On December 2, 1983, Kellie Jean Poppleton, age 14 from Fremont, California, was discovered dead on the side of Kilkare Road in Sunol, California. Thirty-eight years later, the case still remains unsolved. A cold case for Kellie was opened in 2004, and investigators with the Alameda County Sheriff's Office have since obtained the DNA of the male assailant, but do not have any matches in the CODIS database. Likewise, genetic genealogists have been unable to find a relative of the killer which might point toward his identity. There is the suspicion that the killer was from Korea, based upon items left at the crime scene and from an in-depth study of his DNA conducted by Parabon NanoLabs. As of 2022, the case remains open in the hopes that someday this case may be solved and bring justice to Kellie Poppleton and her remaining family members.
