Snohomish County Jane Doe

[Starless]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...anedoe01m.html

Snohomish sheriff's office releases new sketch of unidentified 1977 murder victim

By Seattle Times staff





SNOHOMISH COUNTY SHERIFF

Snohomish County sheriff's deputies today released a new sketch of a 1977 murder victim whose remains haven't been identified.



Snohomish County sheriff's deputies today released a new sketch of a 1977 murder victim whose remains haven't been identified.
Last month, deputies exhumed the woman's remains with the hope that new forensic technology will finally help identify her.
Cold-case detectives, a forensic anthropologist and the now-retired detective who was once assigned to the case composed the new sketch of the victim. The sketch reflects what the woman looked like before she was found near Paine Field in summer 1977, said sheriff's spokeswoman Rebecca Hover.
The anthropologist who has examined the bones has determined that the victim was likely 15 to 21 years old — much younger than case detectives initially believed, Hover said.
Until now, investigators have known only that the woman was tall, had a tan and had healthy teeth. She weighed about 155 pounds, had short, light-brown hair and was dressed in cutoff jeans, a striped tank top and blue-and-white tennis shoes, Hover said.

Blackberry pickers found the woman's remains about five days after David Roth strangled her with an elastic cord and shot her with a .22-caliber rifle. Roth had picked up the woman when she was hitchhiking and killed her when she refused to have sex with him, according to court files.
Roth was convicted of first-degree murder in 1979 and has since been released. He didn't know her name, Hover said.
People with information are asked to call the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office tip line at 425-388-3845.

[Starless]

[bettybrown1623]

When in 1977 did they find girl or determined death date?
Betty

[Starless]

When in 1977 did they find girl or determined death date?
Betty

I don't know, that info hasn't been made available yet apparently, and she isn't listed. Lots popping up lately.

[Starless]

Maybe August 1977:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/...ml?source=mypi

Do you know this woman's name?

Police trying to ID '77 murder victim

By SCOTT GUTIERREZ
P-I REPORTER
Unlike most cold cases involving unidentified victims, Snohomish County sheriff's detectives actually know who killed the young woman whose remains were found about 30 years ago in blackberry brush south of Everett.
The evidence pointed to David M. Roth, then 20, who was convicted of first-degree murder in 1979 and sentenced to prison. Despite Roth's confession to a detective, he swore he never knew the name of the hitchhiker he picked up, then strangled and shot several times after she refused to have sex with him one day in August 1977.
The girl's identity still eludes sheriff's investigators, who Thursday released a new composite sketch of "Jane Doe." They hope someone will recognize their murder victim -- maybe a family member who reported her missing. And they hope to bring both cases some closure.
"In essence, he took her life and he took her identity away from her because she's been a 'Jane Doe' now for 30 years -- that's probably twice as long as she was known by her real name," said Detective Jim Scharf, who, along with his partner, has 62 unsolved homicides and missing-person cases. Some date back to the 1960s.
Investigators think they might have a better estimate now of the girl's age and have more accurately depicted how she might have looked as she was thumbing for cars along the Bothell-Everett Highway on the day she was killed.
In 1992, Detective John Hinds produced a plaster reconstruction of the face of the victim, then thought to be in her 20s or 30s. It was shown to the media but never produced solid leads.
"We had someone in Canada wondering if it was someone who was 50 years old. That's why we wanted to get the forensic artist to do a new likeness of her," Scharf said.
Last month, in hopes of reviving the investigation, cold-case detectives working with the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office exhumed the woman's remains from an unmarked grave at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Everett to extract DNA samples to enter into a nationwide database.
The remains were examined by King County forensic anthropologist Kathy Taylor, who concluded the victim was probably between 15 and 21, and likely 16 to 19. That is younger than the initial estimate of 17 to 37.
Hinds, an FBI-trained forensic artist who has since retired, created a new forensic sketch of the girl's face, based on photographs of the plaster reconstruction and new estimates of her age.
Roth was paroled in May 2005 after serving 25 years in prison under the state's former sentencing laws. He now lives in Everett and has cooperated with detectives, even pointing out that they initially had picked the wrong hairstyle for the composite sketch, Scharf said.
But he never knew her name and only recalled her talking about living with a couple of guys and that she had hitchhiked in the Midwest, Scharf said.
Roth had picked up the girl near Silver Lake, where he had been swimming. They got some beer and drove to the woods south of Everett, near Mariner High School.
Blackberry pickers found her body Aug. 14, 1977. Two beer cans were found nearby.
Within days, Roth's friend reported to police that Roth had talked about the murder and wanted help moving the body. Police later matched the fatal bullets to a rifle and ammunition in Roth's vehicle.
Roth, who was living in Lynnwood, temporarily fled the state. He was arrested in January 1979 after police found him in Port Orchard, Scharf said.
The girl was white, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and 155 pounds. She had short, light brown or brown hair, which was her natural color. She appeared to have a suntan and was wearing a tank top with pastel stripes, cut-off jeans and blue and white tennis shoes. She may have been from out of state.
She wore a Timex watch with a brown leather band on her left wrist and had dental restorations on her two front teeth, according to Sheriff's Office reports.
Anyone who might recognize the sketch or who reported missing girls in the late 1970s is asked to call the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office tip line at 425-388-3845.
Sheriff's investigators ask that anyone who reported a missing girl provide the girl's first name, middle initial, last name and birth date, so that authorities can ensure that the information is present in state and national databases, Snohomish County sheriff's spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.

[Starless]

http://heraldnet.com/article/2008042...3056/-1/news01

Unidentified 1977 murder victim's body exhumed
By Jim Haley
Herald Writer
Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives have exhumed the body of a woman who was murdered in 1977 but has never been identified.

The remains of the “Jane Doe” murder victim, who was buried in Everett, were dug up April 1 in hopes of using modern technology to identify her, according to court documents filed Thursday in Snohomish County Superior Court.

Detectives obtained a court order authorizing exhumation on March 30, documents say.

David M. Roth was convicted in the woman's murder and has served his sentence. Detectives recently contacted Roth to verify that he has no idea of her identity.

David Roth is the brother of Randy Roth, who was convicted in the early 1990s of drowning his wife -- a case that attracted international attention.

Officers in 1992 tried to reconstruct the face of David Roth's victim using sculpting techniques and clay. Photos of the sculpture were widely distributed, but nobody came forward to identify her.

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said the 1992 sculpture may make the woman look much older than she really was, and a sheriff’s artist will put together a new version of her likeness

[TexasKowgirl]

http://doenetwork.org/cases/516ufwa.html

• The victim was discovered on August 14, 1977 in Everett, Snohomish County, Washington
• Estimated Date of Death: 5 days prior
• Cause of Death: Gunshot wound to the head.

Vital Statistics

• Estimated age: 15-22 years old
• Approximate Height and Weight: 5'10"; 155 lbs.
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Short light brown hair, with no color treatment. No unusual scars or tattoos. Appeared to have a suntan.
• Clothing: A tank top with pastel stripes, cut off jeans and blue and white tennis shoes. She had no purse or identifying papers in her pockets.
• Jewelry: A Timex watch with a brown leather band on her left wrist.
• Fingerprints: Available.
• Dentals: Available. Her teeth were in good condition, upper two front teeth had dental restorations.
  
  
  Clothing and watch

Case History
Blackberry pickers searching through woods near Paine Field found the woman's partially decomposed body August 14, 1977, in the woods a half-block off Emander Road in Everett.
Investigators speculated she might have grown up on the East Coast, where the mineral balance in water could have kept her teeth so white.
As the body was discovered, 22-year-old David Marvin Roth was picked up by Gold Bar police on a weapons charge. An informant told police Roth had described picking up a hitchhiker days before and drinking beer with her. She told him she lived with two men. They went into the woods. She resisted his advances, and he strangled her with an elastic cord and shot her in the head seven times.
Police matched slugs found in the woman's head to Roth's .22-caliber rifle. He was convicted in 1979 and sentenced to life in prison. He did not know the victim's name.

[Starless]

That's a weird shirt. How do ya stay in it ?? hmmm. The complexities of 70s clothing.

[Sherlock07]

5' 10" is pretty tall, that ought to narrow it down if she was reported missing. Yvonne Reglar was 5' 10" and disappeared a few days earlier from Ohio.....is it possible Roth is lying about her being a hitchhiker and she was actually abducted? I guess if he had weapons he could subdue someone from Ohio to Washington.....

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2475dfoh.html

[TexasKowgirl]

5' 10" is pretty tall, that ought to narrow it down if she was reported missing. Yvonne Reglar was 5' 10" and disappeared a few days earlier from Ohio.....is it possible Roth is lying about her being a hitchhiker and she was actually abducted? I guess if he had weapons he could subdue someone from Ohio to Washington.....

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2475dfoh.html

I had her as my #1 match,but having probs with timeline. Does estimated death is Aug 9 and I believe Yvonne went missing on Aug 8. It does sound like she was an abduction and the height and both wearing cut-offs is of note. Just don't know if she could get from OH to a location in WA in so little time (day or two).