DNA helps identify woman found buried in Southern California desert in 1994 but "mystery" remains unsolved

A woman found dead and partially buried in the Southern California desert nearly three decades ago has been identified after her DNA was matched with one of her surviving children, prosecutors said. The Riverside County District Attorney's Office announced Monday that the remains belonged to Patricia Cavallaro, 57, of Bellflower.

"Without the use of forensic genealogy, this victim may have never been identified," the DA's office said in a statement.

Investigators with the county's Regional Cold Case Homicide Team now hope to solve her murder.