IN CHARLENE DOE: BF, 18-45, found in wildlife area in Morocco, IN with male named Tony - 5 Aug 1988 *JENIFER DENTON*

On August 5, 1988, burned human remains were discovered along Beaver Creek, in the Willow Slough State Fish and Wildlife Area in Morocco, Newton County, Indiana. The area where the remains were found was described as sparsely populated with heavy vegetative cover. Forensic anthropologists who examined the remains determined they were those of a 18-45 year-old Black/African American female, estimated to be about 5’6” tall. Found with the body were a pair of jeans and a safety-pin stamped with the number “450”. Remains of another individual, identified as “Tony”, were found in the same location. The case is being pursued by DDP jointly with the Newton County Coroner’s and Newton County Prosecuting Attorney’s Offices.

DNA Doe Project Status: Undergoing testing

Charlene Doe Newton Co 1988 - DNA Doe Project

This active case from the DNA Doe Project is from a body found in Newton County, Wisconsin. Click here to learn more and follow the case.

dnadoeproject.org

499UFIN

Estimated Age: 18-45 years old
Race: Black
Gender: Female
Height: 5'6"
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Osteochondritis on rim of glenoid fossa of right scapula; spina bifida present in T11 and T12 (unlikely these conditions were clinically significant, but could be observed on x-rays)*Victim may not have been aware of this condition. Unique frontal sinus pattern that may be comparable to available antemortem x-rays. Anomaly of C1-C2 joint, antemortem cervical spine films may show this.

Dentals: Available. Very good dental hygene. Tooth #1 is present and erupted. Tooth #3 has MO alloy with mesial buccal fracture. Tooth #15 is missing and bone is healed. Tooth #16 has a ceramic crown, probably CEREC Crown (CEREC Crown was not only expensive in 1988 but was on a wisdom tooth). Tooth #17 is missing. Tooth #32 is missing.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: mtDNA and nucDNA available. mtDNA is uploaded to NDIS.

Clothing: Jordache jeans.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Safety pin with the number 450 stamped on it.

The victim's skeletal remains were located along Beaver Creek in the Willow Slough State Fish and Wildlife Area in Morocco. The area is 9,670-acres in central Newton County between U.S. 41 and the Illinois state line. Another individual by the name of Tony was found with this victim.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Jennifer Noreen Denton was 24 when she went missing from her Joliet home leaving behind her one-year-old daughter and all her personal belongings. Her sister had tried to file a missing person report at the time, but the Joliet Police Department refused due to Jennifer being an adult.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

On March 5, 2021, the Newton County Indiana Coroner’s Office (NCICO) positively identified a woman whose body was found along Beaver Creek in the Willow Slough State Fish and Wildlife Area on August 5, 1988, as that of Jenifer Noreen Denton from Joliet, Illinois. The DNA Doe Project (DDP) had been working with NCICO to identify the deceased using genetic genealogy since late 2019.

Jenifer Denton was born in 1963 and was twenty-four years old when she went missing from her Joliet home. She left behind her one-year-old daughter and all her personal belongings. When she was found, it was determined that Jenifer had been shot at least once in the head. This case is still considered to be open and further investigations are underway into this murder.

After exhausting all leads, the Newton County Indiana Coroner’s Office first reached out to the DNA Doe Project in late 2019. DNA extract was obtained from UNT Center for Human Identification. In March 2020, the DNA was sent to HudsonAlpha Discovery for whole genome sequencing. After data was obtained, bioinformatics work was performed by Kevin Lord of Saber Investigations in Belton, Texas, in May of 2020 to produce a file suitable for upload to genealogical databases. On May 7, 2020, the file was uploaded to GEDmatch. DDP was also given permission by the agency to upload the file to Family Tree DNA (FTDNA). This was completed on June 6, 2020. The top matches were distant cousins which represented both parents. The change in the Terms of Service at GEDmatch effective January 11, 2021, revealed a close relative match which led to the identification.

DDP wishes to acknowledge the contributions of those groups and individuals who helped solve this case: Newton County Indiana Coroner’s Office, Becky Goddard, Chief Deputy Prosecutor for Newton County, Indiana State Police labs in Lowell and Indianapolis, Indiana, Detective David Andrews, Indiana State Police; HudsonAlpha Discovery for sequencing; Kevin Lord of Saber Investigations for bioinformatics; and GEDmatch and Family Tree DNA for providing their databases, and the DNA Doe Project volunteers who tirelessly work to bring victims home.

Charlene Doe Newton Co 1988 - DNA Doe Project

This active case from the DNA Doe Project is from a body found in Newton County, Wisconsin. Click here to learn more and follow the case.

dnadoeproject.org

 

[Kimster]

She was beautiful! I wonder who the other person that was found with her is? Do they know?

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

She was beautiful! I wonder who the other person that was found with her is? Do they know?

From the Facebook post above:

Her body was found along with that of Selease “Tony” Sherrod who had also been shot at least once and burned. His burned-out van was found about three miles from the scene in Illinois. He was quickly identified but the family of Sherrod was not forth coming with information on Jennifer.


Not sure who he was or his relation to Jenifer. I actually found an article from 1989...

GUN VICTIM IS IDENTIFIED 1 YEAR LATER

A year-old murder mystery, involving police in Indiana and Illinois, ended this week in a darkened police training room as the victim`s wife and parents watched a movie screen through tear-filled e…

www.chicagotribune.com

GUN VICTIM IS IDENTIFIED 1 YEAR LATER​

Ayear-old murder mystery, involving police in Indiana and Illinois, ended this week in a darkened police training room as the victim`s wife and parents watched a movie screen through tear-filled eyes.

Their husband and son disappeared last summer, but time hadn`t prepared the family of Selassie ''Tony'' Sherrod Jr., of Joliet, for the news that he had been shotgunned to death. His body, along with that of a still-unidentified woman, was found dumped in an Indiana wildlife preserve last August.

Still to be determined is who pulled the trigger and why, Indiana State Police Detective Kenneth Buehrle said Wednesday.

''Every time the phone rings or a truck goes by, we`d think maybe that`s Tony,'' Dorothy Sherrod said of her 31-year-old son, a truck driver.


It had taken 11 months to clear up that much of the mystery. Now authorities must try to determine why he was killed and by whom.

Sherrod`s job took him away from home for extended periods. That, along with an absence of dental records and the fact that his disappearance wasn`t reported until months after he vanished, contributed to the delay in identifying him, authorities said.

But police resolve in the case remained strong, in part because the bodies of Sherrod and the woman had been dumped in Willow Slough-the same forest and swamp area on the Indiana-Illinois state line where Chicago mob boss Anthony Spilotro and his brother, Michael, were found slain in a shallow grave in June, 1986.

After the grisly find last summer, authorities speculated that the area was being used as a burial ground by organized crime figures from Chicago.

 

[Mel70]

Very strange.

 

[Kimster]

If she was killed by the mob, maybe they were too afraid to tell Police who she really was. Wow.