SIMI VALLEY : Sketch of Slaying Suspect Released

Simi Valley police Thursday released a sketch of a possible suspect in theJanuary slaying of Dorothy Mae Brinkley, whose body was discovered in her car in a bank parking lot, authorities said.

Detectives have also asked the FBI for help in formulating a psychological portrait of the person responsible for the slaying of Brinkley, whose body was discovered Jan. 15 at the Valley Federal Savings & Loan Assn. at 2358 Tapo St.

“The frustrating part about the case was that the victim was a private person who didn’t confide in anyone, not even her closest friends,” Detective Bob Hopkins said. “It’s been very difficult to trace her activities in the days before her death.”

Recently, however, witnesses told police that they saw a man standing in the parking lot and shouting at a person believed to be Brinkley about 3 a.m. the morning of the slaying, Hopkins said. Brinkley, 44, apparently was seated in her silver 1988 Mercury Cougar. The only other car in the parking lot was a maroon or silver Ford LTD or Granada, he said.

The man was described as white, 40 to 50 years old and 6 feet to 6 feet, 4 inches tall.

Investigators believe that Brinkley then left the parking lot with someone, possibly the man, Hopkins said. The person later killed Brinkley, bludgeoning her face and slashing her two jugular veins, Hopkins said. Almost all the blood drained from her body, but little of it was found in the car or surrounding area, leading police to believe that Brinkley was killed elsewhere, Hopkins said.

The killer probably later put Brinkley’s body in her car and returned it to the bank, Hopkins said.

“It’s a very vicious murder,” Hopkins said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of anger involved. This normally doesn’t go along with it being just a random killing.”

Brinkley, who worked at a local law firm, was having marital difficulties and was looking for an apartment, Hopkins said. She was living in a mobile home parked outside the house that she once shared with her second husband and her 23-year-old son in Simi Valley, he said.