LAKE COUNTY – The continuing investigation of a Nice man's June murder has hit road blocks, according to an update on the case issued Thursday.

Lt. Cecil Brown of the Lake County Sheriff's Office issued a statement on the agency's homicide investigation relating to the death of Paul Joseph “Joe” Womachka.

The 39-year-old father of three who worked for the Hey Taxi franchise was reported missing June 27 after he was called to Robinson Rancheria. Brown reported that Womachka was hired to give Morgan Matthew Jack, 30, a ride to his home at the Big Valley Rancheria.

Two days later, on the afternoon of June 29, Womachka's body was found in the Hey Taxi minivan, which was submerged in the Big Valley Rancheria marina, Brown reported.

Brown said sheriff's office detectives have submitted several items of evidence to the California Department of Justice for testing, which may identify a person or persons who were present at the time of Womachka’s death through DNA analysis. The results of those tests are not yet available, Brown reported.

The case's detectives “continue to be frustrated by a lack of cooperation from residents of the Big Valley Rancheria,” Brown reported.

Brown said the crime involves a violent murder as well as a van being crashed through a fence into the marina. He said detectives have received secondhand information that rancheria residents have described the attack in detail, or even claimed to be a participant.

However, Brown reported that no witnesses have come forward to provide firsthand information about the murder.

Detectives also have asked the tribal chairman to provide property records and property maps for the rancheria, which Brown said the tribal chairman agreed to do but has not done so far.

 

Lake County News was unable to get comment from rancheria officials for this story. 

An oddity about the case, as Lake County News previously reported, is that while Womachka was hired to take Jack to Big Valley to his home, Jack actually had a home address in Nice.

That piece of information came from Jack's Lake County Jail booking sheet; he was arrested on a parole violation not long after Womachka's murder and questioned relating to the case, Brown previously reported.

Jack was taken to San Quentin earlier this summer for processing. He was brought back to the county late in July for a hearing and has since been transported out of county once more.

Any person who has information regarding this investigation is asked to call Detective Nicole Costanza at (707)262-4236.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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