Vernon County Jane Doe

Vernon County Jane Doe

Digital image created from study of morgue photographs to depict an estimation of the victim in life

Forensic facial reconstruction of the Vernon County Jane Doe
Born Approx. 1919–1934
Status Unidentified for 32 years, 7 months and 19 days
Died c. May 3, 1984 (aged 50 to 65)
Westby, Vernon County, Wisconsin, United States
Cause of death Homicide by blunt force trauma
Body discovered May 4, 1984
Resting place Viroqua Cemetery, Vernon County, Wisconsin
Known for Unidentified victim of homicide
Height Between 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
and 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight 150 lb (68 kg)

Vernon County Jane Doe is an American murder victim whose body was found on May 4, 1984. Her identity remains unknown.[1][2][3] Her hands had been removed, probably to prevent identification by means of fingerprinting.

The case has been heavily investigated since discovery of the body, with no progress toward finding either her identity or her murderer.[4]

Discovery of the body

The body was found on the night of May 4, 1984, near the town of Westby, Wisconsin at 11:15.[4] It was found by three teenagers within 24 to 48 hours after her death.[5][6] There was extensive damage to the victim's head, which left her face unrecognizable until mortuary procedures were conducted.[7] After the case was broadcast on the news, a couple stated that they had seen a suspicious man near the location. He was returning to the driver's seat of a yellow car, believed to be a 1982 Datsun.[8] When police went to the spot, they found tire tracks from a hasty U-turn. A broken denture, blood, and a man's watch were also found there.[1] Because of this evidence, it is believed that she was killed at another location alongside the same road, and that her body was then taken to the location where she was found.[9]

The victim had been murdered, as she suffered blunt force injury to her head, which had broken her jaw, an eye socket and the pair of dentures that she was wearing. There was also sharp-force trauma to the left side of the head, near the ear.[7] Her hands had been removed, most likely to prevent identification through fingerprint matching.[1][3][10]

Description and clothing

Vernon County Jane Doe was a white woman between 50 and 65 years old. She had graying brown hair, presumed to have been done in a perm. She was 5 feet 5 to 5 feet 6 inches (approximately 170 cm). She did not appear to have any unique physical features.[4] She weighed 150 pounds (68 kg) and had worn dentures, probably those that were found with her body.[6] The dentures, missing two teeth, had both raised and indented numbers upon them, believed to be serial numbers. Despite this, investigators have stated that serial numbers for the given product were not assigned to specific recipients, which would not yield clues to the victim's identity.[7]

She was wearing a multicolored coat, a black dress decorated with a blue-and-white paisley print, a blue turtleneck sweater, and nylon stockings. The brand labels of the clothing had been removed.[3][11] There were distinctive buttons on her clothes; these had unique stitching.[12]

Investigation

Over 4,000 leads have surfaced in the case, one recently being the arrest of multiple persons who fraudulently used checks from a missing Portage, Wisconsin, woman who disappeared around the same time as when the Jane Doe was found.[13]

Despite the possible link to Portage, police believe that she did not reside in the area where she was found.[11] Two missing women have been ruled out as possible identities.[2][14]

Authorities have used news media multiple times toward identifying the victim. In 2012, officials "pushed" the case to reach areas of both Minnesota and Wisconsin that were linked to Highway 14.[4] The case was broadcast in a three-day news special, titled as "Catching Her Killer: Justice for Jane Doe," to uncover new leads in 2013. Yet no lead so far has proved useful.[5]

She was interred in the Viroqua cemetery. Her headstone bears the words "Jane Doe" and the date of the discovery of her body.[5]

On August 12, 2015, her body was exhumed and sent to the crime lab in Madison, Wisconsin, for testing in hopes of identifying her. The body was returned and buried the next day. DNA was also harvested and began processing at the University of North Texas. A new forensic facial reconstruction of the victim was released in December 2015 by a University in Arizona that created the likeness based on physical characteristics of the woman's skull.[4] The rendering was completed by forensic artist Catyana Falsetti, whose husband was also working on the case at the University.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Jane Doe 1984 - Vernon County" (PDF). Vernon County Sheriff Department. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 "NamUs UP # 4786". NamUS. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "Case File 261UFWI". The Doe Network. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Johnson, Matt (16 December 2015). "New forensic drawing released of Vernon County's 1984 Jane Doe". Vernon County Broadcaster. Lacrosse, Wisconsin. La Cross Tribune. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "Catching her killer: Justice for Jane Doe - Part 1". WKBT TV. 2 May 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  6. 1 2 "UNIDENTIFIED HUMAN REMAINS – Westby, Wisconsin". FBI Victims Identification Project. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Santos, Nico (26 February 2016). "ASU group works to solve Wis. cold case". ABC News 12 KPNX. Phoenix Arizona: Tegna. ABC. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Westby, Wisconsin Jane Doe". hellbeasts.com. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "Handless Body is still Unidentified". The Wisconsin Journal. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  10. ↑ Millard, Kevin (3 May 2012). "Who Is 'Jane Doe'?". Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  11. 1 2 Johnson, Matt (5 May 2012). "Authorities seek help in grisly 1984 murder in Vernon County". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  12. ↑ "Catching her killer: Justice for Jane Doe - Part 2". WKBT TV. 2 May 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  13. ↑ "The Vernon County Sheriff's Department Seeks Public's Help As It Investigates a Cold Case Homicide". doj.state.wi.us. Wisconsin Department of Justice. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  14. ↑ Le, Pauleen (3 May 2013). "Catching her killer: New possible lead in Jane Doe case". News 8000. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
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