Former husband arrested in Big Bear Lake cold case after DNA identifies remains

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. -- The former husband of a 29-year-old woman reported missing in 2007 has been arrested after advances in DNA technology helped investigators identify remains found beneath a cabin in Southern California as those of Jill Maiorca.

Those remains were found inside containers stored in the crawl space of a home in Big Bear Lake on Forest Drive in 2020, but remained unidentified for years.

Detectives initially did not connect the remains to Maiorca. She had no connection to the cabin where they were discovered, and the remains were so badly decomposed that investigators could not identify the body.

San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said the department's cold case team picked up the case in 2023.

"Through DNA analysis, we were able to determine it was Jill," Dicus said. "And as a result of this investigation, we believe that Jill was murdered back in 2006 but not reported missing until 2007."

After years of investigation, detectives focused on her former husband, Jeff Maiorca, and arrested him. Investigators have not disclosed a possible motive.

Maiorca was scheduled for arraignment on Sept. 23, but the hearing was continued until Oct. 12. Maiorca is facing both first and second-degree murder charges, with enhancements for using a "deadly weapon."

Dicus said the case highlights the importance of the department's cold case team, which was established in 2008.

"I always say when we're talking about homicides that there are two people that know what happened; generally, it's the suspect who did it and the homicide investigator who's after them," Dicus said. "And I couldn't be more proud."