Bust of homicide victim brings in tips to Napa detectives

<p>The life-like bust of a dead woman Napa County Sheriff’s authorities are trying to identify has resulted in several tips that could help crack the case of who she is and how she died, authorities said Wednesday.</p><p>The sculpture was released to the public in Napa Tuesday afternoon. Authorities hoped someone would recognize the woman whose skeletal remains were discovered on Mother’s Day weekend on Highway 128, about two miles from Monticello Dam.</p><p>Investigators believe she was killed about six months to a year before her body was found. Investigators declined to say how she was killed, saying that information if released could compromise the nearly two-month-old case.</p><p> Positively identifying the woman, who was black, between the ages of 30 and 50 and possibly from Northern California, could be the breakthrough investigators have been searching for.</p><p>Detective Todd Hancock said several tips have come in since the sculpture’s release at 1 p.m. Tuesday.</p><p>Investigators will launch into those tips today, he said, evaluating them for their quality and credibility of information.</p><p>“We’re working really hard to follow up on those right now,” he said.</p>