At the age of 28, Jenny Lin was brutally killed in her house in Castro Valley. The family never stops seeking for the person who killed their loved one.
In 1994, a girl of 14 years old was brutally murdered inside the safe suburban house of her parents. The tragedy shocked the community, and police were unable to pinpoint the motivation for the heinous act.
She was an excellent student who aspired to work in the field of marine biology. Jenny was a skilled violist, dancer, and pianist, and she was also the youngest member of the Castro Valley Orchestra. Jenny was the youngest member of the orchestra.
As additional details emerged, the investigators began to realize their worst fear, which was that Jenny Lin’s murder was not merely a random crime but rather one that had been painstakingly planned.
Since Jenny’s death almost three decades ago, Alameda County detectives have been appalled and burdened by the case, and they have frequently asked themselves, “why Jenny?”
Jenny Lin
Who took the life of Jenny Lin? Update About Castro Valley Murder
On May 27, 1994, only two days after she turned fourteen years old, Jenny was found dead inside her home in a peaceful community in Castro Valley, California. Her assailant was never caught.
Although the investigators at the local sheriff’s office have been working tirelessly on this case, there has been no significant breakthrough, and no suspects have been unequivocally established. There is no clear explanation for what led to the criminal act.
The murderer took advantage of the fact that the detectives had very little information to work with in order to carry out his crime. Even the FBI was called in to assist with various aspects of the investigation that was being conducted by the local police. In particular, the FBI carried out a number of laboratory tests and research investigations in an effort to piece together a profile of the killer.
At Canyon Middle School, Jenny Lin maintained a perfect grade point average.
Law enforcement at one point investigated a suspect who turned out to be a serial killer named Sebastian Shaw. However, he passed away while incarcerated in Oregon the previous year. Shaw was found guilty of the killings of Jay Rickbeil in 1991, Todd Rudiger, 29, and Donna Ferguson, 18, and was sentenced to three consecutive terms of life in prison for each of those murders.
In 1995, he admitted to having committed rape against a woman. Then Shaw claimed that he had been responsible for the deaths of more than ten people. However, he did make it clear that he would only provide additional information if the authorities were successful in preventing his death.
Where Are Jenny Lin’s Parents Located Right Now?
The parents of Lin, John and Mei-Lian Lin, have indicated that their family is “devastated” by the gruesome manner in which their daughter passed away. Despite this, they “commit to continue working with authorities until the crime is solved and to carry on Jenny’s aspirations to see her life prolonged in a unique way.”
John recalled a peculiar episode that took place approximately two weeks ago, not long after the murder. When he was in the parking lot of a train station, a disheveled man with delicate features and dark bushy hair approached him. The man spoke to him in a sensitive tone. He proposed a “deal” to him and claimed that he had the man’s daughter.
Because John was aware that Jenny was in the middle of a viola lesson at the time, he chose to disregard the individual and keep driving. After some time had passed, he contemplated the possibility that the strange man was responsible for the violent death of his daughter.
Although he was shown in a public sketch, no name has been provided for him at this time.
Jenny’s loved ones were crushed when she passed away, and in response, they set up a toll-free hotline, organized a dance fundraiser with blue ribbons (Jenny’s favorite color), and distributed pamphlets. Sadly, none of the tips that were received led to the identification and arrest of the person who killed Jenny.
More than twenty years ago, in her honor, the Jenny Lin Foundation was created, and ever since then, it has been giving away music scholarships and running free music programs for the community. In addition to that, it has organized a number of safety fairs, workshops, and competitions in order to raise awareness among parents and children and educate them.
The Use of DNA Technology to Solve the Murder of Jenny Lin
The Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern revealed that investigators reexamined the evidence using new DNA technology in order to discover who killed Jennifer “Jenny” Lin over a decade ago. The sheriff believes that with the help of technology, the investigators will be able to discover fresh evidence and obtain new cells.
Her family organizes an annual memorial service and candlelight march in her honor, with the goal of keeping her memory and the ongoing search for her murderer in the forefront of the community’s consciousness.
A prize of one hundred thousand dollars has been offered for information that leads to the identification and conviction of the person who is responsible for her death for many years.
The FBI and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office have both made an appeal to the general public for assistance and encouraged members of the public to come forward if they have any information about the case.
In accordance with a request made by the FBI, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office can be called at (510) 667-3622, and the FBI San Francisco Division can be reached at (415) 553-7400.
Jenny Lin Foundation
In the cold-case slaying of Jenny Lin in Castro Valley, the reward has increased
It was revealed late Thursday afternoon that the reward fund for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the murder of a 14-year-old girl in her home in Castro Valley in 1994 has been increased. The murder of the girl, which shook the Bay Area at the time, occurred in 1994 and shook the Castro Valley community in particular.
John Lin, whose daughter Jenny was found stabbed to death in her house in Castro Valley between the hours of 5:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. on May 27, 1994, has announced that the reward will be upped from $100,000 to $200,000 in the event that information leading to an arrest is provided. At the time of her death, Jenny was a middle school student in the eighth grade. There does not appear to have been a reason for her murder, nor a motive, and the person who did it is still at large.
Lin said that his daughter was a popular student who maintained perfect grades. The one hundred thousand dollar incentive was decided upon not long after her death.
The prize has been upped to $200,000 as a demonstration of the continued dedication of Jenny’s family and friends to the investigation and resolution of the case.
In an Oregon prison, the primary suspect in the 1994 cold case murder of Jenny Lin dies
The main suspect in the 1994 cold case murder of Jenny Lin, a gifted 14-year-old student and pianist who was fatally murdered in her family’s Castro Valley home, has passed away in a jail in Oregon.
Sebastian Shaw passed away on Saturday while being held in the Oregon State Penitentiary, according to the Oregon Department of Corrections.
Following his conviction in Multnomah County, Shaw entered prison on February 22, 2000, without a scheduled release date. For the aggravated murder of Jay Rickbeil in July 1991 and the murders of Donna Ferguson and Todd Rudiger in 1992, Shaw received three life sentences. He was also found guilty of raping a lady in Southeast Portland in 1995.
In 2006, a Multnomah County jury debated whether to execute Shaw for killing Rickbeil, but they couldn’t agree. A unanimous vote was necessary to impose the death penalty.
In 2000, Shaw admitted to killing 10 to 12 additional individuals while he was incarcerated. He asked the prosecution for a guarantee that if he told them what he knew about those deaths, he wouldn’t be sentenced to death in subsequent proceedings, but the prosecution refused.
He was identified as the main suspect in the slaying of Jenny Lin in the same year. It continues to be one of the most well-known unsolved killings in the Bay Area.
Her family organizes a memorial service and candlelight march every year to keep the community aware of her and the ongoing hunt for her killer.
On May 27, 1994, a violist who attended Canyon Middle School was fatally stabbed in her Palomares Hills residence. Since years, there has been a $100,000 reward for information that results in the capture and conviction of the individual responsible for her death.
John and Mei-lian Lin, Lin’s parents, said their family was “devastated” by their daughter’s horrific death but “promise to continue working with authorities until the crime is solved and to carry on Jenny’s hopes to see her life prolonged in a unique form.”
The Jenny Lin Foundation, established in her honor, has provided music scholarships and free music programs to the community for more than 20 years. It has also held a number of safety fairs, workshops, and competitions to promote parents’ and kids’ safety awareness and education.