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OC Woman Searching For Mother's Killer Discovers Truth About Her Death And Life

ORANGE COUNTY (CBSLA.com) — Lauri Taylor's comfortable life as an O.C. stay-at-home mom in 2006 came crashing down when she got a phone call.

"It was that phone call one afternoon, that changed everything."

It was during that call that she learned her mother, 68-year-old Jane Kling, was missing. Days later, an extensive search led investigators to her mother. She had died in San Felipe, Mexico.

Police ruled the death a homicide.

"They told us that she had been beaten and strangled and she had fought for her life, that her fingernails were broken and she had scratches on her chest," Taylor said.

She and her sister went to Baja California to talk with investigators and to identify the body found a desolate beach.

Taylor says her mother loved the ocean.

It was the first of many trips to Mexico. For months, there were no developments in the case, no suspect and no motive: "It was horribly frustrating."

"They said this case was not solvable, having my mom be missing in the U.S., and her body found in Mexico," Taylor said.

Driven by love, Taylor immersed herself in the search for the killer. She had no investigative experience but was determined to solve the case.

"I felt truly in my heart that the only way I could redeem myself was to solve the case, to make my mom proud of me."

Taylor spoke to witnesses and studied crime scene photos of her mother's bloody van found near her body. She even examined the autopsy pictures.

After almost four years, and no answers, Taylor convinced FBI profiler Candice DeLong -- who had worked on the Unabomber case -- to help with the investigation.

DeLong came to a conclusion that turned the investigation upside down. She determined the wound on Kling's wrist -- originally thought to be a ligature mark made by a kidnapper with a rope -- was actually a self-inflicted wound. Kling had cut her wrist.

Taylor says she was angry no one had come to that conclusion before. And she was angry because of the conclusion.

That anger eventually turned to acceptance as Taylor learned about her mother's death -- and life.

Kling had been suffering from a mental illness and was dealing with financial troubles.

Why she went to Mexico is still a mystery.

Taylor said: "I know my mother would be proud that I didn't give up, that I stayed with it. I know she'd be proud, I'm sure of it."

The experience inspired Taylor to write a book, "The Accidental Truth: What My Mother's Murder Investigation Taught Me About Life." For more information visit Taylor's website.

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