the California desert.

The San Bernardino County coroner's office says a family DNA match shows the bones found scattered in the Mojave Desert near Baker are those of Betty Walraven, an Orange County woman killed in May 1946. The coroner's office says the remains were found Jan. 26, 1971.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise reports Santa Ana police notified San Bernardino investigators in 1975 that a suspect confessed to killing Walraven, also known as Betty Fleming, that year and dumping her body in the desert.

The name of the suspect and details about the killing haven't been released.

The coroner's office says in a news release that a DNA profile worked up by the state justice department lab in Richmond helped investigators make the identification.

(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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