A case that hasn’t been done justice by the police department. Lots of questions and no answers. I want this to change. The family wants this to change. They deserve answers.
On the morning of November 8, 2018, the same morning that the Camp Fire erupted in Oroville, California, Greta Jayne Putnam was found dead in her home in the Cottonwood Estates Mobile Park. Greta was brutally murdered with no forced entry and her house, purse and wallet untouched. Nothing but great, admirable things could be said of Greta Putnam, so why would someone disrupt and end her life?
“We have so many questions.” - Jamie
This case write-up is in collaboration with one of Greta Jayne’s grandchildren; Jamie. Two of Greta's grandchildren were twins, Donnie and Ronnie, and Jamie is Donnie’s ex-wife who he remains very close to. Jamie had always considered Greta her grandmother and has been struck heavily by sadness and heartache. Their grandmother had always been a hugely important part of their lives and her absence will never go unnoticed.
Greta Jayne Putnam
Greta loved life so enthusiastically. Her kind, vibrant personality always seemed to be the life of the party and she always had something both fun and special planned. Every holiday that Greta hosted at her house was warm and inviting, ensuring that the holiday feels were felt. Her grandchildren loved her dearly and spent every holiday they could with her.
Greta was full of love and kindness, and loved to give to others. She was a woman who didn’t beat around the bush and said it like it was, and going hand in hand with her personally, she was uninterested in any kind of drama. She was someone you truly loved to be around. Her life was filled to the brim with fun and family, never missing a birthday or a holiday, and up until the day that she passed away, Greta was still putting on and hosting family functions. She was 86-years-old when she died.
Greta had a passion and love of golf, crafting, sewing, cooking and camping, and her appearance was always a delight- she dressed sharp like the beautiful woman she was.
She was so incredibly strong and a devoted mother who raised five children on her own after her husband died. Previously, Greta was a model, a real estate agent and she even became her own broker. She was so strong and driven in every aspect of her life.
Greta had a truly heartbreaking past filled with a constant loss of loved ones, which undoubtedly made her even stronger than she already was. Greta’s father was murdered, her husband and son both died in a car accident, her daughter passed away from cancer and her granddaughter had rolled her vehicle and now remains in a wheelchair. It is incredibly saddening to know that so much unexpected and tragic loss happened to this family.
“It just feels like this is destroying what’s left.” - Jamie
Jamie and Donnie have two kids together and divorced around 2010, but remain very close to this day and have dinner together at least once or twice a week. They are undoubtedly being brought together even closer after their tragic loss.
The Homicide
In the early morning on November 8, 2018, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the history of California broke out in Butte County (Oroville). There were 153,336 acres burned and the cost was around $16.5 billion. The fire is still under investigation. There are a considerable amount of theories as to how this fire happened, but none that I will be covering here.
On that same morning, Greta Jayne Putnam was found brutally murdered in her home. There are reports that say a neighbor or a friend found her, but Jamie says that the door was open to Greta's home and her caregiver had found her unresponsive.
Here’s where the problem stands in this homicide investigation – emergency resources were not being allocated equally; the Camp Fire incident took most of the emergency resources, leaving Greta's case with minimal effort and assistance. From all of my research on different cases, it seems that the longer you wait, the harder it is to find resolution.
The lack of information that has been found by investigators so far is, in some ways, terrifying. Jamie did inform me that there were cameras in the community that were turned in to investigators, but, not surprising, unfortunately, they weren’t working, or, for some reason, they weren’t working when investigators needed them to. The next best thing is to look around the area outside of the community- was there a store, convenience shop, gas station, restaurant?
Looking on Google Earth, I see the main entrance to the community and directly across the street is the Vasu gas station. All gas stations have security cameras.
Along the back of the community there are shops, restaurants and dirt roads where I assume anyone can easily get into the community if they wanted to. If these businesses have security cameras, it's vital that they are checked. Dominic’s car has been identified and it would be extremely helpful to match up his car to the same car that was in the area that morning or later the night before.
POSSIBLE SUSPECT
Dominic Potts, the great grandson of Greta Jayne Putnam, grandson of Jeff and daughter of Sesha, is considered to be a suspect in her murder. No definite answers have been given and no viable evidence has been found.
Dominic’s grandfather, Jeff, was Greta’s son who had died tragically in a car accident. Jamie understands that there are an exponential amount of rumors circulating regarding Dominic and his possible link to his great grandmothers’ murder. Some of the rumors about Dominic state that he had been in tense relations with a biker gang and they murdered Dominic first. “Dominic missing is agonizing,” Jamie said. "He had no reason to hurt Greta and some people continue to speculate his involvement."
The issue with this theory is that he hadn't been seen since November 5, 2018, three days before Greta's murder. Could he have been hiding out and killed Greta? Sure, but there is no evidence of this and there is no known reason that Dominic would want to hurt his grandmother. The reports specifically state that Dominic went missing at the same time Greta was murdered, which should have been restated.
He’d been missing three days prior to her murder. However, it’s important to note that Dominic’s wallet and cell phone were found in his truck, and Dominic had previously told the family that people were after him, but hadn't specified who.
After speaking with Jamie, it's so obvious that they are hurting and, no matter what, want the truth about what happened. They deserve it.
“Our family is SO broken right now. We have no answers from the police department, just the generic statement of being patient and trusting the process. Meanwhile, rumors are circulating from people that her face was caved in, she was sexually assaulted, she fought for her life, her neighbor heard her screaming for help… We are so sick of the rumors. The family wants facts, no matter how heavy they are. This was brutal and the police are SILENT. Quincy is SILENT. I don’t understand how someone is missing and it not be taken seriously. If the police think Dominic did this, wouldn’t there be a manhunt? Oroville Police Department say they have DNA..” - Jamie
My Thoughts:
I think the biggest question here is – the DNA. I know sometimes DNA takes months to process. Knowing that this happened in November, shouldn’t the DNA be close to completing the process by now?
The Camp Fire had taken up most of the emergency resources. Was that planned? Did the suspect realize the fire was taking place and decided very quickly, that that day, that morning, would be a good time to carry out the act because there was another big event going on?
The police say there was no forced entry. Did Greta leave her doors unlocked? I doubt that. If she didn’t, this person had the key or was very familiar with her house.
Does the property manager/owner and/or maintenance have a master key or her specific key?
Did Dominic have a key or did his mother? Is it or was it ever missing?
The house, her purse and wallet, everything but Greta was left untouched. Who wanted to do this to her?
A church that neighbored Greta’s house was said to have “homeless people frequenting.” However, nothing was stolen and I doubt that this was the case. I’m not sure why that was brought up.
Let’s say the rumors are true about Dominic. Of all people, why would anyone come after his great grandmother? Did Dominic share information about the situation with her prior?
Surely Greta had a phone- were the records looked at to see if she had been talking to anyone, including Dominic? Dominic’s phone was found in his car. Who was he calling? Who was he texting and what did they say? What was his internet search history on his phone? Photos? So much information that I’m sure has or is being looked at but not shared, not even with the family.
Did Greta have a handyman in or around her house often to do work for her like cutting the grass, repairs inside or outside, etc.?
Jamie said that the park has cameras – they were turned in but not working. I find this unbelievable.. but at the same time, not surprising. Statistics show Oroville is 196% higher than the national average for crime rate and that you have a 1 in 13 chance of becoming a victim of any crime in the area. So, again, why weren’t these cameras working? The community was for people age 55+. There is no reason why a community like that should not have working cameras.
I will be updating this case as new evidence and information comes in and will be in contact with the family for more updates.
Let's discuss this case in the comments. Please do your own research. Always report any details that you think could help a case, no matter how small you think they are. The contact info is below. It's never the wrong time to put pressure on those who are investigating a case to do more.
Greta was a joy to the world, her family and everyone that knew her.
Information about Dominic Potts:
Plumas County Heriff’s Office (530) 283-6300
Information about Greta Jayne Putnam:
City of Oroville Police Department (530) 538-2448
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