REDLANDS - A crime that horrified the Inland Empire more than a decade ago will once again be the focus of primetime television.

Investigation Discovery's show, "Solved," will profile the August 1998 death of 14-year-old Tristan Jensen, who was killed by a classmate.

The show looks at the investigation and eventual solving of the crime through the eyes of the investigators said Deborah Gottschalk of Discovery.

"This was one of the biggest cases that anyone could have in their career," said Redlands police Officer Dan Elton, who investigated the case. "Not everybody gets the opportunity to work these types of cases. This was the topper for me."

Elton said the case remains one of the most grizzly he has seen.

"I remember it being a big tragedy for the victim, the victim's family and the community of Redlands," said District Attorney Mike Ramos. "It impacted a lot of people in Redlands because he was missing for six weeks. Then it took a turn for the gruesome when the bones were found in the sewer."

In September 1998, city workers were clearing a clogged sewer and found the source of the blockage to be skeletal remains. Investigators quickly discovered them to be those of Tristan, who vanished seven weeks earlier.

Investigators and city workers followed the trail of bones up the sewer system and found the body was dropped down a manhole on a cul de sac, which the backyard of 15-year-old J.P. Remsen faced.


Their interviews eventually led them to J.P., a Redlands High School student authorities said was known for bullying.

When investigators searched the home, they not only found bloodstains and other evidence, but a garage-full of high explosives and items used to make fireworks. The materials were believed to be so unstable the neighborhood was evacuated, bomb squads were called in and some devices were detonated in a make-shift bunker outside the home.

Once the Remsen home was safe to enter, investigators searched it and decided it was the location of Tristan's slaying, largely based on the amount of his blood still there. After multiple questionings and changes in his story, J.P. told officers he and Tristan had a fight and he stabbed Tristan with a knife twice in the chest.

J.P. was sentenced to 15 years to life.