A DNA identification in 2023 helped advance the investigation into the 2006 homicide of Jill Maiorca. Her former husband, Jeff Maiorca, 53, was arrested Monday in connection with her death, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department announced the arrest in a post on X.
The department said cold-case detectives arrested Maiorca in connection with the murder of his wife, who investigators say was killed in 2006.
Cold-Case Investigation
The incident location was in the 39000 block of Forest Road in Big Bear Lake.
An autopsy determined the manner of death was homicide. According to the sheriff’s office, the remains’ identity was unknown despite DNA testing and investigative work through 2020. They remained unidentified for roughly three more years.
Cold-Case Investigation
In 2023, the sheriff’s Cold Case Homicide Team took over the investigation. Additional DNA analysis that year identified the remains as Jill Maiorca, according to the sheriff’s account. Detectives then identified her former husband, Jeff Maiorca, as a suspect in her murder.
Maiorca, who resides in Big Bear, was arrested in connection with the murder, the sheriff’s office said. The investigation remains ongoing.
DNA Identification in Context
Separately, the California Department of Justice says its Missing Persons DNA Program compares DNA from unidentified people and remains with DNA from missing persons’ personal items and relatives. That description does not establish which method was used in the Maiorca investigation. For national context, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System says a 2018 census found more than 11,000 sets of unidentified human remains in U.S. medical examiner and coroner offices. In a separate California case, CBS News reported that remains found near Tiburon on Dec. 18, 1966, were later identified as Dorothy Jean Vaillancourt after investigators submitted evidence for DNA analysis in 2022.
Investigation Ongoing
The case is being handled by the Specialized Investigations Division's Homicide Detail, where Detective Malcolm Page and Sergeant Justin Giles are listed as the investigators of record. Shannon D. Dicus serves as Sheriff-Coroner of the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department, which oversees the case, cataloged under DR# 162000907 and H#2020-122.
Investigators are asking anyone with information about Jill Maiorca's disappearance or murder to come forward. Tips can be directed to the Homicide Detail at 909-890-4916, or submitted anonymously through the We-Tip Hotline at 844-909-3006. Those with non-emergency information can also reach the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department at 909-387-3700, while anyone with an active emergency should call 9-1-1.
