California Man Charged in Killing of Ex-Wife Nearly Two Decades After She Vanished

A California man has been charged with murder in connection with the killing of his ex-wife, nearly two decades after she disappeared, authorities said.

Jeff Maiorca, 53, faces a murder charge in the death of Jill Maiorca, who was 29 years old when she was killed, according to investigators. Her remains were discovered hidden in the crawlspace of a home in 2020, roughly 13 years after she had originally gone missing.

Case advanced through DNA analysis

Authorities said the case is among a growing number of long-unsolved killings that have been advanced in recent years through modern DNA identification techniques, which have allowed investigators to revisit evidence from cold cases with renewed forensic tools.

The six-year gap between the 2020 discovery of Jill Maiorca's remains and the recent charge reflects the extended investigative process often required to build a criminal case from forensic evidence in older disappearances.

Further details on the specific evidence linking Jeff Maiorca to the killing, as well as the timeline of upcoming legal proceedings, were not included in the available report.