14-year-old’s body found on railroad tracks in 1982, CA officials say. Now man convicted
The morning of Nov. 16, 1982, a railroad worker riding the rails made a discovery that would rattle a California community for decades.
“Most people who lived in Vacaville will never forget the afternoon” when the Southern Pacific Railroad worker found the body of 14-year-old De Anna Lynn Johnson, Vacaville Police said in a January 2017 Facebook post.
“Her body was found on railroad tracks just a short distance from her home,” the Solano County District Attorney’s Office said in a March 20 Facebook post.
She “had been strangled and her body badly bludgeoned,” according to prosecutors
“At that time, this horrific news travelled quickly and rocked the very fabric of our community,” prosecutors said.
For decades, her case was cold, until the arrest of Marvin Ray Markle in 2017, prosecutors said.
Now, eight years later, the 59-year-old has been convicted in De Anna’s killing, according to prosecutors.
“Although justice for De Anna Lynn Johnson and her family has been significantly delayed, and there have been evidentiary obstacles and legal challenges in court, we remained committed to solving De Anna Lynn’s case and are extremely grateful the jury was able to bring justice today,” District Attorney Krishna Abrams said in the post.
Initial investigation
At the time of her death, De Anna was a ninth grade student at Will C. Wood Junior High School, police said.
The night before her body was found, police said, she attended a party at a home in Vacaville.
Her mother reported her missing when she never made it home, according to police.
During the initial investigation, Markle, who was 17 in 1982, was a suspect, police said.
However, police said, “the case went cold and three decades rolled by as detectives spent thousands of hours attempting to bring her killer to justice.”
Arrest
Decades later, police said its detectives learned in 2004 that Markle was a suspect in a Butte County homicide.
He was arrested in that case in 2013, police said.
“Vacaville detectives attended the Butte County trial and witnessed testimony that helped advance Vacaville’s homicide investigation,” police said.
Markle was convicted in the Butte County killing and was given an 80-year prison sentence in the death of Shirley Ann Pratt, according to police and prosecutors.
Then, in January 2017, the Solano County District Attorney’s Office issued an arrest warrant for Markle in relation to De Anna’s death, police said.
“Today is a day De Anna’s family never thought would come …”her mother, Ginger Dimpel, said at a 2017 news conference announcing Markle’s arrest. “We miss her very much, and we rely on happy memories and live on knowing that De Anna believed in God because of rainbows, but we believe in God because of De Anna.”
Guilty verdict
Markle pleaded not guilty in February 2017, according to The Vacaville Reporter.
Two retired police officers who originally investigated De Anna’s case in 1982 testified in court, prosecutors said.
Following the three-week trial, a jury found Markle was found guilty of first-degree murder, as well as “the enhancement for Personal Use of a Deadly Weapon,” prosecutors said.
“I am so thankful for the dedication of the Vacaville Police Department and members of our office that no matter how much time went by they remained steadfast in their commitment to De Anna Lynn Johnson to solve her horrific case,” District Attorney Abrams said.
Vacaville is about a 30-mile drive southwest from Sacramento.
This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 3:53 PM with the headline "14-year-old’s body found on railroad tracks in 1982, CA officials say. Now man convicted."
