August 18, 1924 Albuquerque, New Mexico Baby Doe

On August 18, 1924, the body of a murdered baby was found buried in Albuquerque, New Mexico. There is little information in this case.

SOURCES:
Find a Grave

Murder of Chester L. Carruthers

 

On August 13, 1976, 15-year-old Chester Carruthers' mother reported her son missing in Harrison, Maine. She had not seen him for around 2 weeks when she reported him missing. 

On May 13, 1981, a dog would be found carrying a skull a quarter of a mile from Chester's home. Chester's remains would be found buried in a wooded area behind a home off of Route 35. It was found that he had been shot in the head. 

SOURCES:

Maine State Police
Uncovered
Find a Grave

Morning Sentinel June 1, 1981

Portland Press Herald February 4, 2001

Murder of Cheryl Lynne Coates

Photo of Cheryl

Composite of her as a Jane Doe

On January 15, 1985, the body of a young woman was found in a shallow grave in the area of MacArthur Blvd. and Stamford Rd in Superior Township, Michigan. Her shallow grave near the Woolman Oval Apartments had been abandoned in the 1970s and does not exist now. She had been dead for several months to a year. She had been killed by being shot in the head.

The young woman was 25-year-old Cheryl Coates, but she would be a Jane Doe until 2023. Her DNA was submitted to Ortham and on December 15, 2023, she was identified.

Cheryl was known to frequent Detroit and Southfield.

SOURCES:

DNA Solves
Doe Network
Unidentified Wiki
Washtenaw Sheriff Facebook

Fox 2 Detroit December 15, 2023

Murder of Fatima Lopez

On November 18, 2002, the body of 15-year-old Fatima Lopez was found at 813 Green Grove Road in  Tinton Falls, New Jersey. A construction worker clearing a wooded lot at that location found her buried under several feet of dirt and her body was partially decomposed. It's unknown how long she was dead for.

She had died from multiple trauma, but it was unknown if it was from a weapon or someone's bare hands. Though it was likely from someone's hands. It's unknown if she was sexually assaulted or if her clothes were taken off from the killer or wildlife. There was a small amount of alcohol in her system. It was hard to say if she was killed by a stranger or not.

Fatima had moved from Nicaragua with her brother to Belmar in August. It's wasn't really known who Fatima associated with in her short time in the U.S. She was a bit of a wild child and was staying out all hours of the night and not coming home when she was supposed to. She was hard to handle for her brother and was about to be sent back to Nicaragua to their mother's, but instead had her live with an Aunt in Asbury Park. Fatima would soon go missing after this though. It was unknown how long she was missing for

SOURCES:

The Office of Monmouth County Prosecutor

APP

September 20, 1927 Fredericksburg, Texas Jane Doe

 

On September 20, 1927, the body of a teenage girl was found in a shallow grave near Fredricksburg, Texas. The grave was 2ft long and 3 inches deep her body being crammed into the small pit. She was nude having been sexually assaulted and beaten to death. Items were burned nearby including her clothes.

There were reports that around 10 days before her body was discovered she may have been seen in town with two men in a small coupe. She may have stayed at a cabin with two men for a night and the next day the cabin was found bloodied. There had been reports that she had been seen with two soldiers. One Man stated that he saw the girl arguing with two soldiers on the side of the road.

A marksmanship scorecard found at the scene was believed to belong to one of the soldiers. A soldier matching the name was found and suspected. But the scorecard was found around 75 yards away from the girl and may not have anything to do with the crime. Three soldiers were arrested in suspicion of the crime. The two men who saw the girl with two men could not identify the scorecard owner or two other suspected soldiers as the two men. 

 There were also a lot of girls who were thought to have been her, but none of them panned out. No one was able to successfully identify the young girl

Jane Doe was a white female about 13-years-old. She had red hair that was bobbed. Tests were done to see if the hair was dyed, but it came back that it was natural. She was around 5'4". She wore a gold ring on her right pinky that was inset with a small red stone. Her clothes had been burned and only remained remnants of her undergarments. A black bag, a marksmanship scorecard, two handkerchiefs, and half a loaf of bread made in San Antonio was found near the body. A couple of miles toward Mason a bloody quilt was found it's unknown why they didn't burn this with other items. 

There was a black bag found near the scene, but it was later ruled out as having with the crime. A couple passing through the area had lost one of their pieces of luggage while going down the road several days before the girl's discovery.

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

Haunted Fredricksberg

McAllen Daily Press September 21, 1927

Corsicana Daily Sun September 21, 1927

The Austin American September 29, 1927

September 14, 1947 Cassian, Wisconsin Jane Doe

On September 14, 1947 a woman's body was found in a shallow grave in a rural area near an old grass covered roadway in Cassian, Wisconsin. It was around 3.5 miles north of intersection of USH 51 and USH 8. The victim was strangled to death and was found laying face down. It's not stated how long they believed she was dead.

Jane Doe was an adult female. She was 5'2" and 170lbs. She had brown greying hair. 2 distinct lines running from forehead down to nose, very small feet and ankles, and a broad nose. She was wearing rayon or silk pants, undershirt and slip, and a large corset. She had a gold colored ring on left hand.

SOURCES:

NamUs

News-Record October 15, 1947

The Journal Times December 18, 1947

Murder of Elwyn Randy White

On August 21 2001 40-year-old Elwyn White's roommate reported him missing after some time of no one seeing him. It was unknown what had happened to him until May of 2002. A turkey hunter near the Berlin Pond Rd in Northfield, Vermont followed a strong smell which lead to a shallow grave that was disturbed by wildlife. It wasn't released on how he died. 

Elwyn was familiar with law enforcement and allegedly had a drug problem. It's unknown if this had anything to do with his murder. 

SOURCES:

Vermont State Police

Rutland Herald May 15, 2002

Times Argus May 22, 2002

Sharon Gallegos "Little Miss Nobody"

On July 21, 1960, 4-year-old Sharon Gallegos was with her cousins in the alley behind her home in Alamogordo, New Mexico. An old dark green 1950s Sedan  was pulled up to them. The woman who was described as obese with dirty blonde hair would ask Sharon to come with them so that they would "buy her candy and clothes". Sharon would refuse them and this angered the woman grabbing Sharon by the arm and dragged her to the car. They would take off quickly and be last seen turning west onto Fifth Street at high speed.

Police were notified and started working fast to find the girl. There was a search and roadblocks at the New Mexico-Texas border. Many cars were searched, but Sharron was never found.

Reportedly the woman had been harassing Sharon the following days to maybe weeks before her disappearance. On July 17th, the same woman was seen in her dark green sedan with two children inside a freckled-faced boy and a small girl. After church, she approached other attendees about Sharon and her mother.  On the 19th the woman knocked on the neighbor's doors and would ask the same questions giving the reason as she wanted to give the mother a job. 

Days prior to her disappearance Sharon's attitude changed. The girl who loved to do errands to the grocery store didn't want to do them anymore. She was more wary and skittish. When she would see the green sedan she would ask family members to pick her up if they were to walk past it. 

On July 31, 1960, the body of a young girl was found in a shallow grave in Congress, Arizona 7 hours away. She was partially buried in a creekbed of a sand wash on Alamo Rd. 1.5 miles away from Highway 93. It was estimated she died 1 to 2 weeks earlier likely around the time she was kidnapped. Her cause of death is unknown, but it's believed to be murder. There was a bloody pocket knife nearby and evidence of burning.

At the time she was termed "Little Miss Nobody" as she was unidentified. Sharon was considered as a possible match in the beginning, but they believed the "jane doe" was older than her and so she was excluded. It wasn't until March of 2022 that Sharon was given back her name. 

At the time of her death, she was wearing a sun suit consisting of white shorts and a contrasting blouse with a distinctive chain design or checkered design, and a pair of men's adult-size flip-flops that had been cut down to the victim's size. She was last seen wearing pink shorts and white shoes.

The suspects of the case were driving a 1951 or 1952 Dodge or Plymouth Sedan. The woman was short, overweight, blonde, wore glasses, and was in her 30's. The man was white, thin, with a long nose and straight, sandy-colored hair.


SOURCES:
Find a Grave
Doe Network

Wikipedia
Prescott News

Alamogordo Daily News July 22, 1960

Alamogordo Daily News July 24, 1960

Alamogordo Daily News August 3, 1960

Nickeisha Nicole Holloman

On July 1, 2018, 23-year-old Nickeish Holloman was last seen leaving the Crossroads Center on Burnet Ave in Cinncinatti, Ohio. She got into a white or silver or grey Hyundai Sonota and was supposed to go to a hair appointment she never arrived at. Just before her disappearance, she talked to her mother on the phone giving her her new number. She would not be seen alive after this.

On August 22nd someone would see a bone sticking out of some mulch in the 1800 block of Mehmert Avenue in Mount Airy. It was found to be Nickeisha.

Police are looking for the occupants of the Hyundai Sonata she was last seen getting into. With the amount of mulch found on top of her body police hope that someone who saw a person who drove this vehicle and purchased that much mulch around that time would lead to their suspects. They have not ruled out that the vehicle may have been rented.

SOURCES:

Preston Charles Funeral Home

Ohio Attorney General

Fox 19 Now Jan. 14, 2019

Local 12 Jan 14. 2019

WLWT5 November 1, 2019

Murder of Tina Sue Spencer

 

In January of 1976 17-year-old Tina Spencer ran away from her home in Nevada, Missouri. Police could not do anything about it as 17-year-olds are considered no longer juvenile for runaway purposes. By March of 1976, Tina was in Springfield, Missouri 

On March 14, 1976,  and 10 p.m. Tina was reportedly picked up from the Springfield Airport.  She told the Taxi driver her friend was supposed to pick her up, but never showed up. Tina stated she had nowhere to go. The taxi driver would then bring her to a house in the area of 400 N. Main. Residents of the home stated Tina left on foot to a payphone to make a call to the person who was supposed to pick her up.

On November 28, 1976, 5 days after Tina would have turned 18, Tina's skeletal remains were found in a shallow grave near McDaniel Lake. She was found in some dense underbrush with a knotted vinyl belt near her neck. She had been strangled to death. Her wallet was found in the area in April.

SOURCES:

Springfield Police

Justice for Shirley Jane Rose

Murder of William Agee

 

In 1972 36-year-old William Agee was living in Melbourne, Florida. On December 23rd he would be reported missing and two days later his white 1961 convertible was found abandoned near Dublin, Georgia. Inside his car was littered with whisky bottles, cigarette buds, and a woman's purse with a snapshot of a man and woman.

On Jan. 2, 1973, William's body would be found in a shallow grave off of State Road 46, west of Interstate 95 in Mims. He had been shot twice in the head. He had been dead for up to 8 days before his body was found.

SOURCES:

Bevard County Sheriff's Office

The Criminal Journal

Real True Crime

June 18, 1959 Detroit Michigan Jane Doe

  On June 18, 1959, the Shelton's were excavating their basement with a neighbor at their home on 1936 Halleck in Detroit, Michigan. They would find the skeleton of a woman about four inches below the surface. It was stated that she was there for years and according to a newspaper she had a hole on the top of her head and a shattered jaw. 

The house was bought by the Sheltons in 1943 and the house was built in 1922/1923. It's possible she died between that time. It was originally speculated that the woman may have been killed by John Kasap and John Kurzawa who killed several people in 1940. One of their victims was buried a block away in the basement of another home. I don't know if this is still speculated about the case, I couldn't find any recent detailed information on the case. 

Jane Doe was an African American woman. She was between 25 to 35-years-old. She was around 5'0".

NamUs

Ironwood Daily Globe June 18, 1959

Detroit Free Press June 19, 1959

Murder of Robert Lee Thorncock

On Feb 12, 1997, 40-year-old Robert Thorncock was booked in the Cache County Jail in Logan, Utah on charges of fraud and being a fugitive from Idaho. He was apparently had been arrested on suspicion of taking credit cards, wallets, and checkbooks from the purses of employees at the Bear River Health Department. He went on a spending spree with credit cards buying things like a new T.V., VCR, and other items. On February 21, 1997, Robert would escape by slipping under the security fence while outside for exercise.

On August 30, 1997, a dog would drag home an arm in Bedford, Wyoming. Apparently, the remains were disturbed when a property owner was excavating near Strawberry Creek. He would be identified through fingerprints and tattoos. Robert was shot through the head


SOURCES:

Wyoming Division of Investigations 

Deseret News

April 5, 1889 Texarkana, Arkansas John Doe

  His killers had made his grave too small and had to cut off his head where it was buried separately. Inside his body was lying on its side. He had been stabbed as a common and sharpened kitchen knife was found between his ribs. Three pieces of oak wood were placed around the body. His clothes had disintegrated and a leather belt was found. He had red hair. He had been dead for at least 2 years. 

I'm not sure if this John Doe was ever Identified or if his killers had been. There was only one source for this murder. 

SOURCES:

Unidentified Wiki

Austin Weekly Statesmen April 11, 1898

April 8, 1866 Evansville, Indiana Jane Doe

 On April 8, 1866, boys playing on Chesnut Street in Evansville, Indiana found toes sticking out of the dirt. Recent rain had washed away and revealed the body of a woman in a shallow grave. Her head was not found with the body. It was believed that she had been dead for at least 2 months. It was strange that she was undiscovered even buried where found because Chestnut St. was a busy street.

Her race was unknown. She was 5'6". She was wearing a nightgown.

In 1873 a Frederick J Smith who used the alias Meyer was indicted for the murder. He had lived in Evansville at the time, but moved by the time he was indicted. 

I'm not sure if she was identified articles would just refer to the woman as the headless woman. I'm not sure if he was convicted or not it just states he was indicted. It doesn't even state why he was suspected.

SOURCES:

Unidentified Wiki

Evansville Daily Journal April 9, 1866

Seymore Times March 20, 1873

Fort Wayne Daily Gazette March 13, 1873

Murder of Yakov V. German

On August 10, 2003, 36-year-old Russian immigrant Yakov German was last seen in Vancouver, Washington. At the time he was working construction. His body would be found on May 3, 2004, buried in the woods in Cowlitz County. The autopsy would find that he had been stabbed to death. It isn't stated whether they believe that he had been dead since August.

SOURCES:

City of Vancouver

Jan.4 ,1982 Hialeah, Florida John Doe

 On Jan. 4, 1982, the body of a man was found in a shallow grave at W 22nd Ave and 67th st in Hialeah, Florida. He was a white or Hispanic male between 30 and 50-years-old. He was around 5'4". He had medium-length 1-2inches brown hair. He was wearing a DAMON brand long-sleeve shirt with buttons and a vertical-striped design, Barry Martin Brand full-length blue pants size 29-30, blue jockey styled underwear size 30-32.

SOURCES:

Doe Network

NamUs

October 30, 1955 Barstow, California Jane Doe

On October 30, 1955, the partial skeletal remains of a woman were found scattered from a shallow grave 3.6 miles east of Bear Valley Road in a desert 10 miles south of Barstow, California. She may have died months prior to discovery. Her cause of death is unknown or unstated. 

She's a white female between 30 to 80-years-old but is more likely to be between 50 and 80-years-old. She's around 5'4" and her weight is unknown. She had reddish/blonde hair that is 6 to 7 inches long. 

SOURCES:

NamUs

Doe Network

Murder of Cecil Lawrence Chacon Jr.

In June of 1992, Cecil Chacon Jr. was a vocational coordinator at the Vance County, North Carolina schools. On June 8, 1992, Cecil was returning from a long trip to Wilmington and stopped by his mother's home on Nelson St. In Henderson, North Carolina. His mother wanted him to stay for the night, but he declined and went home around 10 p.m. He would leave alone in his 1976 Buick Skylark.

Cecil was supposed to be at school the next day on Monday. He did not show up and his mother did not get her daily call from him. The police came by his residence around 9 p.m. to check up one him. They noticed an open window on the east side of the home and that the spotlight in the back was on. No other lights were on in the house. 

The front window's screen was lying on the ground and the deputies thought a breaking and entering may have happened. In order to gain access to the house one deputy entered through a basement window. They searched around the home. In a child's bedroom, they noticed overturned furniture and dark stains on the carpet. 

They would eventually find Cecil's body in the backyard in a shallow grave 140 ft from the house. This would not have been an easy task as he was 6'4" and weighed around 295 lbs. They had stabbed him several times and then dragged him out the back door. Then they would bury him where he was found. 

A blood luminol test was done in the home and it revealed bloody bare footprints inside. The murder or murderers made an attempt to clean up the scene by moping the kitchen floor and vacuuming the carpet.

A neighbor stated that they would see a Chevrolet Blazer type vehicle that may have been red and black with yellow license plates outside his residence around 10:30 p.m. Monday night.

SOURCES:
North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations 
Find a Grave

Murder of Ginger (Gebelein Man)

There were 6 bodies found in the Gebelein, Egypt dating around 3400 BC. They were excavated in the late 1800s by Wallis Budge. At this time that mummification Egypt is known for wasn't developed. The mummies were naturally mummified by being placed in a shallow grave in direct contact with hot and dry sand that would absorb the body's liquids. They were in a curled, fetal position because that was common practice at the time. One of the more notable mummies in this excavation was the Gebelein Man or Ginger as he was a murder victim.

Ginger was around 18 to 21-years-old when he died. He had notable red hair that was preserved with his body and this gave him his nickname. After some infrared scans on the body, it was found that he had a tattoo of a figure that looked like a smudge without the scan. Which may have been the oldest preserved tattoo of figures.

Through analysis, it was determined that he had had been murdered. He had injuries that coincided with a deliberate assault. His shoulder blade was damaged and the rib underneath shattered likely from a stab wound. He was likely surprised by the attack as he had no defensive wounds. The weapon used was a copper or flint blade at least 5 inches long.

Why he was murdered and who he was is now lost to time. His body is currently at the British Museum in London, England.

SOURCES:
Mummipedia Wiki
News Week
British Museum
Egypt Orgins
Wikipedia