On this date ten years ago, the name Jeanine Harms first made it into the Bay Area's consciousness. On July 28 and 29, 2001 came the first reports of a Los Gatos woman who had disappeared after a night at the Rock Bottom Brewery in Campbell.
She had spent time at the bar with two men and reportedly invited both back to her Los Gatos duplex. Only one took her up on the offer. His name was Maurice Nasmeh, who quickly became a suspect in the case.
Harms, known as Jeanine Sanchez to her family and friends, has never been seen since.
Throughout the past ten years, her case has captured the headlines as Nasmeh was arrested, then released, then shot and killed in a murder suicide at the hands of Harms' own brother.
The motive in Nasmeh's death was clear, but a motive in Harms' disappearance was never understood. Nasmeh died without giving a confession.
Among the many unanswered questions in the case, the decade has not given her parents Jess and Georgette Sanchez the answer to the one question they want the most: where is their daughter? Harms' body has never been found.
Unrelated to the anniversary, this week could answer one of the other big questions surrounding the disappearance. On Friday, the Santa Clara County district attorney's office is supposed to receive results of tests conducted on a Persain rug that may link Harms to Nasmeh. If the Illinois lab can link fibers from the rug to the crime scene and Nasmeh's vehicle, it would be considered to be a key piece of evidence that would prove to many that he killed her.
Local
The fibers have been with the lab since 2008. Marc Buller with the D.A.'s office told the Mercury News that it would "become evident why it took so long when the report comes out." Investigators believe Nasmeh killed Harms in her home and then wrapped her in the rug and moved her body to an unknown location in his SUV.
Although the results of the fiber tests are due this week, the final report from investigators won't be released for another month of so, according to the Merc.
For now the case remains one of the most high profile mysteries in the Bay Area.
The Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Department will still take any leads on the case. Click here to send information directly to the police. The tip line is (408) 399-7531 and calls can be made 24 hours a day.
