Reno Murder Case from 2004 Still Not Solved

Kyla Annan’s boyfriend found her lifeless body on her bed, September 23, 2004. She lived on Quincy Street, an area known to Reno police for drug activity and vagrancy.

Ten days earlier, a late-night intruder broke into her home through a back door and began removing his clothing. He threw one shirt on her sewing mannequin.

After making his way in the dark to Kyla’s bedroom, the intruder, thinking she was alone, mistakenly cupped his hand over the boyfriend’s mouth. He ran away when the boyfriend woke up.

Police collected the intruder’s clothing — a white tank top and button-down short-sleeve shirt – which Washoe County Crime Lab DNA analysts would later use to prove the intruder was also her killer. The suspect’s DNA profile is in the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System where his profile is automatically compared with DNA profiles from across the nation in hopes of linking it to other crimes.

Yet, it’s been more than a decade since the 28-year-old preschool worker died. Reno police have no leads, and despite the DNA of 150 men contacted during the investigation, there has been no match to her killer.

Police know Kyla was last seen September 21, tending her garden. Neighbors recalled her often tending to her garden, waving when they walked or drove by.

Her windows had been left open with the screens missing when she was found. She had also hung bells in them for a sense of security.

However, she was known to leave her door unlocked for friends. But she also shared an alley with a temporary labor company where up to 100 transients a day try to find work.

When she was found two days later, her body was beginning to decompose. As investigators entered her home, they noted that her parrot’s cage covering was on, something she did every night around seven.

Furthermore, a bucket of water, soap and other materials were out, indicating Kyla was cleaning.  About 1:15 a.m. September 18, she used her cell phone one last time to check her voice mail.

If you have any information about Kyla’s murder, please call Reno Police at 334-2115, or Secret Witness at 322-4900.

UPDATE 04/02/2015: Reno Police arrested 32-year-old Francisco Merino-Ojeda of Santa Anna, California, on March 11, 2015, charging him with open murder, sexual assault and burglary in the death of Kyla Annan.