Michelle Marie Sagel
At approximately 7:00AM on December 7, 1985, the Orange County Sheriff Department (OCSD) was alerted to possible human remains having been found on the side of Jeffery Road in North Irvine, CA. The remains were determined to be those of a young woman and are described as being "contorted in the bag", per the OCSD's cold case entry.
Through fingerprints, the woman was identified as Michelle Marie Sagel. She apparently had multiple aliases including Christine Hansen and Adrian Ann Rossi. She had two tattoos: a heart on her lower left arm and the cross of life on her right arm.
In addition to the OCSD cold case entry, there are two Los Angeles Times articles from 1985 relevant to the case:
12/10/1985, reported by Ray Perez: Lt. Richard Olson of the Orange County Sheriff's Department confirmed that Sagel's body was found on Saturday, 12/7/1985, by a "passing motorist". The location was described as being rural, "beside Jeffrey Road, just east of the Santa Ana Freeway". Olson stated that the autopsy did not indicate a cause of death and that toxicological testing would be done in an effort to determine cause of death. At the time, the estimated time to complete the susbequent testing was said to "take at least two weeks".Additionally, Olson said they were working to identify the last-known address for Sagel but had no additional information. This article identifies Sagel as being 24 at the time.
12/24/1985, reported by Jeffrey Tyclicki: Orange County Sheriff's Department officials requested public assistance into "the murder of a woman whose body was found Dec. 7 in a suitcase alongside Jeffrey Road in Irvine". This article states that Sagel was frequenting Inglewood and Los Angeles, but no other leads. The timeline for the toxicological testing was again estimated to take an additional three to four weeks.
Besides these two articles and the cold case writeup on the OCSD's website, I can't find anything else related to a Michelle Marie Sagel, Christine Hansen, or Adrian Ann Rossi in California. A few observations:
- The LA Times articles, referencing Lt. Richard Olson as the OCSD spokesperson, state that the remains were found in "a large suitcase". The OCSD website states that the remains were found in "a blue nylon bag".
- The LA Times article from 12/24/1985 specifically uses the word "murder" when describing the circumstances of the death. However, the assumedly later OCSD entry says "Although it seemed she took her own life, the public disposal of Michelle's body points to a more nefarious possibility", yet says the OCSD considers her death to be a homicide.
The OCSD makes no mention of the results of the toxicology results, nor does it confirm if it was ever actually performed. Additionally, I can't find any reporting after 1985 following up on the status of the case.
Sagel was described as being 5'4", with blond hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a blue T-shirt and pants when her body was discovered.