SANTA CRUZ — An adult homicide victim who was found dead, wrapped in a tarp and dumped on a Santa Cruz hillside in 1998 has been identified as Eric P. Cupo.
Three suspects were convicted of the murder, but the victim’s identity remained classified as a “John Doe” for more than 20 years.
The case began on Sunday, December 27, 1998, when a body wrapped in a tarp was discovered on a hillside on Bear Creek Rd. in the mountains of Santa Cruz County.
The remains are in an advanced state of decomposition. An autopsy revealed that the most shocking aspect of the injury was blunt force trauma, but due to the body’s state of decomposition – most of the soft tissue was gone – getting an identity proved to be a difficult task.
A subsequent investigation by the Sheriff’s Office resulted in the arrest and conviction of three murder suspects.
For the next 20-plus years, the coroner’s office continued to follow up on leads about the deceased person’s identity. In 2021, authorities began using forensic genetic genealogy techniques to finally identify the person and make notification to next of kin.
With the collaboration of the California Department of Justice Jan Bashinski DNA Lab, Othram Inc, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Latent Print Unit, the deceased person has now been positively identified as Cupo, who is 22-years-old. years at the time of his murder.
Detectives learned that Cupo was born in California. As a child he was adopted by a family in Philadelphia and later moved to Florida with his adopted father.
Cupo briefly returned to Philadelphia at age 18 to live with his adopted mother. From there, Cupo moved across the country, and his family lost regular contact with him. Cupo is believed to have later lived in Arizona and Ohio. The timeline for his return to California is unclear.
Cupo’s adopted family and biological relatives have been notified of his identification and are grateful to the sheriff’s office for their dedicated and tireless investigation to identify Cupo and resolve his whereabouts.
