SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A man who survived an attack at Torrey Pines in 1978 while his girlfriend sleeping next to him was murdered still haunts him.

For the last five years, friends and family of Barbara Nantais have gone to the San Diego Police Department around the anniversary of her murder.

Jim Alt was 17 at the time. Nantais was 15 when police say she was brutally strangled, raped and murdered on August 13, 1978. Alt’s head was smashed in, but he somehow survived.

Doctors had to put a metal plate in his skull. The attack left him so traumatized and depressed, he dropped out of high school and turned to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain.

Now, after few leads, he wants the San Diego Police Department to hand off the case to other agencies like the FBI.

He’s also calling for better communication and says the SDPD has been slow to get back to him.

He says he’s determined to make things right and dedicated to tracking down his girlfriend’s killer.

SDPD tells 10News it has reached out to other agencies for assistance, but the department doesn't typically hand over cases.

Police are asking anyone with information about the case to contact them.