Cynthia Hernandez
On August 26, 1976, 18-year-old Cynthia Hernandez decided to go to the Fox Twin Theaters in Covina, California to see The Omen. That morning, she had secured a position in her college’s competitive choral group and wanted to get out of the house. With her boyfriend sick and her friend away, she went to the 10:30pm showing of the film by herself. By the next morning, she hadn’t returned home, and her empty car was found in a parking lot near the theater.
Police initially assumed she could be a runaway, but after pressure from her family and friends, they began to consider other possibilities. Still, there were no signs of a struggle near her car and no one at the theater reported seeing anything suspicious. Despite her family’s attempts to locate her, Cynthia was never seen again.
A month later, near Twin Peaks, a dog brought a skull to its owner. Police believed this could have been from an older burial. One year later, two teenage girls were kidnapped from West Covina and brought to a cabin in the Twin Peaks area. There, three men sexually assaulted them and one said he murdered a young woman there. He showed his friends her rib bones as evidence of his claim. When the teens were released, they directed police to the cabin where the bones were found underneath the cabin porch.
Despite this find at the man’s family cabin and despite the fact the teen girls were kidnapped in the same region as Cynthia, her bones were not identified until 2014. In 2016, her killer was finally convicted of her murder. He was eligible for parole beginning in 2023.
People and Cases Mentioned in this Episode:
Unknown Victim, Kidnapping 1974 (solved sexual assault and kidnapping)
Unknown Victims, Kidnapping 1976 (solved sexual assaults and kidnappings)
Counterfeit Sales of Disney materials (solved counterfeit sale)
Guest reader
Gabrielle Ruiz
Gabrielle Ruiz is best known for her starring role on the CW series CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND. Her other work includes BETTER THINGS, MODERN FAMILY, LAW & ORDER: SVU, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, MR. MAYOR, STAR TREK: LOWER DECK, SPIDEY & HIS AMAZING FRIENDS and the feature film SEX, LOVE, & SALSA.
She will next be seen in the upcoming feature film, MAN IN THE LONG BLACK COAT, opposite Christopher Lloyd and Dermot Mulroney.
Gabrielle is also known for her work on Broadway for her roles in IF/THEN, EVITA, IN THE HEIGHTS, and A CHORUS LINE.