Michelle Marie Sagel

Michelle’s story

At around 7 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7, 1985, a passing motorist noticed a blue nylon bag on the side of Jeffrey Road in north Irvine, just east of the Santa Ana Freeway. Inside, contorted to fit, was the body of a young woman. [1][2]

Fingerprints identified her as Michelle Marie Sagel, 24. Investigators had no address for her, and she may also have gone by Adrian Ann Rossi or Christine Hansen. The autopsy couldn’t establish a cause of death. The Sheriff’s Department regards her death as a homicide. [1][2]

Who Michelle was

Very little about Michelle’s life is public. She was 24, wore a light blue shirt and jeans, and had two tattoos: a heart on her lower left arm and a “cross of life” on the other. The two other names she may have used suggest a life that didn’t stay in one place, but nothing published explains them. [2]

“The investigators are trying to find a last-known address,” a sheriff’s spokesman said at the time. “Other than that, we have no information.” [1]

What happened

Michelle’s body was left in plain view on the roadside. The Sheriff’s Department’s current summary says that although it may have looked as if she took her own life, “the public disposal of Michelle’s body points to a more nefarious possibility,” and investigators treat the case as a homicide. [2]

Toxicology tests were ordered in December 1985 and were expected to take at least two weeks. Their results have never been made public. [1]

Where it happened

Jeffrey Road just east of the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) is in north Irvine. The exact spot hasn’t been published. A roadside location there could be reached directly from the freeway, and Irvine was far less built-up in 1985 than it is today.

What investigators have said

In December 1985 the Sheriff’s Department described the case as an “apparent murder.” The department says it is still searching for a resolution. [2][3]

Where accounts differ

• Bag or suitcase? The 1985 LA Times headlines call it a suitcase; the Sheriff’s Department describes a blue nylon bag. They may describe the same object. [1][2]
• Who called it in? The 1985 report says a passing motorist; the official summary says only that the department “was notified.” [1][2]
• Suicide or homicide? The current summary raises the possibility of suicide, which the 1985 reports didn’t mention. The coroner’s final cause and manner of death haven’t been published. [1][2]

Open questions

• Where was Michelle living in late 1985, and who was she with?
• Where do the names Adrian Ann Rossi and Christine Hansen come from?
• What did the toxicology tests show?
• Who put her in the bag and left her by the road?

What you can do

• If you knew Michelle, Adrian Rossi or Christine Hansen in 1985, or know someone with a heart tattoo and a cross tattoo who stopped being seen that winter, contact the cold case team.
• Research: her California Death Index entry and death certificate would give her birth date, birthplace and the coroner’s final finding. Search the LA Times archive and the Register for Dec. 11, 1985 to January 1986 for any toxicology follow-up.