This article may be too long to read and navigate comfortably. Consider splitting content into sub-articles, condensing it, or adding subheadings. Please discuss this issue on the article's talk page.(November 2023)
Othram has assisted with identifications of cold cases such as Beth Doe, Septic Tank Sam, and Delta Dawn.[3][4] Many cases are not publicized until after a successful identification.
These are cases where Othram has sequenced DNA and returned forensic genetic genealogy leads for the suspect in a violent crime, such as a sexual assault or homicide.
Carla Walker was a 17-year-old girl who was abducted from a bowling alley in Fort Worth, Texas, on February 15, 1974. She and her boyfriend, Rodney McCoy, had been sitting in her car outside of the alley after attending a school dance at Western Hills High School when they were attacked by an unknown assailant who pistol whipped Roy, leaving him unconscious.[7] Walker's body was later recovered three days later from a drainage ditch, half an hour south of Fort Worth. She had been beaten, tortured, raped and strangled to death, as well as injected with morphine.[8]
Othram Inc. was contacted in April or May 2020 to use forensic genealogy on DNA left on Walker's body to identify her killer. On September 21, 2020, it was announced that Glen Samuel McCurley, 77 at the time of his arrest, was charged with Walker's murder based on a DNA match.[9]
Christine Jessop was a 9-year-old girl from Queensville, Ontario, who was abducted after getting off her school bus in October 1984. She went home, dropped off her bag, and planned on meeting with a friend at a nearby park. She never made it to the park. Her body was later recovered on December 31 in a farmer's field in Sunderland, Ontario. She had been raped and stabbed to death, with semen being found on her underwear.[10]
In 2019, the Toronto Police Service contacted Othram to generate a DNA profile from the semen found on Jessop's clothing and perform forensic genealogy to find her killer. After Othram was able to successfully sequence a profile, Toronto Police were able to find her killer in the fall. It was announced on October 15, that Calvin Hoover, a man who died in 2015, matched the profile of DNA and was named as her killer.[11]
Siobhan McGuinness was a 5-year-old girl from Missoula, Montana, who was abducted in early 1974 while walking to a friend's house. Her body was found two days later in a snowy culvert. She had been raped and stabbed to death. An extensive investigation between law enforcement and the community was made in order to find her killer until all leads were exhausted.
In 2020, the Missoula Police Department, BODE Technology, and the FBI contacted Othram to create a genetic profile from DNA found on the crime scene, after similar techniques were used to identify the Golden State Killer. After a profile was made, the team used forensic genealogy to find Richard William Davis, who was confirmed by DNA to be her killer. Davis had died in 2012.[12]
Unidentified Remains Cases
These are cases where Othram has sequenced DNA and used forensic genetic genealogy to identify a Jane, John, or Baby Doe.
On December 5, 1982, the body of a female toddler was seen floating in the Escatawpa River beneath a bridge on Interstate 10 in Moss Point, Mississippi. She had reportedly been seen a few days earlier with her mother, then-unidentified Gwendolyn Clemmons, as Clemmons paced the bridge, seemingly distressed. Drivers reported seeing Clemmons' body floating in the river, but when law enforcement conducted a search, they instead found Heinrich, deceased. During subsequent searches, another man was recovered; however, he was found to be unrelated to the case. Clemmons has not been found, and is believed to be deceased.
Othram was contacted by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office in 2019 to create a genetic profile for genetic genealogy. After the profile was developed, the Sheriff's Office and FBI worked together and were able to identify Heinrich in September 2020. On December 4, 2020, it was announced that "Delta Dawn" had been identified as Alisha Ann Heinrich, last seen with her mother in Kansas City, Missouri.[13]
On July 23, 2018, a hiker was found dead in his tent near the Appalachian Trail in Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida; he appeared to have starved to death. He was estimated to be between 35 and 60 years old, was 5feet 8inches (1.73m) tall and weighed 83 pounds (38kg). He had graying dark brown hair, an unkempt gray and brown beard, and blue eyes. He also appeared to have a faint scar across his abdomen. Rodriguez was found wearing a beige shirt with neon green and gray accents, gray "Russel" brand shorts, "Performance" brand underwear, and a Columbia baseball cap. He was also found with various camping and hiking items. He had been seen alive various times previously, and went by the names "Mostly Harmless", "Ben Bilemy", and "Denim" to those he met, possibly referencing Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.[14]
Othram Inc. was contacted in July 2020 to help identify "Mostly Harmless". On January 12, 2021, it was announced that "Mostly Harmless" had been identified as Vance John Rodriguez of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, who had moved to Brooklyn, New York, after he was recognized by a former co-worker after seeing a flyer.
On December 20, 1976, the dismembered body of a young white or Hispanic female was found in multiple suitcases beneath a highway bridge in White Haven, Pennsylvania. Investigators were unable to identify her and she was buried under the name "Beth Doe".[15] After 44 years, investigators finally got a break in the case in 2020 when they compared her DNA to genealogy databases and identified Luis Colon Jr. as a relative of the deceased. Colon Jr. and his family told investigators that Colon Jr.'s aunt, Evelyn Colon, disappeared from Jersey City, New Jersey, at the age of 15 in December 1976 and that she was pregnant and in an abusive relationship at the time she disappeared.
In 2020, the Pennsylvania State Police and the NCMEC contacted Othram to sequence an extraction of DNA in order for them to use forensic genealogy.[3] On March 31, 2021, investigators publicly announced that Beth Doe had been identified as Evelyn Colon.[16] Luis Sierra, Colon's boyfriend and the father of her child, was arrested for her murder.[17]
On September 9, 1985, the skeleton of a young woman, nicknamed "Christy Crystal Creek," was found in Missoula, Montana with two .32 caliber bullets in her skull. No clothing was located at the crime scene. Investigators believed this individual may have died sometime between 1983 and early 1985.[18] She stood between 4feet 10inches and 5feet 2inches (1.47–1.57m), weighing between 90 and 110 pounds (41–50kg). Examination indicated that she had a history of smoking and had many fillings as well as two root canals. She also had a type of oral surgery which is distinct to Asia's dental techniques, involving the screwing of a dental post into the tooth. Along with other physical characteristics, it was previously thought she was possibly of Asian descent.[19] It is possible that serial killer and rapist Wayne Nance was responsible for her murder; due to his death in 1986, he was never tried or convicted of any murder.[19][20][21] Two other victims believed to have been killed by Nance are "Debbie Deer Creek" and "Betty Beavertail," later identified as Marcella Bachmann and Devonna Nelson, respectively. He also may have committed the murders of two others prior to the Jane Doe discoveries.[22]
Lucas was identified in May 2021 with assistance from Othram. She was last seen in Idaho in 1983 and was originally from Spokane, Washington.[23]
On April 13, 1977, the decomposing remains of a young to middle aged Native American or white man were found by residents searching a 1.8 meter-deep septic tank in Tofield, Alberta. He had been shot several times and had been sexually mutilated and tortured beforehand, including being burned with a blowtorch and cigarette lighters. Investigators think that the killer must have been familiar with the area, due to the property being derelict and in a very rural location. He was estimated to be between 26 and 50 years old, was 168cm tall and weighed 70 kilograms. He had brown hair and notable recent dental work. He was found wearing a Levi work shirt with snap buttons, a gray T-shirt, a pair of jeans, a pair of gray wool socks and a pair of brown imitation 'Wallabee' shoes.[24]
Othram was contacted by the Alberta RCMP and Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in 2020 to develop new leads on his identity or killer. With the new genetic profile, "Septic Tank Sam" was identified in June 2021 as Gordon "Gordie" Edwin Sanderson of Edmonton, Alberta.[4]
On September 12, 1976, the body of a young woman was found partially wrapped in a white sheet near a cemetery in Woodlawn, Baltimore County, Maryland. She had been beaten, strangled, and raped. The rape had caused bleeding that had seeped into her clothing. Investigators speculated that she was murdered at a different location and then left at the scene at which she was found. It was estimated that she was between 15 and 30 years old, 149 and 159 pounds, and 5 feet 6 to 5 feet 9 inches tall. She was found wearing a white and tan shirt, a white bra, and knee-high socks with multi-colored stripes.
Othram was contacted by BODE Technology and Baltimore County Police in February 2021 to produce a comprehensive genealogical profile from DNA extracted from the victim. On September 15, 2021, it was announced that she had been identified as 16-year-old Margaret Fetterolf of Alexandria, Virginia.[25]
On December 27, 1977, skeletal human remains were found in Escatawpa, Mississippi. The victim was determined to be an African American woman with a front gold tooth. She possibly wore a wig. It is estimated that the woman might have died 3 to 4 months before she was found.
In 2018, serial killer Samuel Little confessed to numerous murders, including the murder of Escatawpa Jane Doe. Little said he murdered a woman that he met at a bar in Gulfport and that she was possibly from the Pascagoula area. Investigators confirmed that he was arrested in Pascagoula in August 1977 during the time period the victim was estimated to have died. He died in prison in December 2020.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office, in cooperation with the Mississippi State Crime Lab, reached out to Othram to use advanced DNA testing to identify the victim. On September 21, 2021, it was announced that she had been identified as 44-year-old Clara Birdlong from Leflore County, Mississippi.[26]
On March 12, 2019, the dismembered partial remains of a man were discovered in the backyard of a home in Queens, New York City, after a woman contacted police and informed them that she had seen her stepfather burying a body when she was a child in the 1970s. However, she did not know the identity of the victim.
Othram partnered with the Queens District Attorney's Office and the NYC FBI to identify the victim. On November 3, 2021, it was announced that he had been identified as 81-year-old George Clarence Seitz, who disappeared after leaving his home to get a haircut on December 10, 1976. Seitz was a World War I veteran. Martin Motta was arrested and indicted by a grand jury for the murder.[27]
On November 1, 1980, the body of a teenage girl was found along Interstate 45 near Huntsville, Texas, having been beaten severely and strangled. 14-year-old Sherri Ann Jarvis had been in the custody of the state of Minnesota, after excessive truancy from school, until she ran away and disappeared at age 14. It is not known how she made her way to Texas, but three witnesses in the area described her as saying she wanted to go to the now-defunct Ellis Prison Farm to see a "friend". The connection Sherri may have had to the Ellis Prison Farm has never been discovered.
She was publicly identified on November 9, 2021, with assistance from Othram, Inc. The company had begun work on the case during the summer of 2020, finding a potential match in March 2021. Further investigation led to the victim's positive identification.[28][29]
The partially buried body of a female child was found in Sand Wash Creek Bed on Old Alamo Road in Congress, Arizona on July 31, 1960. Her cause of death was never determined by medical examiners, but her case was officially declared to be a homicide. She became known as "Little Miss Nobody" after no family or friends came forward to either report her missing or to claim her body. In March 2022, local authorities, with the help of Othram, announced her identity.[30] Gallegos was last seen on 21 July 1960, when she was abducted as she was in an alley behind her home.
Joyce Marilyn Meyer Sommers AKA "Christmas Tree Lady"
In December 1996, a groundskeeper at Pleasant Valley Memorial Park Cemetery in Annandale, Virginia, found a woman's body. She was found in a section designated for infant burials, but wasn't near a particular grave. The woman was estimated to be a white female with red or copper hair between the ages of 50–70 years old and was approximately 5 feet tall. The woman was found with a plastic bag over her head, along with two fifty dollar bills, one for the coroner and one for the cemetery. A note was found with her body that stated: "Deceased by own hand...prefer no autopsy. Please order cremation with funds provided. Thank you. Jane Doe". The woman's autopsy report showed that she had alcohol and valium in her system when she died. Investigators suspected that the woman committed suicide and the official cause of death was determined to be suffocation. She was given the name of "Christmas Tree Lady" because of a small 8 inch Christmas tree that was found next to her.
Over the years, numerous missing person reports from the National Capital Region were compared to the decedent's physical description, but no matches were found. A colorized sketch of the decedent was made in 2000 in hopes that a friend or family member would recognize her, but no leads were produced. In January 2022, detectives of the Fairfax County Police Department sent physical evidence to Othram where its scientists created a genealogical profile for the decedent. In May 2022, investigative leads were returned to the detectives who used them to find a suspected family member which led to more family connections across the country. A DNA sample from a close relative confirmed a match eventually leading to the decedent's siblings.
On July 7, 2022, the "Christmas Tree Lady" was formally identified as 69-year-old Joyce Marilyn Meyer Sommers. Meyer was born in July 1927, the eldest of 5 siblings and was raised on a farm outside of Davenport, Iowa. Family members believe she moved to Virginia sometime after the mid-1980's. Meyer wasn't reported missing at the time of her death, but family members spent years looking for her and even hired a private detective at one point. It was determined that Meyer never had children.[31]
On April 3, 1985, the skeletonised partial remains of a young girl were discovered about 200 yards off Big Wheel Gap Road, four miles southwest of Jellico, Tennessee, in Campbell County near a strip mine. She was believed to have been dead between one and four years. Her age was estimated between 9 and 15. She was found by a passerby.[32]
On August 30, 2022, she was identified as 15-year-old Tracy Sue Walker of Lafayette, Indiana. The connection was made after Othram Laboratories located a possible family member in the Lafayette area and TBI intelligence analysts located several relatives there, who confirmed they had a relative who disappeared in 1978. DNA samples were taken and submitted to CODIS, from with the UNTCHI identified Walker's remains.[33]
In 1974, the decomposing body of a woman was found in Massachusetts. The victim's hands were missing, and her head was nearly severed from her body. She became known as "Lady of the Dunes".
In 2022, skeletal remains were sent to Othram. Despite DNA damage from formaldehyde and other chemicals, a comprehensive DNA profile was built using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®, which was returned to FBI investigators.[34] After discovering a close relative, the FBI were able to confirm that Lady of the Dunes was Ruth Marie Terry.[35] In August 2023, authorities announced that her husband, Guy Muldavin, had killed her, and have now closed the case.[36]
On January 28, 2012, the skull of a young girl was found in a trailer park in Opelika, Alabama, with additional bones and clothing being found in an adjacent lot. Analysis of the remains determined that they belonged to a young black girl who had likely been malnourished and physically abused while still alive.
On January 19, 2023, Othram identified the decedent as 6-year-old Amore Joveah Wiggins, the daughter of Navy officer Lamar Vickerstaff Jr. and Sherry Wiggins. According to Wiggins, Vickerstaff obtained legal custody of their daughter in 2009 and moved in with his current wife, Ruth, and she never heard from her daughter again. Both of the Vickerstaffs were arrested after the identification, with Lamar facing felony murder charges while Ruth is facing failure to report a missing child.[37]
Linda McClure AKA "Somerset Jane Doe"
On October 22, 1987, a fatal vehicle collision occurred on the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, when a tractor trailer collided with another trailer, hitting the latter's fuel tank. Two people were killed in the process: the 57-year-old driver, Edward Pratt of Fontana, California, and an unidentified female passenger he had possibly picked up.
On January 24, 2023, Othram managed to identify the passenger as 26-year-old Linda Jean McClure of Indiana, Pennsylvania. She was last in contact with her family in the late 1980s and was later reported missing.[38]
On October 26, 1997, a human torso was found by a duck hunter in a slough near Eureka, California. Additional remains linked to this victim were located the following year as well. In November 1998, serial killer Wayne Adam Ford confessed to murdering this woman and three others, for which he was tried, convicted and sentenced to death. Despite his confession, this victim's identity remained a mystery.
With the help of a DNA profile and forensic genealogy, Othram managed to identify "Torso Girl" as 25-year-old Kerry Ann Cummings, a woman from Eugene, Oregon, who was known to suffer from an unspecified mental illness and often couch surfed.[39]
In 2008, a newborn baby boy was found in Conway, South Carolina. With few leads to work from, neither the infant nor his parents could be identified.
In 2019, forensic evidence was submitted to Othram, Othram produced investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement investigators. Aided by these leads, law enforcement was able to identify both of the parents as well as the child. His mother was arrested and charged with child abuse homicide, and later accepted a plea deal for manslaughter and was sentenced to 4 years in prison.
The infant was posthumously named Ronald Eugene Woodham IV by his father.
On April 20, 1996, a pair of legs were found in a plastic bag that had washed ashore in Davis Park, New York. On April 11, 2011, a skull was found west of Tobay Beach near a set of dismembered remains - the skull was later matched to the legs found back in 1996, and this victim was nicknamed "Fire Island Jane Doe". Due to the way in which they were murdered, investigators believed the remains belonged to potential victims of a serial killer dubbed the "Long Island Serial Killer", or simply LISK.
On August 4, 2023, Othram identified the decedent as 34-year-old Karen Vergata, a resident of Manhattan and possible escort who went missing on February 14, 1996. A man named Rex Heuermann has been charged with four of the cases linked to the LISK, but so far has not been publicly named a suspect in this case.[40]
On September 15, 1994, the skeletal remains of a female were found in Holt, Florida, with indications that she had likely been murdered. Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson confessed to her murder, claiming that she introduced herself as simply "Suzanne" and that he had met her at a truck stop in Tampa.
In October 2023, Othram identified the decedent as 34-year-old Suzanne L. Kjellenberg of Wisconsin. Investigators have indicated that they would file charges against Jesperson in this case.[41]
Four days before 1988's Christmas, a truck driver found a human child's remains in a TV cabinet while searching for furniture. She was determined to be African American and speculated to around 3 or 4 years old. In 2020, DNA was submitted to Othram. DNA and isotope forensics revealed that she was likely from Albany, Georgia.
About three years later, someone recognized her facial reconstruction and submitted a tip. Once GBI interviewed and tested her potential family, they can conclusively unearthed her name as Kenyatta Odom. Her mother and her boyfriend at the time of the girl's death were arrested.[42][43][44]
On June 20, 1984, two fishermen fishing near the Spokane River found the dismembered remains of a woman. Her hands and feet had been removed, and she had been decapitated. Her skull was found more than a decade later in April 1998, but this failed to bring new clues to her identity.
The case was revisited by investigators over the years, and Othram eventually managed to find a familial match with sisters living in the Midwest. Through them, the decedent was identified as 24-year-old Ruth Belle Waymire, a Spokane resident who lost contact with her family in 1984. Her second husband, Trampas D.L. Vaughn, who had served prison time in Iowa, is currently the only publicly identified suspect - he cannot be questioned, as he died in Sacramento, California, in 2017. Investigators are searching for any information on Waymire, her husband and children.[45]
James Paul Freund and Pamela Mae Buckley, commonly known as the Sumter County Does, Jock Doe and Jane Doe respectively, were two previously unidentified American murder victims found in Sumter County, South Carolina, on August 9, 1976. They had apparently traveled through various places in the United States before being murdered in South Carolina. This was inferred from some of their belongings.
Dawn Olanick, previously known as Princess Doe, was an unidentified American teenage decedent from Bohemia, New York, who was found murdered in Cedar Ridge Cemetery in Blairstown Township, New Jersey on July 15, 1982. Her face had been bludgeoned beyond recognition. She was the first unidentified decedent to be entered in the National Crime Information Center. Olanick was publicly identified on the 40th anniversary of her discovery.
Ruth Marie Terry, also known as Lady of the Dunes, was a formerly unidentified murder victim found on July 26, 1974, in the Race Point Dunes near to Provincetown, Massachusetts, United States. Her body was exhumed in 1980, 2000, and 2013 in efforts to identify her. On October 31, 2022, the FBI field office in Boston announced that Terry had been officially identified. Her husband, Guy Muldavin, was officially named as her killer on August 28, 2023.
Sherri Ann Jarvis was an American murder victim from Forest Lake, Minnesota whose body was discovered in Huntsville, Texas on November 1, 1980. Her body was discovered within hours of her sexual assault and murder, and remained unidentified for 41 years before investigators announced her identification via forensic genealogy in November 2021.
Gwenn Marie Story was a 19-year-old American woman who was murdered in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 14, 1979. Her body remained unidentified for 44 years before being identified via DNA analysis and genetic genealogy in December 2023. Prior to her 2023 identification, Story was nicknamed "Sahara Sue" and "Jane Las Vegas Doe" because her body was found near the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, at the intersection of Sahara and Las Vegas Boulevard. Developments indicated she may have used the name "Shawna" or "Shauna" when she was alive, though this proved unfounded.
Perry County Jane Doe, also nicknamed "Girl with the Turquoise Jewelry" is an unidentified woman whose body was found on June 20, 1979, in Watts Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania, near the Juniata River. The cause of her death is not known, but it was considered to be suspicious by the authorities. Her name is still not known, despite efforts to identify her. She is the only unidentified decedent in the county.
Unidentified decedent, or unidentified person, is a corpse of a person whose identity cannot be established by police and medical examiners. In many cases, it is several years before the identities of some UIDs are found, while in some cases, they are never identified. A UID may remain unidentified due to lack of evidence as well as absence of personal identification such as a driver's license. Where the remains have deteriorated or been mutilated to the point that the body is not easily recognized, a UID's face may be reconstructed to show what they had looked like before death. UIDs are often referred to by the placeholder names "John Doe" or "Jane Doe". In a database maintained by the Ontario Provincial Police, 371 unidentified decedents were found between 1964 and 2015.
The Redhead murders is the media epithet used to refer to a series of unsolved homicides of redheaded females in the United States between October 1978 and 1992, believed to have been committed by an unidentified male serial killer. The murders believed to be related have occurred in states including Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The murders may have continued until 1992. The victims, many remaining unidentified for years, were usually women with reddish hair, whose bodies were abandoned along major highways in the United States. Officials believe that the women were likely hitchhiking or may have engaged in prostitution.
Sharon Lee Gallegos was a formerly unidentified American murder victim known as Little Miss Nobody whose body was found in Congress, Yavapai County, Arizona on July 31, 1960. Her remains were estimated to have been discovered within one to two weeks of the date of her murder. Due to the advanced state of decomposition of the child's remains, the specific cause of death of Gallegos has never been established, although her death has always been considered to be a homicide.
Margaret Fetterolf was an American murder victim from Alexandria, Virginia, who was discovered on September 12, 1976, in Woodlawn, Baltimore County, Maryland. For 45 years, her body remained unidentified before being identified in September 2021 through DNA testing by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Bode Technology, and Othram. Prior to her identification, she was known as "Woodlawn Jane Doe", in reference to the area of the county in which her body was found. The murderer, or murderers, have never been apprehended.
Wilson Claude Chouest Jr. is an American murderer known for the murders of two women, one of whom remains unidentified, in the state of California, both occurring within days of each other in July 1980. He has a history of violence toward women, including abduction, robbery and rape, which occurred between 1977 and 1980. Chouest, who is currently serving a life sentence, was charged with three counts of murder, including that of one victim's unborn son. He was identified as a suspect in the case in 2012, after his DNA was matched to fingernail scrapings collected from both victims.
DNA Doe Project is an American nonprofit volunteer organization formed to identify unidentified deceased persons using forensic genealogy. Volunteers identify victims of automobile accidents, homicide, and unusual circumstances and persons who committed suicide under an alias. The group was founded in 2017 by Colleen M. Fitzpatrick and Margaret Press.
Margaret Ellen (Maggie) Fox was a 14-year-old American girl who vanished under suspicious circumstances in Burlington, New Jersey, in 1974.
Mary A. Anderson is the pseudonym that was used by an unknown woman who committed suicide in a Seattle, Washington, hotel room in October 1996. Investigations by multiple agencies have failed to identify her.
"Julie Doe" is the nickname given to a transgender woman believed to have been murdered in Clermont, Florida, in 1988. Neither the victim's identity, nor the identity of those involved in her death, have been established. The victim was believed to be a cisgender woman until DNA testing in 2015.
George "Clarence" Seitz was an American World War I military veteran, who was murdered in the neighborhood of Jamaica in New York City on December 10, 1976. Police recovered his remains 43 years later, and arrested his alleged murderer in 2021.
Elizabeth "Lisa" Ann Roberts, otherwise known as Precious Jane Doe, was an American homicide victim found near Everett, Washington on August 14, 1977, who was an unidentified decedent for 43 years until being identified on June 16, 2020. She had been picked up by a male driver while hitchhiking and killed after refusing sex. Her assailant had strangled her with a cord and then emptied his gun into her head, complicating identification. Roberts was a teen runaway who left her Oregon home in July 1977, less than a month before her murder. She was given the nickname "Precious Jane Doe" by Detective Jim Scharf, who began investigating the case in 2008. The detective was quoted as saying, "This young girl was precious to me because her moral decision from her proper upbringing cost her her life [...] I knew she had to be precious to her family too, so I had to find them. We needed to give her name back to her and return her remains to her family." Roberts was 17 at the time of her murder, though initial police estimations of her age were much older. Her body was found by blackberry pickers, and the medical examiner determined she had been dead for approximately 5 days before discovery. She was discovered fully clothed in a pastel tank top and denim cutoffs. As her identity remained unknown, Roberts' case was relegated as a cold case. In 2020, genetic testing via hair samples was used to locate her biological family, who led to her adoptive family.
Carl Koppelman is an American professional accountant and unpaid volunteer forensic sketch artist. Since 2009, Koppelman has drawn over 250 reconstructions and age progressions of missing and unidentified people.
Ruth Belle Waymire, formerly known as Millie Doe, was a formerly unidentified female murder victim whose dismembered body was found in Spokane, Washington in 1984. Her body was recovered from the Spokane River on June 20, 1984, and was missing the hands, feet, and head. Fourteen years later, in 1998, a skull was found elsewhere in Spokane that was later determined as belonging to Waymire. While transporting the skull for forensic analysis, the detective responsible for the case was accompanied by his young daughter, who said, "Since we have another person in the room, we should name her. Let's call her Millie". She was identified on March 29, 2023 by Othram.
Amore Joveah Wiggins, formerly known as Opelika Jane Doe was a formerly unidentified murder victim whose skeletal remains were found in a trailer park in Opelika, Alabama. Her identity was not known until nearly 11 years later in January 2023. Wiggins's father, Lamar Vickerstaff, was subsequently charged with felony murder and failure to report a missing child, while her step-mother, Ruth Vickerstaff, was charged with the latter. If convicted, Lamar would face up to life imprisonment without the possibility parole or the death penalty, and Ruth would face up to 10 years in prison.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
