Murder Still Unsolved 30 Years Later

By Laurel Sexton-Juenger

The slight  granite tombstone sits alone and isolated from the family of other stones in the St. Jerome Catholic Cemetery  on Troy O’Fallon Road; just a few yards away from  a field of beans. It was the same type of bean field, and just  down the  same Troy- O’Fallon Road  that 30 years ago this past Monday, on July 20 1990, that the mutilated body of a young woman was found dumped and left to decompose in the sweltering midwest July sun.

The name on the polished grey stone is JANE DOE as the body was never identified and the murder never solved. The white female was, 25 to 40 years old, 5’4” to 5’6” and weighed 120 to 130 pounds.The victim  was stabbed and cut about the neck and torso which was believed to be her cause of death. Authorities  estimated at the time that the body was  left two or three days prior to  the discovery 1/10th of a mile west of Troy O’Fallon Road and 40 feet north of Lebanon Road.  The only  article  found  with the body that  is mentioned in published reports is a heart shaped turquoise ring.

Illinois State Police Website encourages anyone with information regarding the identification of the unidentified victim is urged to contact Madison County Sheriff’s Department at 618/692-0871 or call Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS(8477)

One wonders in this age of DNA identification if this nameless victim can one day be identified.