JAMUL, Calif. (CBS 8) -- The year was 1977 just two days before Christmas. A Grossmont Water District employee walking his dog in the East County discovered the body of a young woman dumped in a drainage ditch off the south side of State Route 94 in Jamul, one mile east of Steele Canyon Rd.
20-year-old Elizabeth Ann Heidt had been dead less than 24 hours.
She was wearing “a long-sleeved, yellowish, cotton jersey blouse which buttoned up the front; a white bra; and blue-and-pink bikini-style panties,” according to her autopsy report.
The medical examiner listed her cause of death as homicide. Heidt had been “beaten about the head by another person,” the autopsy continued.
“A dark green plastic trash bag was over the decedent's head and shoulders,” the report detailed. “Contact lenses are present.”
CBS News 8 obtained a copy of Heidt's high school graduation picture via email from her mother in Arizona, who did not want to speak on camera.
Her father in Iowa also declined to talk in detail about the case.
At the time of her murder, Heidt was free on bail, facing child abuse and murder charges in connection with the death of her one-year-old son, Shawn.
But Heidt had told her mother she was innocent and that somebody else committed that crime.
Just like his mother, baby Shawn was beaten to death.
San Diego Union newspaper reports from the time of the murders indicated detectives questioned Heidt's roommate, David Friend, with whom she had shared an apartment on Beadnell Way in Clairemont.
Detectives told reporters in 1977 that Friend was not considered a suspect. CBS News 8 was unable to reach Friend for comment.
Now, nearly 37 years after the young woman's death, San Diego Crimestoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for leads in the case. Sheriff's detectives are hoping someone will come forward with new information.
If you have any information about Heidt's murder contact Crimestoppers at (888) 580-8477. You do not have to give your name to be eligible for reward money.