Jeanine Harms Case “Closed”

The Santa Clara County District Attorney announced Wednesday the case of Jeanine Harms is officially closed.

Harms went missing ten years ago. Her body has never been found, but police have long considered this a case of homicide.

District Attorney Jeff Rosen said the results of a private lab's testing of fiber evidence definitively links a missing rug from Harms' Los Gatos home to the Jeep Cherokee owned by Maurice Nasmeh.

"When all of the evidence is considered, the only logical conclusion to be drawn is Maurice Nasmeh is responsible for the murder of Ms. Sanchez-Harms," the D.A. statement read.

A tick tock of the case from the D.A.'s office can be read here (pdf).

Nasmeh has long been a suspect in the case. He was in jail for two and a half years but had to be released because of questions raised about the very fiber evidence that was retested and released Wednesday.

Rosen said Nasmeh killed Harms inside her home. Rolled her body in a rug and then used his SUV to dispose of it somewhere.

When Rosen was asked if he felt any relief at being able to close the case, he said he did not because Nasmeh was never brought to justice and because Jeanine's body was never found.

Nasmeh is no longer alive to prosecute.

In one of the many said twists to the case, Nasmeh was shot and killed by Harms brother back in January. Her brother, Wayne Sanchez, then shot and killed himself.

The mystery of the location of Harm's body remains. Los Gatos Police Chief Scott  Seaman choked up as he made a new plea to anyone who might know where her body is to come forward.

He said there is no better time than now to bring real closure to Jeanine's family.

Jeanine Harm's father Jess Sanchez said, "For us this is the end until we find her remains. What happened happened and we have to live with that."

The Mercury News notes that the case has lasted through three DAs and two Los Gatos police chiefs.

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