MO ST. LOUIS JANE DOE: BF, 8-11, found in the basement of a vacant building in St. Louis, MO - 28 Feb 1983

54UFMO

Victim's sweater; cord used to bind victim.

Date of Discovery: February 28, 1983
Location of Discovery: St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri
Estimated Date of Death: 5 days prior
State of Remains: Not recognizable - Traumatic injuries
Cause of Death: Homicide by strangulation

Physical Description
Estimated Age: 8-11 years old
Race: Black
Gender: Female
Height: 4'10" to 5'6"
Weight: 61-70 lbs.
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: An anthropological exam revealed that she had spina bifida occulta to her sacrum, but how that manifested itself in this child is unknown. The child might not have shown any outward symptoms. There were no other scars, irregularities, deformities or other specific features that would give clues to her identity.

Identifiers
Dentals: Not Available
Fingerprints: Available
DNA: Available

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Yellow long sleeve v-neck sweater.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Discovery
Two men discovered the victim's body in the furnace room in the basement of a vacant apartment building on Clemens Avenue in St. Louis. She was lying on her stomach with her hands tied behind her back with red and white nylon rope. She had been sexually assaulted prior to being strangled.

The victim's head had been removed with a large-bladed knife after her death. Her head has never been recovered. She had been killed elsewhere and brought to the vacant building after her death.

There were no signs of previous abuse on the victim's body.

The St. Louis authorities have conducted extensive investigations into the victim's identity since 1983 and have received no clear leads. Her murderer(s) remain unknown, although several suspects have been under investigation. No arrests have been made in the case.

Authorities believe she was probably from out of state as they checked school records around Missouri very thoroughly. They conducted a nationwide search, including running ads in every Africa-American newspaper and magazine in the country and corresponded with every state police agency.

Full Anthropology exam and isotope analysis completed by NCMEC and the Smithsonian. Advanced forensic testing of her bones has also suggested that the female was not originally from the local St. Louis area but possibly spent most of her childhood in the following states: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, and West Virginia.

Additional tests showed that the victim may have also been from the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee.

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: St Louis City Medical Examiner's Office
Agency Contact Person: Rose Psara, RN
Agency Phone Number: 314-622-4975
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: CITY-1983-0441

Agency Name: St Louis Police Department
Agency Contact Person: Detective Joseph Burgoon
Agency Phone Number: 314-615-8619
Agency E-Mail: jburgoon@stlouisco.com
Agency Case Number: 83-29584

NCIC Case Number: U470002710
NamUs Case Number: 3199
NCMEC Case Number: 1104360

Information Source(s)
Namus
NCMEC
Wikipedia: St Louis Jane Doe
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1/21/2014)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch News Archive - 3/2/93

Admin Notes
Added: 12/7/05; Last Updated: 10/27/16

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

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

www.namus.gov

NamUs #UP3199
Female, Black / African American
Date Body Found February 28, 1983
Location Found St. Louis City, Missouri
Estimated Age Range 8-11 Years



Case Information

Case Numbers
NCMEC Number 1104360
ME/C Case Number CITY-1983-0441

Demographics
Sex Female
Race / Ethnicity Black / African American
Possible First Name --
Possible Middle Name--
Possible Last Name--
Possible Nickname--
Estimated Age Group PreAdolescent
Estimated Age Range (Years) 8-11
Estimated Year of Death 1983
Estimated PMI 5 Days
Height 5' 5"(65 inches) , Estimated
Weight 70 lbs, Estimated

Circumstances
Type Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found February 28, 1983
NamUs Case Created January 29, 2009
ME/C QA Reviewed--

Location Found Map
Location St. Louis City, Missouri 63112
County St. Louis City
GPS Coordinates (Not Mapped)--
Circumstances of Recovery A young female was found in the basement of a vacant building. The unidentified female had been deceased for under a week prior to being found. Her head was not recovered. Advanced forensic testing of her bones has also suggested that the female was not originally from the St Louis area but possibly spent most of her childhood in the following states: PA, OH, MI, MN, WI, IN, and WV.

Details of Recovery
Inventory of Remains Head not recovered
Condition of Remains Not recognizable - Traumatic injuries

Physical Description
Hair Color Unknown
Head Hair Description--
Body Hair Description--
Facial Hair Description--
Left Eye Color Unknown
Right Eye Color Unknown
Eye Description--

Distinctive Physical Features
Item
Description
Finger and toe nails
Wearing two coats of red fingernail polish.

Other distinctive physical characteristic
Approximate 61 - 70 lbs and estimated to be 5'5" to 5'6" in height when alive. There were no scars, irregularities, deformities or other specific features that would give clues to her identity.


Clothing and Accessories
Item
Description
Clothing
V-Neck long sleeve yellow sweater
On the Body

• 

Have you seen this child? Jane Saint Louis Doe 1983

Missing From: St. Louis, MO. Missing Date: February 28, 1983. On February 28, 1983 a young female was found deceased in an abandoned building in St. Louis, Missouri. The female had been deceased for under a week prior to being found. Her head was not recovered. The female is estimated to be 8-11...

www.missingkids.org

• NCMEC: 1104360 - NCIC: U470002710 - NamUS: 3199

Jane Doe1983

• • Date Found
  • Feb 28, 1983
• • Location Found
  • St. Louis, MO
• • Estimated Age
  • 8-11
• • Sex
  • Female
• • Race
  • Black
• • Hair Color
  • Unknown
• • Eye Color
  • Unknown
• • Estimated Height
  • 5'5" to 5'6"
• • Estimated Weight
  • 70 to 80 lbs

On February 28, 1983 a young female was found deceased in an abandoned building in St. Louis, Missouri. The female had been deceased for under a week prior to being found. Her head was not recovered. The female is estimated to be 8-11 years old. She was tall for her age standing approximately 5?05? in height. An anthropological exam revealed that she had spina bifida occulta to her sacrum but how that manifested itself in this child is unknown. The child might not have shown any outward symptoms. The female wore red fingernail polish on both hands and was found wearing a long sleeve yellow sweater as depicted above. Advanced forensic testing of her bones has also suggested that the female was not originally from the local St. Louis area but possibly spent most of her childhood in the following states: PA, OH, MI, MN, WI, IN, and WV.

• 
• St. Louis Police Department (Missouri) 1-314-444-5822 or St. Louis City Medical Examiner?s Office 1-314-622-4971

This little girl was assaulted before her killer severed her head. No one knows her name to this day. St. Louis, MO 1983

Estimated Age: 8-11 years old Race: Black Gender: Female Height: 4'10" to 5'6" Weight: 61-70 lbs.

www.crimewatchers.net

 

[Guess Who]

I've never seen this particular Doe referred to as "Precious Doe". The only Precious Doe in Missouri that I am aware of was Erica Green.

 

[The Coffeenator]

I've never seen this particular Doe referred to as "Precious Doe". The only Precious Doe in Missouri that I am aware of was Erica Green.

She's sometimes referenced as Hope -my mistake, but I've fixed it now.

 

[Guess Who]

She's sometimes referenced as Hope -my mistake, but I've fixed it now.

 

[Guess Who]

I'm very local to the Precious Doe case. It shouldn't have taken so long for her to be identified. Her grandfather tried for a long time top convince them it was her

 

[Guess Who]

Pulaski County Jane Doe was added to the DNA Doe Project and her DNA submitted to Gedmatch. This linked spreadsheet has her, as well as others, on it. Pulaski Jane has over 7,000 DNA math he’s and her highest match is 273 cM! 273 cM is in the 1st cousin, once removed to 2nd cousin range! Her Gedmatch kit number is private, but I wish I had access to it so I could work on her tree.

Doe Upload.xlsx

Windy!!!! How are you?!!!

 

[Windstorm]

I’m good! I decided to get my Masters degree and I’ll graduate in May! THEN, I’ll have more time to be in here

How are you?

 

[Windstorm]

I just realized I posted on the wrong thread! Let me fix it!

 

[Windstorm]

I just realized I posted on the wrong thread! Let me fix it!

I can’t post on MO: Pulaski County Jane Doe. Can somebody else fix it?

 

[Kimster]

I can’t post on MO: Pulaski County Jane Doe. Can somebody else fix it?

I moved the thread for open discussion:


Thread 'PULASKI COUNTY JANE DOE: F, 25-40, found north of Dixon, MO - 25 May 1981 - "Jubel" or "Julie" on bra'
MO - PULASKI COUNTY JANE DOE: F, 25-40, found north of Dixon, MO - 25 May 1981 - "Jubel" or "Julie" on bra

 

[Windstorm]

I moved the thread for open discussion:


Thread 'PULASKI COUNTY JANE DOE: F, 25-40, found north of Dixon, MO - 25 May 1981 - "Jubel" or "Julie" on bra'
MO - PULASKI COUNTY JANE DOE: F, 25-40, found north of Dixon, MO - 25 May 1981 - "Jubel" or "Julie" on bra

Thank you!

 

[Windstorm]

It’s fixed now!

 

[FightingCrime247]

St. Louis cold case investigators still have hopes of solving 1983 ‘Little Jane Doe’ murder

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has started its own cold case unit. The unit has been operating for about a year in a half and has already closed 10 cases in that time.

fox2now.com

This is the most updated news article I could find for little Jane Doe.

 

[Mel70]

I find little hope of solving her case. No head was found. This case has always bothered me. No one reported a girl missing?. A girl goes missing and no one notices?. I get the feeling it was not a stranger. And her head was taken as a way to hinder identification. Absolutely horrifying. 1983 she would be at least 45 now.

 

[kdg411]

Little Jane Doe: Grisly 1983 St. Louis child death remains unsolved

A case that has horrified St. Louisans and stumped police detectives for decades.

fox2now.com

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Little Jane Doe: Grisly 1983 St. Louis child death remains unsolved

A case that has horrified St. Louisans and stumped police detectives for decades.

fox2now.com

It's cases like this that make me wish DNA Doe Project would take on cases of kids...
At least isotope analysis has been done. But not very specific. "Any of 10 southern states."
Her death was horrible and gruesome, probably much like her life. She deserves her name, at the very least.

"It’s believed somebody will eventually file a missing person’s case and that will set detectives on their way."
Really? After 40 years?

 

[Kimster]

There are other DNA research labs popping up here and there. Maybe one of them will take on this case.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

New lead in 40-year-old cold case of St. Louis' Little Jane Doe

A social media post has homicide detectives searching for more clues about the identity of a little girl found beheaded in 1983.

www.ksdk.com

Author: Christine Byers (KSDK)
Published: 6:40 PM CDT June 29, 2023
Updated: 10:34 PM CDT June 29, 2023

ST. LOUIS — A social media post from someone with the username “finding-jeanetta” has St. Louis homicide detectives abuzz, as they hope it could help them solve the gruesome murder of a child that’s haunted the department for 40 years.

The post appeared on Reddit about a month ago.

The author, who did not publish their name, asked for help in finding their older sister, who was 9 years old on Valentine’s Day in 1983 -- the last time the author says anyone remembers seeing her alive in Terre Haute, Indiana. The missing girl was living with her father then – who is not the author’s father – and he had ties to St. Louis.

Fourteen days later, on Feb. 28, 1983, the decapitated remains of a little girl forensic experts believe was between the ages of 8 and 12 years old were found in the basement of an abandoned building.
But whoever “finding-jeanetta” is has gone dark. Several people commented on the post, suggesting it could be connected to the unsolved St. Louis case known as Little Jane Doe.

5 On Your Side posted a comment asking the author for comment, but hasn’t heard back.

Neither have police.

Now, the police department is asking the public for help as they continue to track down this lead.

“The level of detail that is contained within this post, there seems to be a fair amount of information that could potentially fit with the information that investigators already know,” said St. Louis police Sgt. Charles Wall, who spoke on behalf of the homicide division. “We have to hold out hope that there's somebody that knows something.”

The author states they had different fathers, and their sister’s father took the older sister from her maternal grandmother’s house while their mother was in prison.

Relatives of the missing little girl told the author the last time anyone saw her was when another sister babysat her on Valentine’s Day in 1983 while her father and his new wife went on a date.

Fourteen days later, the decapitated remains of a little girl were discovered in the basement of a vacant apartment building in the 5600 block of Clemens Avenue in St. Louis.

Forensic pathologists estimated she was between the ages of 8 to 12 years old.

The author believes their missing sister was born May 15, 1973 – which would have made her 9 years old when the unidentified body was found.

Here are some of the details that stand out to police:

• The author and their older sister went to live with their maternal grandmother after their mother went to jail in 1981.
• The author lived with her missing older sister for at least two years when the missing girl’s father picked her up from her grandmother’s house just after the new year in 1983.
• When their mother got out of prison in 1986, the missing girl’s father would not let her speak or see the daughter they shared.
• St. Louis police exhumed Little Jane Doe’s remains in June 2013 for further forensic testing. Minerals in her bones indicated she likely came from six states in the middle of the country, including Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
• A possible name: Jeanetta Brooks

 

[Mel70]

New lead in 40-year-old cold case of St. Louis' Little Jane Doe

A social media post has homicide detectives searching for more clues about the identity of a little girl found beheaded in 1983.

www.ksdk.com

Author: Christine Byers (KSDK)
Published: 6:40 PM CDT June 29, 2023
Updated: 10:34 PM CDT June 29, 2023

ST. LOUIS — A social media post from someone with the username “finding-jeanetta” has St. Louis homicide detectives abuzz, as they hope it could help them solve the gruesome murder of a child that’s haunted the department for 40 years.

The post appeared on Reddit about a month ago.

The author, who did not publish their name, asked for help in finding their older sister, who was 9 years old on Valentine’s Day in 1983 -- the last time the author says anyone remembers seeing her alive in Terre Haute, Indiana. The missing girl was living with her father then – who is not the author’s father – and he had ties to St. Louis.

Fourteen days later, on Feb. 28, 1983, the decapitated remains of a little girl forensic experts believe was between the ages of 8 and 12 years old were found in the basement of an abandoned building.
But whoever “finding-jeanetta” is has gone dark. Several people commented on the post, suggesting it could be connected to the unsolved St. Louis case known as Little Jane Doe.

5 On Your Side posted a comment asking the author for comment, but hasn’t heard back.

Neither have police.

Now, the police department is asking the public for help as they continue to track down this lead.

“The level of detail that is contained within this post, there seems to be a fair amount of information that could potentially fit with the information that investigators already know,” said St. Louis police Sgt. Charles Wall, who spoke on behalf of the homicide division. “We have to hold out hope that there's somebody that knows something.”

The author states they had different fathers, and their sister’s father took the older sister from her maternal grandmother’s house while their mother was in prison.

Relatives of the missing little girl told the author the last time anyone saw her was when another sister babysat her on Valentine’s Day in 1983 while her father and his new wife went on a date.

Fourteen days later, the decapitated remains of a little girl were discovered in the basement of a vacant apartment building in the 5600 block of Clemens Avenue in St. Louis.

Forensic pathologists estimated she was between the ages of 8 to 12 years old.

The author believes their missing sister was born May 15, 1973 – which would have made her 9 years old when the unidentified body was found.

Here are some of the details that stand out to police:

• The author and their older sister went to live with their maternal grandmother after their mother went to jail in 1981.
• The author lived with her missing older sister for at least two years when the missing girl’s father picked her up from her grandmother’s house just after the new year in 1983.
• When their mother got out of prison in 1986, the missing girl’s father would not let her speak or see the daughter they shared.
• St. Louis police exhumed Little Jane Doe’s remains in June 2013 for further forensic testing. Minerals in her bones indicated she likely came from six states in the middle of the country, including Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
• A possible name: Jeanetta Brooks

Oh wow! I just watched a documentary released 2022 on "Zumo" "Precious Jane Doe". It was really disappointing. No new information. The building is gone. The documentary was not professionally done. It was very poorly made. It has always made me wonder if it was someone she knew. Due to the grisly fact she was decapitated, And they never found her head. That's sends shivers down me. But also puzzled me that there was never any idea who this girl was. No missing report?. No one looking for her?. No one seeing this child and all of a sudden she wasn't around anymore. LE checked the area, And there were no children missing from area schools fitting her description. So this new information she was possibly this girl from Indiana would make sense. And the father was responsible. Which is beyond understanding. The mother getting out of prison in 1986 and being denied by the father to talk to her daughter, Did she file a missing report?. I'm not judging her.

 

[Mel70]

And in a detail about the sweater. The tag was cut out. It had been stated 8-12 age range. But after autopsy, Stated closer to 8. She was discovered by 2 men about 19 years old looking for old pipe to fix a car. The building was abandoned. She was there about 3 days. Mold had started to grow on her and she started to have skin slippage. That makes my stomach turn. I hope it is this girl. Being 9 in 1983. She would be close to 50 now. She's been denied her name and justice long enough.