Murder of Marie Lilienberg and Maria Wahlen

Marie Lilienberg
Marie Lilienberg in the United States during 1983
Born
Marie Lilienberg

Danderyd, Sweden
Diedc. 22 July 1983(1983-07-22) (aged 23)
Cause of deathStabbing
Body discoveredLos Padres National Forest
Resting placeCypress Lawn Memorial Park, Colma, California, United States
Known forMurder victim
Maria Wahlen
Maria Wahlen in the United States during 1983
Born
Maria Birgitta Wahlén

Alingsas, Sweden
Diedc. 22 July 1983(1983-07-22) (aged 25)
Cause of deathStabbing
Body discoveredLos Padres National Forest
Resting placeCypress Lawn Memorial Park, Colma, California, United States
Known forMurder victim

Marie Lilienberg and Maria Wahlen were a pair of Swedish tourists who were murdered by an unknown assailant while hitchhiking from Northern California to Los Angeles in July 1983. The case attracted significant media attention in the United States during that time period, before going cold for several years. It gained renewed interest in September 1991, following an anonymous phone call to the Swedish consulate in San Diego, which implicated a Canadian man named Loren in the murders. The anonymous phone call led to the case being featured in an April 1992 episode of Unsolved Mysteries. Loren and the anonymous caller were later identified by police, with the former never being charged for the murders. It is suspected that Loren may have been convicted serial killer Loren Herzog, although this has not been officially confirmed.