Suicide of Becca Mallekoote

Rebecca "Becca" Mallekoote was a formerly unidentified woman who was found hanging from a Super 8 shower in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on June 5, 1991. Her case is most known for her going unidentified for 34 years despite a photograph depicting her alive being found at the scene. She was known as the Albuquerque Jane Doe and Bernalillo County Jane Doe while unidentified.

In 2021, investigators received a tip that said the woman's name was Becca and she may have been from Los Angeles, California. From then on, she was nicknamed Becca Doe or simply Becca. In March 2026, genetic genealogy and a DNA sample taken from her half-brother identified her as 18-year-old Becca Mallekoote.

Background Becca Mallekoote was born in Tacoma, Washington. At some point, her parents divorced and Mallekoote stayed with her mother. Her mother remarried and the family relocated to California. In 1991, Becca resided in Los Angeles, California. Mallekoote was living in a halfway house for multiple years leading up to her death due to problems at home. She had told a friend that her stepfather had sexually abused her and she did not like being around her family. At the time of her death, she had grown out of the system and was struggling with drugs and alcohol; she was therefore in the process of getting kicked out of the halfway house.

Mallekoote dated a man named George Martinez for several weeks nearing the time of her death. At some point the two took a polaroid picture together, which was found with her when she died and would be widely distributed in an attempt to find her identity. After the two broke up, they remained friends. The brother-in-law of Mallekoote's ex-boyfriend, Albuquerque resident Eduardo Colin, developed feelings for her and Mallekoote, who was looking for a new place to live, wanted to move in with him. Colin, with Martinez’s consent, agreed to fly her out to meet him. The last time Mallekoote was seen alive was when her ex dropped her off at Los Angeles International Airport.

Two days later, on June 5, staff noticed that Colin had failed to check out of his room and a security guard was sent to investigate. He found a "do not disturb" sign on the doorknob and had to use a screwdriver to get inside. When he entered the bathroom, he found a woman hanging from the showerhead using a suitcase strap.

While unidentified, 16 women were ruled out as being potential identities, including Tiffany Sessions and Kelly McGinnis, with none being matches.

Distinguishing characteristics The woman was a white female estimated to have been 25-35 years old, standing at 5'7", and weighing 140lbs. She had curly strawberry blond hair that went to her shoulders and hazel eyes. No identification was found. Although all this information coming from someone who was close to her, she could not be positively identified until something conclusive came up.

In December 2025, the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator contacted Ramapo College, located in New Jersey, to conduct genetic genealogy on the unidentified woman. In a matter of weeks, they were able to track down a half-brother and stepfather of the decedent living in California. The FBI and Albuquerque Police Department located the stepfather in Ventura, California, who confirmed he had an 18-year-old stepdaughter named Becca Mallekoote who he hadn't seen or heard from since 1991. Detectives followed this lead and contacted the half-brother, who provided his DNA, which quickly confirmed that the decedent was Mallekoote, who had not been reported missing.

On March 4, 2026, on what would've been her 53rd birthday and over 30 years after her discovery, police announced the decedent was identified as Becca Mallekoote and her case was finally closed. However, the circumstances leading to her death, what she and Colin did after she flew to Albuquerque, and why she killed herself remain unknown.