DNA analytics leads to discovery of dead Monterey woman’s true identity, age in “Mom-in-the-Box” case
MONTEREY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- The mystery surrounding the identity of a woman found dead in a Monterey home on Fourth Street back in February 2014 has been solved.
Monterey Police confirmed through DNA profiling the woman initially identified as Francesca Linda Jacobs, born in 1955, was actually Linda Rae Jacobs.
Linda was born in 1942, leading police to believe she led people to think she was 12 years older than she actually was.
The case drew intrigue initially in 2014 because Linda was found dead in a home where another body was found decomposing inside a box under a kitchen table.
Police weren't able to identify both individuals until 2023, announcing now that the woman in the box was Ida Florence Jacobs.
Monterey Police said some additional investigating found no foul play is suspected in the death of Ida Jacobs. There's also no foul play suspected in the death of who police now know as Linda Rae Jacobs.
The confusion began because police found a driver's license with Linda that identified her as "Francesca" and "Francesca" left a handwritten will identifying the woman in the box as her mother. The mother was identified in the note as "Florence Jacobs."
"The reasons Linda Rae Jacobs assumed a new name or why she would keep her mother's body in a box under the kitchen table will likely never be known," said Monterey Police.
