BAKERSFIELD (AP) — Bakersfield police say bones found by gold miners in 2008 and 2009 belong to a 29-year-old stripper who was strangled by her fiance.

KBAK-KBFX television reports testing has determined the right femur and left pelvis bones match the DNA of Azita Nikooei who disappeared in 2004.

Police say the bones were extremely bleached, which indicates they’d been exposed to the elements for a long time.

Her fiance Nathan Mowers admitted earlier this year that he strangled her during an argument at their home and dumped her body in the Mojave Desert, but it was never found.

Mowers was sentenced to 11 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter in February.

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