OPD Announces Breakthrough in Decades-Old Cold Case
For Immediate Release: 10/1/2026
OPD NEWS:
Tomorrow marks 57 years since the body of a 16-year-old girl was found in downtown Oakland. On October 2, 1969, around 3:30 p.m., Oakland Police officers responded to the former Hotel St. Louis at 539 7th Street, where a woman was found dead in a hotel room. Investigators determined the cause of death was strangulation. Witnesses and hotel staff reported seeing the victim enter the room with a white or Native American male just after 2:45 p.m. Less than 30 minutes later, staff heard a scream. The suspect left before officers arrived. The victim had no identification, and her identity remained unknown for decades.
“Today, after more than fifty years, the victim previously known as "Jane Doe" has been positively identified as Joanne Yvonne Burdick, known as “Joanie,” to her family, born February 3, 1953,” said Oakland Police Chief James Beere. “Joanne was only 16 years old when she was killed.”
During the original investigation, Taylor Morris Teaford was identified as a potential suspect in Burdick’s homicide. He was also named as a suspect in the 1967 homicide of his grandmother in Northern California.
OPD Homicide Cold Case Investigators and the FBI made Burdick's identification possible through their collaboration. "Today’s announcement is about Joanie—about restoring her identity, honoring her life, and bringing long overdue closure to her family after nearly sixty years,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Scott Schelble. “This outcome reflects the unwavering collaboration between the FBI, the Oakland Police Department, and the Alameda County Coroner’s Office.”
FBI investigators located a living relative of Burdick who provided a DNA sample that confirmed Joanie’s identity. “Thank you to every single individual who worked on this case, past and present, for caring enough to give Joanne her name and to give her family closure,” said the Burdick Family.
OPD continues to review evidence and pursue leads as the case remains active. The department thanks the FBI for its ongoing partnership.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Oakland Police Department Homicide Section at (510) 238-3821 or the Homicide Tip Line at (510) 238-7950.
Building Trust and Strengthening Community is our commitment to you.
