What happened to Lina Reyes-Geddes? Suspect identified through DNA technology in 1998 Utah cold case

Lina Reyes-Geddes' 24-year old murder case has finally been solved. With the help of DNA technology, investigators were able to identify Reyes-Geddes' husband, now-deceased Edward Geddes, as the killer.

Utah State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis, who worked on the case for years, felt it was "personal" as he connected with the woman’s family.

Referring to the family's ordeal, he said,

"You can imagine what they’ve gone through."

Speaking to the New York Post, he said,

"At least there’s some closures, at least there’s answers."

Davis said closing the case was one of the highlights of his career.

Investigators stated that DNA samples helped them connect Edward Geddes to the murder. A webinar was also held on the afternoon of June 29 to discuss the case.

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Lina Reyes-Geddes aka the "Maidenwater victim"

On April 20, 1998, the 38-year-old Lina Reyes-Geddes' body was found near Maidenwater Spring in Garfield County, Utah. Despite extensive investigations by the Garfield County Sheriff's Office and the Utah State Bureau of Investigation, authorities were unable to identify the body. This caused the case to go unsolved.

Lina Reyes-Geddes' body was covered in plastic bags, wrapped in duct tape, tied with rope and placed inside a sleeping bag before being rolled into a carpet. For a long time, the victim, Reyes-Geddes, remained unidentified and was instead referred to as the "Maidenwater victim."

At the time, serial killer Scott "Hannibal" Kimball was considered a suspect in the murder. This was because the way in which Reyes-Geddes' body was found was similar to how Kimball killed his victims. However, he was later ruled out as a suspect.

It wasn't until 2018 that Utah and Ohio authorities both released photos of Lina Reyes-Geddes. The Utah photo was of Jane Doe while the Ohio photo was from a missing person’s case. This led the two agencies to link up and work together.

The victim’s sister, Lucero, traveled from Mexico to provide a DNA sample and police were able to identify Reyes-Geddes as Jane Doe, investigators said.

Lina’s sister Lucero traveled from Mexico to provide a DNA sample to police (Image via Utah Department of Public Safety)

Then came collecting DNA samples from the rope that was used to tie Reyes-Geddes. As Lina’s husband Edward killed himself and was cremated in 2001, investigators compared the DNA found on the rope to genetic material from three of her husband's relatives. All three were familial matches to the DNA found on the rope.

Following Lina Reyes-Geddes' death, her husband never reported her missing. Instead, it was one of her aunts in Mexico who filed a missing person report five months after Reyes-Geddes was last seen alive, Agent Davis said.

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Reyes-Geddes' family gets closure after decades

Agent Davis expressed his gratitude to all the agencies in different states that helped solve the case. He said,

"To have this answer finally after 24 years is incredible."

He also noted that Lina Reyes-Geddes' family always suspected the husband to be the killer. He added:

"And I know it’s not the answer that (her sister) would have wanted when she found her sister … but they had suspected. In fact, quite frankly, their family thought that Edward had done something to her. They just hadn’t proved it. … That was always their hunch."

Prior to the DNA proof, there was circumstantial evidence that pointed to Edward Geddes as the killer, Davis said.