In December of 1974, Patricia “Annie” Ross was preparing for a night out with friends in the quiet Orange County, California suburb of La Palma. But when she never arrived with the pizza she promised to bring, concern quickly turned into horror.

Inside Annie’s apartment, investigators discovered a brutal crime scene, a terrified little dog locked inside a dresser drawer, and a mystery that would haunt detectives for more than four decades.

As the years passed, leads faded, evidence aged, and the case slowly drifted into cold case history. But investigators refused to let Annie Ross be forgotten.

And somewhere inside the story of her murder was a small black-and-brown dog named Jodie.

Sources

• Los Angeles Times — Matt Hamilton, “40 years later, Northern California man charged in O.C. woman’s killing” (June 2, 2015)
• Orange County Register — coverage of the investigation, trial, conviction, and sentencing of Larry Stephens
• KTLA 5 News — “Man Convicted in 1974 Strangling Murder of Woman at Her La Palma Apartment” by Marissa Wenzke
• True Crime News — interviews and reporting featuring Captain Jim Engen and Detective Paul Bracciodieta
• The Cinemaholic — “Patricia Ann ‘Annie’ Ross Murder: Is Larry Stephens Dead or Alive?”
• Detective Diaries — “The Phantom of La Palma”
• Court reporting and archived newspaper coverage regarding the 2018 trial and conviction of Larry Stephens
• Public records and memorial information related to Patricia “Annie” Ross and Larry Stephens

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