VA ANNANDALE JANE DOE: WF, 50-70, found in Pleasant Valley Memorial Cemetery, VA - 18 Dec 1996 *JOYCE MEYER SOMMERS*

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Date of Discovery: December 18, 1996
Location of Discovery: Annandale, Fairfax County, Virginia
Estimated Date of Death: Hours prior
State of Remains: Recognizable face
Cause of Death: Suicide

Physical Description

Estimated Age: 50-70 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'0"
Weight: 157 lbs.
Hair Color: Auburn or red, almost a copper color, curly.
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: She had an 8-inch scar on her abdomen, probably from a C-section. Her fingernails were painted red.

Identifiers

Dentals: Available.
Fingerprints: Available.
DNA: Samples submitted - Tests not complete.

Clothing & Personal Items

Clothing: Teal all-weather Eddie Baur hooded jacket (size M), navy blue Classiques Entier sweater (size L), red Classiques Entier sweater (size XL), red Classiques Entier sleeveless silk shirt (size Petite L), navy blue Classiques Entier knit wool pants (size L), knee-high stockings, white support bra, white Fruit of the Loom underpants (size 6), and black loafers (size 7M). Her clothes may have come from an upscale store such as Saks Fifth Avenue.
Jewelry: Two clip-on earrings, a small gold women's Guess watch with a mesh band, a 14-karat gold ring with four jade stones, and a metal bead chain with a medic alert "NO CODE, DNR, No Penicillin."
Additional Personal Items: Bifocals with translucent frames. A green knapsack that held Jeff Foxworthy's You Might Be A Redneck cassette, a tape of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, two empty juice bottles, and a new roll of masking.

Circumstances of Discovery

A groundskeeper at the Pleasant Valley Memorial Park Cemetery discovered the decedent's body near the section of the cemetery where infants are buried, but not near any particular grave.There was a clear plastic sheet on the ground with an 8-inch Christmas tree adorned with gold balls and red ribbons. She had a portable tape player with headphones, which were on her ears. A recording of comedians Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner doing their 2000 Year Old Man routine was in the player.She had committed suicide by drinking brandy (she had a 0.14 blood-alcohol level), swallowing Valium, and placing a plastic bag over her head and tying it off with tape, suffocating herself.She left two fifty dollar bills; one for the coroner,and one for the cemetery, both with the same typed note: Deceased by own hand...prefer no autopsy. Please order cremation with funds provided. Thank you, Jane Doe.She had no receipts in her pockets for investigators to trace her movements. Most of the headstones nearby where she was found were fairly recent. The site would probably not be known to a drifter.




Investigating Agency(s)

Agency Name: Northern District Medical Examiner's Office
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 703-530-2600
Agency Case Number: N1996-41257

Agency Name: Fairfax County Police Department
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 800-673-2777
Agency Case Number: 96353000549

Agency Name: Fairfax County Crime Solvers
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 800-411-TIPS or 703-691-8888

NCIC Case Number: U989549567
NamUs Case Number: UP #6279

Information Source(s)
NamUs
National Center for Missing Adults

Admin Notes

Added: Prior to 2004; Last Updated: 3/21/2019

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Does anyone know if Elizabeth Ann Allen, missing from CA since Jan. 1980, has been ruled out? Ignore the puffy bouffant hairdo in her picture and look at her face and bone structure. Elizabeth is listed as having red hair and blue eyes. Her height is 63 inches, the UID is 60.

Annandale Jane Doe.jpg
I don't see Elizabeth Ann Smith as being a rule out.
 
Thank you! I have been having NAMUS login troubles. Looking at the ruleouts, I notice a LOT of the ruleout MPs have Elizabeth as a first name!!
I searched Elizabeth's maiden name (McDonald) as well and didn't see any Elizabeth nor Ann. I do wonder though why this person is listed as missing on California's registry when she was last seen in El Paso, TX. Perhaps it was partly due to her car being found in California.

Per NAMUS
Circumstances of Disappearance
Elizabeth Ann (McDonald) Allen disappeared from her home on 20 January 1980. She has never been found. Her car was recovered near San Bernardino, California.


Interesting...
 
I agree with Akoya. Below is a photo of a laparotomy scar:
View attachment 461
Note how both scars go up and around the navel, and don't begin at the pubis. A C-Section would not leave the type of scar Jane Doe has. This scar is from an abdominal surgery such as a bowel problem, unexplained abdominal pain/bleeding, etc.
Yes. I have one. I had a peptic ulcer that opened and was spilling stomach contents into my body 11/2008. My scar runs from right under my bra line to my belly button. 32 staples.
 
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You Might Be A Redneck If...
Jeff Foxworthy

June 15, 1993




Was she from the south?
This was really well known. Throughout the country.
 
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Jus Fraise Looza

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About this item

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Looza Peach Juice Drink, 33.8 Oz (Pack of 6)

From concentrate. 160 calories per 8 fl oz serving. 38% juice. Questions or comments? Call 1-877-342-1813. Please recycle. Made in Belgium.

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Wow. Never heard of it.
 
I searched Elizabeth's maiden name (McDonald) as well and didn't see any Elizabeth nor Ann. I do wonder though why this person is listed as missing on California's registry when she was last seen in El Paso, TX. Perhaps it was partly due to her car being found in California.

Per NAMUS
Circumstances of Disappearance
Elizabeth Ann (McDonald) Allen disappeared from her home on 20 January 1980. She has never been found. Her car was recovered near San Bernardino, California.


Interesting...
Well IDK. Allen would have been 70. Born in 1926. And from CA to VA. 16 yrs later. Allen disappeared in 80.The UID seemed to be of means. Not to put down you or your theory. No disrespect.
 
IMO I don't find it likely based on her age or race to have HIV. I'm not saying impossible. But very low risk based on the chart. And assisted suicide I find highly unlikely. It was out in the open and the risk of a person being caught. I don't know why she commited suicide. I wish I did. I wish more I knew who she was. My personal feeling is life became too painful for her on a personal level. This case does haunt me. I also wish I knew why she wanted so badly not to be identified. She deserved to be.
 
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, AIDS was taking a tremendous toll in many parts of our country. Many people had been exposed before the course of the virus was understood. It could take as long as ten years for symptoms to develop. Potent medicinal "cocktails" were used, but it took years and hours of research for effective treatments to be developed. Many people had contracted the virus years before the progression of AIDS/HIV was fully understood. In the early years of AIDS, the diagnosis was a painful and debilitating death sentence. The body wasted and the infected person developed an appearance of "walking death" as their organs gradually failed. Many chose a suicide option to avoid the devastating physical pain and the shame from family and friends knowing about the source of the infection. Suicide was a way for those infected with the virus to take control of the inevitable and accept death with dignity. I do believe that UIDs from this time period should be considered as possible AIDS/HIV victims who chose suicide as an option. In 1996, there were no Rainbow or LGBT groups. This could be a reason why Annandale Jane Doe didn't want an autopsy.
Actually the first gay rights group was formed in 1951. Lesbian rights 1955.
 
In 1996 there were approx 6.4 million HIV cases worldwide. Today. 38 million. Since the introduction of the Cocktail in 1996 deaths have dropped dramatically.
 
does anyone know if possible connections to the little graves were checked..... it sure seems that she chose the location with a lot of thought and considering what she had with her....

somehow especially the fannypack seemed very important to her....
 
They did it!

Fairfax County Police Department Partners with Othram to Identify "Christmas Tree Lady"​

In January 2022, Fairfax Police Department detectives sent physical evidence to Othram and Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to develop a comprehensive genealogical profile for the unknown woman. Othram worked with forensic genetic genealogist, Carla Davis, to execute the genealogical search and perform the research necessary to produce investigative leads. The costs associated with this casework were funded by a DNASolves crowdfund and a substantial contribute from an anonymous donor.

In May 2022, investigative leads were returned to the detectives and this led to a connection with one suspected family member of the unknown woman. From there, the investigation led to additional family connections across the country. A DNA sample from a close relative confirmed a match and this confirmation was further corroborated by conversations with long-lost siblings. The woman known for a quarter century as "Christmas Tree Lady" was determined to be Joyce Marilyn Meyer Sommers, originally from Davenport, Iowa. She was the oldest of 5 siblings.

Meyer was 69-years-old when she was found deceased. Family members believe Meyer may have moved to the Virginia area sometime after the mid-1980s. At the time of her death, Meyer was not reported missing and did not have family in the immediate area. Although she was not reported missing, her family had spent years looking for her and even hired a private detective. Additionally, it appears that Joyce did not have any children.

In an agency press release, Major Ed O’Carroll, Bureau Commander, Major Crimes, Cyber & Forensics, at Fairfax Police Department said: “After decades of wondering what happened to their loved one, Joyce’s family is finally at peace thanks to the dedicated work of several generations of FCPD detectives, anonymous donors and Othram. Our detectives never stopped working for Joyce and her family. Advances in technology will continue to help close cases and provide answers to victim’s families.”

1657213794963.png
 
They did it!

Fairfax County Police Department Partners with Othram to Identify "Christmas Tree Lady"​

In January 2022, Fairfax Police Department detectives sent physical evidence to Othram and Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to develop a comprehensive genealogical profile for the unknown woman. Othram worked with forensic genetic genealogist, Carla Davis, to execute the genealogical search and perform the research necessary to produce investigative leads. The costs associated with this casework were funded by a DNASolves crowdfund and a substantial contribute from an anonymous donor.

In May 2022, investigative leads were returned to the detectives and this led to a connection with one suspected family member of the unknown woman. From there, the investigation led to additional family connections across the country. A DNA sample from a close relative confirmed a match and this confirmation was further corroborated by conversations with long-lost siblings. The woman known for a quarter century as "Christmas Tree Lady" was determined to be Joyce Marilyn Meyer Sommers, originally from Davenport, Iowa. She was the oldest of 5 siblings.

Meyer was 69-years-old when she was found deceased. Family members believe Meyer may have moved to the Virginia area sometime after the mid-1980s. At the time of her death, Meyer was not reported missing and did not have family in the immediate area. Although she was not reported missing, her family had spent years looking for her and even hired a private detective. Additionally, it appears that Joyce did not have any children.

In an agency press release, Major Ed O’Carroll, Bureau Commander, Major Crimes, Cyber & Forensics, at Fairfax Police Department said: “After decades of wondering what happened to their loved one, Joyce’s family is finally at peace thanks to the dedicated work of several generations of FCPD detectives, anonymous donors and Othram. Our detectives never stopped working for Joyce and her family. Advances in technology will continue to help close cases and provide answers to victim’s families.”

View attachment 15324
I just came in to announce the news and you barely beat me to it! :highfive:
 

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