28 year old cold case gets new look

**Valasca** · May 3rd, 2012, 07:17 PM

MADISON (NEWS RELEASE) — Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has announced that the Vernon County Sheriff's Department is working with the Department of Justice (DOJ), Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Cold Case Unit to identify "Jane Doe" and bring her killer to justice. "Jane Doe" was found murdered off of Old Line Road in Vernon County 28 years ago.

Throughout the decades, more than 400 leads about missing women have been investigated in hopes of identifying "Jane Doe," and the case has been widely circulated among law enforcement but has remained unsolved. Retired Chief Deputy Sheriff Jim Hanson, who was a patrol deputy at the time, responded to the scene late in the evening May 4, 1984. Today, under the direction of Sheriff John Spears, the now-retired Hanson is actively working the cold case for Vernon County.

Sheriff John Spears said, "We hope that finding the true identity of Jane Doe by using the forensic sciences of today -- that were not developed in 1984 -- may lead to her killer. She was a living, breathing person, likely someone's daughter, neighbor, or customer with her own identity and life story, whose life was left at a roadside following a brutal murder."

"Many investigators have worked tirelessly to find justice for this woman throughout the years. This renewed effort should serve as a reminder to anyone looking to do harm that it's our duty to pursue justice, no matter how long it takes," Attorney General Van Hollen said. "With technology that's ever evolving, we've made great strides in cold case investigations and hope to do the same in cooperation with our partners in Vernon County."

The Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Children and Adults produced a flier, which has a rendering of "Jane Doe," photos of the clothes she was wearing and a description of a suspicious vehicle seen in the area. The flier is available at the following link:

http://www.doj.state.wi.us/news/file...ied-poster.pdf

Anyone with information should contact the Vernon County Sheriff's Department at 608-637-2123. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension also is assisting Wisconsin investigators with this case. Media seeking more information should contact Dana Brueck at 608-266-1221.

http://www.wxow.com/story/18103491/2...-gets-new-look
I don't know how to do spoiler, so I won't attach picture.
It's probably an easy button, but my page isn;t loaded fully.

**VAS1326** · May 4th, 2012, 01:00 AM

Originally Posted by Valasca

http://www.wxow.com/story/18103491/2...-gets-new-look
I don't know how to do spoiler, so I won't attach picture.
It's probably an easy button, but my page isn;t loaded fully.

She looks like my granny. However; I can assure you she is not since my grandmother passed in 2001. Makes me wonder though if she was kin. Though I don't know much about that side of the family cause most of the past was one big cover up after cover up. Judging by her age at the time I can at least say she wasn't one of my grandma's children that keep popping up (so far since my grandmother passed 5 have shown up. 4 from a previous marriage that nobody knew about and 1 that was kidnapped in the Tennessee baby ring)

**TKaz** · May 4th, 2012, 01:19 AM

Originally Posted by VAS1326

Judging by her age at the time I can at least say she wasn't one of my grandma's children that keep popping up (so far since my grandmother passed 5 have shown up. 4 from a previous marriage that nobody knew about and 1 that was kidnapped in the Tennessee baby ring)

Wow, that is seriously the most interesting tale I've ever heard! Your granny must have led a very interesting (though, sad?) life! Was she open about her life (not counting the secret merriage)?
My grandma had my mom at 20 so there wasn't much time for another life, but I can tell you my jaw would drop if I heard anything scandalous about my Gran!!
My grandma told my mom that she & my grandpa had a healthy sex life...LALALALALALALA! I didn't want to hear thaaaaaaat! Sometimes secrets are ok. :)

**VAS1326** · May 4th, 2012, 01:49 AM

Originally Posted by TKaz

Wow, that is seriously the most interesting tale I've ever heard! Your granny must have led a very interesting (though, sad?) life! Was she open about her life (not counting the secret merriage)?
My grandma had my mom at 20 so there wasn't much time for another life, but I can tell you my jaw would drop if I heard anything scandalous about my Gran!!
My grandma told my mom that she & my grandpa had a healthy sex life...LALALALALALALA! I didn't want to hear thaaaaaaat! Sometimes secrets are ok. :)

No my grandmother was very secrative to the point she didn't want to give the older kids their birth certificates. As far as they knew my grandfather had 2 kids from a previous marriage (whom they grew up knowing) and my grandmother only had the 8 of them with my grandfather. My grandparents did not get married until my grandpa was on his death bed (for benefits sake) I'm guessing because my grandmother never got a divorce in Tennessee. The reason she did not want the birth certificates seen was because at least on my oldest uncle's and my father's (he was 2nd) had a still born listed as a previous pregnancy. She would never comment on it. I believe her mother knew about her marriage in TN. She came to MI to stay with her mother after that baby was born and that's where she met my grandfather. She said he was the only man she trully ever loved (He died in 1969 when my dad was 12 and she remarried shortly after out of neccessity)

Apparently that still born is very much alive. He was born after she was exiled from her husband's family in Tennesee (where she grew up) He came around a few years ago after the court records (or lawyers records something like that) were made available to the children who were adopted out. Apparently back in the early 1950's at a hospital in TN they would tell the mother the babies were stillborn and sell them to a person in California who would broker the adoptions for money. Back then you just accepted it as part of life and didn't ask to see the baby. So low and behold she thought he was dead until the day she died. He came looking for her a few years back. He ended up finding my aunt through death records for my grandma.

The kids in TN were basically abandoned by her. Nobody knows for sure why. My grandma was raised by family members. Mostly her grandparents and an aunt. When she was old enough her mother was in the picture and more or less taught her how to roll sailors passing through for money....which they would do together. Nice huh. Well when her first husband took a liking to her the family more or less gave her no choice but to marry him because he had a lot of money. Her mother in law never liked her and never felt she was good enough for her son. It is believed the mother in law sent her away. The husband had no idea until later but by then she was in MI. He wrote her a ton of letters which nobody found until her mother passed away. Apparently they were sent to her house and she hid them from my grandmother. He begged her to come back and apologized for what his mother had done. She didn't get them for almost 20 years. Even then she hid the letters and nobody knew about those until after my grandma passed.

Anyways; my dad's cousin was doing a family tree (very in depth) and she found my grandmother's 4 children from that marriage. All of them in TN had no idea where my grandma was. The cousin was able to find my aunt also by the info on the death certificate. Come to find out the oldest child had committed suicide years before. From what the siblings say he had a lot of issues stemming from his abandonment by his mother. The youngest sister my dad met before she passed away a few years ago. She was a baby when my grandmother left. The other siblings don't really want anything to do with the family up here.

So my grandma's life is very sketchy at best. So many unanswered questions like the real reason she came to MI since nobody knows for sure. How long did she stay in TN after her MIL forced her out and who in the Heck is the boy's father that was born in between? Somethings we will never know.

**TKaz** · May 4th, 2012, 12:22 PM

Wow....that was like a Hollywood movie. I was roped in & I was so SAD as I was reading it! Have you seen The Hours? It's somewhat tedious but it's tragic & several stories tie in together (writer, book reader, book readers son & good friend). Your grandma's story was tragic. Did her first three children get any closure I wonder?

The 50's were a idealistic time. But wow, so many closed doors & hushed words.

Our biggest "scandal" was my grandma's cousin G was raised by a man she thought was her father, she thought her sister S was her full blood. The sister S is still alive & to this day I don't know if anyone told S or her daughter(my friend on FB!).

**VAS1326** · May 4th, 2012, 02:24 PM

Originally Posted by TKaz

Wow....that was like a Hollywood movie. I was roped in & I was so SAD as I was reading it! Have you seen The Hours? It's somewhat tedious but it's tragic & several stories tie in together (writer, book reader, book readers son & good friend). Your grandma's story was tragic. Did her first three children get any closure I wonder?

The 50's were a idealistic time. But wow, so many closed doors & hushed words.

Our biggest "scandal" was my grandma's cousin G was raised by a man she thought was her father, she thought her sister S was her full blood. The sister S is still alive & to this day I don't know if anyone told S or her daughter(my friend on FB!).

There is probably more you don't know about. Both sides of my family have deeply tragic and moving stories. It's just people didn't talk about those things back then. My maternal grandparents also have very intersting stories. I mean going back to the 1910's/1920's. Just bizarre how people kept stuff so hush hush. But that's how it was back then. I bet if you dig far enough you would find more skeletons in the closet of your family tree.

The 50's were an ideal time. I think that's why my grandma didn't talk about it. Nobody talked about the things that happened behind closed door and nobody wanted to let the skeltons out of the closet. Even years later she never told a soul about those kids. I don't know if my grandfather knew but I have a feeling he did. She took that to her grave and I assume it is out of shame. I think her mother and my grandfather were the only one's who knew about her life in Tennessee and they kept that to themselves. My grandma's life had been hard from birth. I feel sad for my grandmother too. She lived a hard life full of people making decisions for her. Her own mother obviously had tried to sabotage her life at times (I think it's because her mother was a miserable person who wanted to drag her down too)

I don't know if the other kids got closure. I think the youngest did before she passed. The other two like I said didn't want much to do with the kids up here. I'm guessing a lot of hurt feelings considering they were the family she "chose" to raise. Considering according to them their father had always loved and pined for her (he never remarried) I can see why they would feel a ton of resentment for the mother who left and started a "new" life with "new" children. I don't know if they understand that in the 1950's it wasn't as easy to take 4 small kids with you when you are kicked out with nothing. His family had the money and his mother was a wretched bitch who wasn't going to let my grandma take those kids. What was she suppose to do? She was poor.

I think that's why my grandmother married the first available man who would take on 8 kids after my grandfather died. She didn't want to lose any more if she could help it. My grandfather's uncle's offerred to take some of the kids but that would have split them up and she was not having it. I think it's because of the 4 she felt she had no choice but to leave. She wasn't going to do it again and if that meant marrying a man she didn't love so be it. My grandfather's family never forgave her for marrying so soon (I believe between 6-9months after his death) after he passed. She did what she had too. He told her on his death bed not to split the kids up. So she didn't. They were dirt poor after my grandpa passed. My dad said it was so cold all the time because she couldn't afford enough coal. Food was rationed and scarce. The shitty thing is the hospital was responsible for his death and my grandma won a settlement. My dad's adult sisters (my grandfather's kids from his first marriage) fought her in court for part of the money and by the time it was all said and done with lawyer fee's and court cost there was nothing left. Money she needed for those 8 kids gone because of family arguements.

So yeah I envy her strength in some ways but also feel sad for her. I would love to have had the chance to pick her brain. My grandma was a intutive pyschic as well which also labeled her as an outcast which is why she hid that as well and only the family knew about it. She didn't want any more stigma. After her 3rd husband died she pretty much gave up on life. She had no one else to ake care of with all her kids grown. It was slow decline from there (and one bizarre suicide attempt where she tried to drive her camero into a lake, however; police had stopped her before she made it)

I should so write a book about her life lol.

I have never seen the Hours but I'll have to check it out.

**TKaz** · May 4th, 2012, 04:36 PM

The funny thing about my family though is they were all gossips - everyone talked...behind everyone's BACK! My uncle gave his son up for adoption, I knew this because my g-ma told me. No one talked about it around my uncle. Fast forward to 6th grade, my best friend's AUNT is the woman he had the baby with! I never told my best friend that somewhere out there we shared a cousin. But see....secrets are "adopted" so to speak. I was 11 & knew not to say anything!!

I fully thing a book on your grandma's life is in order. Change names if you have to but sometimes the tragic stories are the most read. Starting with sad thoughts while parked in a camaro near a bank of a lake...and the story unfolds. Even if it was a tale without the same names or towns, maybe your grandma's story should be told. Just for the sake that it was her right to do so but she didn't feel she could.

Thank you for sharing. :)

**VAS1326** · May 6th, 2012, 02:25 AM

I wonder if I just made up a book loosely based on 4 friends who represent women in my life. There are more than just my grandma with fascinating stories to tell. Shit my own true story almost seems to unreal to be true and I'm not even half way done with life yet lol. Each person I would write about have very tragic events that happened in their lives all during different decades. I think it would almost be a cool If these walls could talk type thing. I don't even think they make that show anymore. I wouldn't know since I dropped premium cable. I think the birth of an idea may have just started. I think if I ever wrote my own story I would use actual myspace blogs in it because I have been told I captured some memories really well there. Raw emotion type stuff after Chris died.

Anyways; you think telling your friend sharing a cousin is odd? I have a good friend named Niki. She married Rich. Years ago Chris and I would hang out with them pretty regularly. Well we all knew my SIL was adopted by my FIL and was not biologically his. A few days after Chris's funeral Niki came up to the hotel for drinks (my mom stayed with the kids) and she asked me point blank "Do you know S's father's name?" I was like no I never ask and she never mentioned it. She then tells me that when they told his family they were going to the funeral (which his death was all over the papers here and the news) her step mother asked if he had a sister S with the same last name. Niki was like I think so. Then she says oh that girl came her years ago looking for SL who is Rich's father. I'm like what???? OMG weird.

So the next day I delicately asked my SIL "What is your biological father's name" Then she told me and it was in deed Rich's father. I was like okay well I'm not trying to freak you out but that's Niki's FIL. She was like well then that explains why her husband was starring at me on Friday. So from there I basically put them in touch with each other and about a year later they took a DNA test and they are in fact half siblings.

Rich and Chris hung out a lot of times and never knew they shared a sister. Nobody knew until after Chris passed. Her bio father still has nothing to do with her and his family has been pretty pissed at Rich for having a relationship with her which I think sucks.