California: Santa Cruz County Sentinel, Saturday, February 8, 2003
Man pleads guilty in 1997 slaying
Sentinel staff report
A Fresno man entered a guilty plea Friday in connection with the 1997 slaying of his girlfriend, former Brookdale resident Andrea Born.
Jacob Lee Travis, 33, is set to be sentenced March 7 in the Madera County courthouse. He faces charges he murdered Born, a 20-year-old Fresno State student.
Highway Patrol officers found Born’s body burning in an olive orchard off Highway 99 in July 1997.
She had been shot. Her body had been burned so badly she had to be identified with dental records.
Travis was arrested in a Seattle suburb two years ago after several years of investigation, and is being held in the Madera County jail.
As part of his plea agreement, Travis faces 15 years to life in prison.
Born’s mother, Gloria Barnes, who still lives in Brookdale, said it’s good to know Travis “finally admitted doing this horrible thing,” but she’s offended “there are only 11 years and eight months before his parole hearing.”
Barnes plans to travel to Madera County for the sentencing. She attended Friday’s court session.
Barnes said she always worried the case was growing cold, but strongly suspected Travis of killing her daughter.
She said the case languished until the state Department of Justice got involved in 2001.