Authorities to release new developments in 1993 southern Illinois unsolved murder
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office say they will be releasing new developments upon re-analyzing DNA from a 1993 murder case.
Police used new technology anthropological re-analysis and DNA extraction to hopefully identify the unknown woman named “Ina Jane Doe.”
While details are not yet available, the sheriff’s office and Redgrave Research Forensic Services said they will announce recent developments in the case at 9 a.m. Friday at the Jefferson County Illinois Courthouse, according to a Thursday news release.
The Southern will attend and report on any developments.
The presumed white female’s decapitated head was found on Jan. 27, 1993 on the side of a wooded roadway within Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park, police said in a past news release.
The sheriff’s office has investigated Ina Jane Doe’s cases for nearly three decades and has still been unable to identify her.
Thanks to new technology that was not available three decades ago, police are able to use new identification techniques.
Avenues pursued include anthropological re-analysis from University of New Hampshire assistant professor Dr. Amy Michael, DNA extraction and sequencing by Astrea Labs and forensic genetic genealogy by Redgrave Research Forensic Services, police said.
New forensic art has also been prepared by sketch artist Carl Koppelman to reflect updated findings.
One image is without eye makeup and the other is with eye makeup, police said.
The news release posted on Facebook garnered hundreds of comments with people comparing the new forensic images with images of other missing persons; however, so far, no identifications have been proven, according to an earlier news release.
The head of the victim was originally found by two girls — ages 10 and 12 — who were running through the park, according to an Associated Press newspaper clipping obtained by The Southern from January 1993.
The head was dumped on a peninsula that extends into Rend Lake, the story read.
The victim was estimated to be 30-to-50 years old at the time of her death, and she had likely died two to three days prior to discovery, police said.
The police described her as having long reddish hair and a pin-shaped mole in her left ear.
She’d had extensive dental work, including a silverpoint filling, and she had possibly worn braces at some point, police said.
The victim also had skeletal asymmetry that, in life, may have been visible in her facial features.
Additionally, she may have experienced issues with her neck, police said.
Anyone with information about this female’s identification or this investigation can contact Detective Captain Bobby Wallace at the Sheriff’s Office (618)244-8004 or Crimestoppers at (618)242-TIPS (8477).