Sheriff: Unearthed body in Riverbank was missing grandmother

Lyon County sheriff's officials on Thursday said Peggy Herlacher, a grandmother from Nevada, is believed to be the woman found buried in a Riverbank home's back yard this week.

Lyon County sheriff's Capt. Pat Soukup said an autopsy indicated that 73-year-old Herlacher was strangled to death, probably at her home in Silver Springs, Nev., the Nevada Appeal reported.

Soukup said investigators are awaiting DNA results before the body can be identified with certainty. Sheriff's officials expect to have the DNA results in the next few days.

"We're almost 100 percent sure it's (Herlacher)," Soukup said about the body.

He said Herlacher's grandson, James Masterson, 22, is a suspect in his grandmother's death. Masterson has denied knowing his grandmother's whereabouts to family and detectives.

There are no other suspects in the homicide investigation. Because Herlacher is believed to have been killed at her home, Soukup said the Lyon County Sheriff's Department has jurisdiction over the case.

He said investigators had searched the Riverbank home once before, looking for a gun believed to have been buried in the back yard. The investigators never found a gun or anything else in the back yard until Tuesday evening, when they discovered the corpse.

Stanislaus County coroner officials unearthed the woman's body, using shovels to dig into the soil at the Dobbins Lane home.

Paul Williams, 53, of Riverbank lives behind the home and peeked over the fence when he heard a commotion in his neighbor's yard. He saw people digging in the yard and thought it was workers from Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

"Then I saw one of them had a badge and a gun, and I knew it was the Sheriff's Department," Williams said Wednesday afternoon.

Murder charges planned

Masterson was being held Thursday afternoon at the Sacramento County Jail, awaiting trial on drug and theft charges after the California Highway Patrol arrested him during a traffic stop.

Soukup said the Lyon County district attorney's office plans to file murder charges against Masterson when investigators submit a complete report of the case.

Once that happens, Masterson is expected to be transferred from Sacramento to a Lyon County jail.

Family members said Masterson grew up in Modesto and moved July 17 to stay with his grandmother after a falling out with family in Riverbank.

Several hours after authorities began searching for the missing woman July 24, the CHP found Masterson driving his grandmother's car with her jewelry and credit cards inside. The officers also found heroin in the car.

Masterson has been in custody since then.

Bee staff writer Rosalio Ahumada can be reached at rahumada@modbee.com or 578-2394.