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

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

245UFVA

December 1996 in Annandale,Virginia, #JaneDoe was found dead by suicide in the infants section of a small cemetery in Pleasant valley memorial park

Jane Doe was found on a plastic sheet that she had laid out on the ground. There was a small, decorated 8” Christmas tree nearby. She had ingested brandy and valium and her blood-alcohol level was 0.14. She was wearing head phones and listening...

www.crimewatchers.net

 

[GrandmaBear]

Page 4, Post 65.

Thank you, I could never have found what you were referring to that quickly, wouldn't have known where to begin even.

That is the naval I take it and if so, that is different than what I've generally seen if a C-section which are horizontal to my knowledge at least in the last couple of decades.

I find it an unusual scar as well but it isn't like I've seen many so it may be more common than I think.

 

[Mel70]

Thank you, I could never have found what you were referring to that quickly, wouldn't have known where to begin even.

That is the naval I take it and if so, that is different than what I've generally seen if a C-section which are horizontal to my knowledge at least in the last couple of decades.

I find it an unusual scar as well but it isn't like I've seen many so it may be more common than I think.

It looks unusual to me also. To me it appears it was from a needed surgery. My scar is different, But reminds me of the whole cluster f. Vertical also. 32 staples from bra line to naval. Scars tell a story.

 

[Mel70]

Thank you, I could never have found what you were referring to that quickly, wouldn't have known where to begin even.

That is the naval I take it and if so, that is different than what I've generally seen if a C-section which are horizontal to my knowledge at least in the last couple of decades.

I find it an unusual scar as well but it isn't like I've seen many so it may be more common than I think.

And you're welcome my friend.

 

[Guess Who]

Thank you, I could never have found what you were referring to that quickly, wouldn't have known where to begin even.

That is the naval I take it and if so, that is different than what I've generally seen if a C-section which are horizontal to my knowledge at least in the last couple of decades.

I find it an unusual scar as well but it isn't like I've seen many so it may be more common than I think.

Me, either.

That is definitely not a c section scar as they usually are below the navel and straight down to the pubic bone for the vertical kind and if higher, it doesn't go down as far. After looking at this diagram, it does appear that some possibly do??? The last image??? It's not as long, but it does go above and below the navel.

Uterine incisions used during C-sections

Learn more about services at Mayo Clinic.

www.mayoclinic.org

 

[GrandmaBear]

It looks unusual to me also. To me it appears it was from a needed surgery. My scar is different, But reminds me of the whole cluster f. Vertical also. 32 staples from bra line to naval. Scars tell a story.

My mom had her spleen out in the 60s. Her scar runs diagonally from breast to groin. It was likely staples or the old stitches for sure. It is a good sized scar you'd call railroad, rough and fairly wide for a scar and very long. That's one reason I asked to see it, because that is a scar many maybe wouldn't recognize and that was a necessary one as you put it. That was done too at Mayo in Rochester for her back in the day, I guess our hospital must not have done such.

 

[GarAndMo39]

This is an interesting article about what the family knew. It's also very sad.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2022/07/07/christmas-tree-lady-identified/

I feel it's important to not discount Joyce's experience as a "target child." I'm not trying to invalidate her siblings' perceptions. Here is some research I've done on the subject.

'Cinderella phenomenon': Why some abusive parents target one child​

<snip>
When Ari Sherfield's stepfather entered her life, everything changed. At 7, she was put in charge of housework and taking care of her younger siblings. She was also the only one in her family who was physically abused, at times for inane things like "breathing too hard."

This was in stark contrast to her siblings' experience: The same parents who abused Sherfield treated her biological brothers and sisters with love, kindness and compassion.

"My mom definitely made it known that she preferred my siblings," says Sherfield, now 22. "My siblings never had as many chores as I did. I was always forced to stay home while my siblings were allowed to go have fun with friends and do extracurricular activities. … My mother really made me feel like I could never be enough. She would tell me I was hopeless."
The experience ultimately forced her to cut off contact with her family.

People often assume that abusive people mistreat everyone, but some discriminate in their abuse. It's what experts call the "Cinderella phenomenon," which is when one child in a family is singled out and abused while other children are not.
<snip>

The oldest child may be at higher risk​

Despite it being called the "Cinderella phenomenon," the term doesn't only describe stepparents. Scheid says the term includes abusive biological parents as well.
<snip>
Jessica Rosacker says her father singled her out in his abuse, beginning when she was 2 years old. He became fixated on unfounded concerns she wasn't his biological daughter, and as a result he began to abuse her. Rosacker says the abuse turned physical as she got older.
However, her younger siblings were spared: As the oldest child, Rosacker, now 20, suffered alone and hid the abuse from her siblings.

Scheid says it's not uncommon for the oldest child to experience the brunt of the abuse.

'Cinderella phenomenon': Why some abusive parents target one child

It's assumed that abusive parents mistreat all of their children. But sometimes, they only single out one. It's called the "Cinderella phenomenon."

www.usatoday.com