Fresno County Sheriff’s homicide detectives are asking the public to help them find folks who may have had contact with a victim of an FSO cold case.
The Fresno County Coroner’s Office and California Department of Justice (DOJ) recently identified the victim as Jack Dupee, 24, of Livermore, CA. Detectives found Dupee burned in an orchard on May 6, 2006. His body was located near Interstate 5 and Shields Ave., west of Firebaugh.
In October 2015, the homicide unit sergeant of the Sheriff’s Office was reviewing cold case files and came across a John Doe case from 2006. A DNA was obtained from the victim in 2006. However, there were no records in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) to compare with the victim’s sample, so an identification could not be made at the time. The sergeant spoke with members of the Coroner’s Office who said they still had a thighbone (femur) from the victim. The bone was then submitted to the DOJ’s lab and it positively matched DNA in CODIS and identified the victim as Jack Dupee.
Dupee was last seen during the first week of May 2006. Family members filed a missing person report in August of 2006. After sometime passed and Dupee was not found, his parents submitted DNA to CODIS. Those samples are what helped give FSO detectives an answer they’ve needed.
Dupee lived in several locations in California during his life and knew many people. Those locations included: South San Francisco, San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, Contra Costa County (Richmond), Alameda County (Livermore), San Joaquin County (Tracy), Merced County (Los Banos) and Stanislaus County (Modesto). There is a strong likelihood that there are still people living in these communities who knew Dupee and may have information which could lead to the identification of a suspect or suspects.
Anyone who has had contact with Jack Dupee during their lifetime is asked to please contact Detective Mark Chapman at (559) 600-8209 or Detective Jose Diaz at (559) 600-8206. You may also call Valley Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-STOP (7867). All tips will remain anonymous and you may be eligible for a cash reward.
