The last time Jeanine Sanchez-Harms was seen alive was in July, 2001. Ten years later, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has determined that Maurice Nasmeh is responsible for her death. Nasmeh was originally charged with the murder in 2004, but testimony concerning a key piece of evidence was called into question, and the case was dismissed. A new expert has since verified the accuracy of the original testimony.

Police now believe that the incident began on a Friday night, when Sanchez-Harms met Maurice Nasmeh at a bar and brought him home with her. Nasmeh agrees that he went home with Sanchez-Harms, but says that after smoking some marijuana and drinking some beer, Sanchez-Harms fell asleep and he left. That Monday, Sanchez-Harms did not show up for work, and her friends reported her missing.

After investigating the apartment, police found that a number of items were missing, including a Persian carpet that was positioned in front of the love seat. The carpet was eventually found less than four miles from Sanchez’s home, but police only got wind of this in 2003. An analysis of the rug indicated that the fibers matched fibers found in the passenger seat of Nasmeh’s car.

Over the next few years, the case revolved around these fibers. An expert witness’s testimony was called into question, and police were forced to locate a second expert who could confirm that the fibers matched. The found Skip Palenik, a nationally recognized fiber analyst from Illinois, who issued his final report at the end of July 2011.

Police now say that the case has been solved, but it is already too late. Nasmeh, who was always under suspicion for his role in the crime, was murdered by Sanchez-Harms’s brother Wayne last January, and Wayne then committed suicide. The question now is whether police can find Sanchez-Harms’s body, since the only one who knew what happened to her was Nasmeh. The case may be closed, but the fate of Jeannine Sanchez-Harms remains a mystery.