Remains of LA millionaire missing since 1981 identified after more than 40 years

The brief

Authorities in southern California announced this week that, after more than 40 years, they had identified the remains of a Los Angeles millionaire missing since 1981. The Riverside county sheriff confirmed in a statement that investigators, using genetic genealogy and dental records, had determined the remains found in a rugged area near Sugarloaf Mountain were those of Thelma Gaston. Gaston disappeared at age 80 in June 1981, and police believed she had been killed. The Los Angeles county district attorney’s office prosecuted the widow’s former companion, Lawrence Remsen, for her murder, alleging that he killed her to gain access to her $20m estate. The then 40-year-old was sentenced to life…