Santa Clara DA Identifies 1981 San Jose Homicide Victim Vivian Moss

Cold case detectives in Santa Clara County have identified a woman whose dismembered torso was found in a San Jose field in 1981 as Vivian Moss, a 54-year-old grandmother with ties to Oakland. Moss was found near what is now the VTA Berryessa Transit Center and BART station parking garage, with two religious pendants nearby, and her death was ruled a homicide caused by multiple stab wounds and dismemberment. The identification was made possible through a partnership with forensic genealogists at Parabon NanoLabs, who used DNA comparison between crime scene evidence and Moss's granddaughter's DNA. Moss was a follower of the Mt. Zion Spiritual Church and was close to its leader, Louis H. Narcisse, and may have worked at an Oakland elementary school before her disappearance. The Cold Case Unit and Moss's family are urging the public to provide any new information to help identify her killer, with District Attorney Jeff Rosen emphasizing that the community has not forgotten her. An AI-generated image of Moss based on family photos has also been released to aid the investigation.