40 Years Later: Who is Tuscaloosa County Jane Doe?

Forty years ago, the body of an unidentified female murder victim was located around Slaughter Creek in the town of Romulus, Alabama. The woman had been sexually assaulted, beaten, strangled and left partially submerged in the water of the Black Warrior River. When fishermen discovered her body on April 18, 1982, she’d reportedly only been in the water for about a day. Even though her body was discovered relatively shortly following her murder, her case remains unsolved — and very little information even exists about it. So who was this woman — and who killed her?

The discovery of the unidentified woman now known as the Tuscaloosa County Jane Doe happened exactly 40-years-ago today. On this 40th anniversary of this cold case, there are obviously no new updates to share. In fact, it seems as though her case has simply been filed away and forgotten about — but this was a young woman who was murdered in a truly tragic way, and she deserves to have justice. She deserves to have a name put to her remains. Will her day come soon, or will another 40 or more years pass before this case gets new life breathed into it?

According to what is known about this case, Tuscaloosa Jane Doe may have been fishing at the spot where her body was ultimately found, before she was sexually assaulted and murdered. She appeared to be between the ages of 34 and 38-years-old, and was apparently caucasian. She had a ruddy complexion indicative of spending a lot of time outdoors, and had shoulder-length, brown hair. She also had brown eyes. When her body was found 40-years-ago in Alabama, she was wearing knit blue pants, white undergarments and had a “visible scar” under her right eyebrow. She also reportedly wore an upper partial denture and was missing some teeth. A postmortem investigation revealed that the unidentified woman had given birth to at least one child in her life. Her case went cold very soon after her body was discovered, due to a lack of evidence or any leads on which to investigate. However, in 2013, she was exhumed so DNA could be extracted for testing. No new updates have come up regarding this DNA testing — and that’s a shame since genetic testing and forensic genealogy have solved a handful of very old cold cases in recent years.

A profile for Tuscaloosa Jane Doe exists on the NAMUS database, which contains photos of her from the time that she was discovered. This profile states that detectives believe that the unidentified murder victim isn’t from the area where her body was located. This implied that Tuscaloosa Jane Doe could have come from either anywhere else in the state of Alabama, or perhaps from a different state entirely. According to the NAMUS database, four women were missing in early 1982 with similar identifying features as our Tuscaloosa Jane Doe. One of those women was named Cynthia Allegro, who vanished from Missouri in 1982. The 31-year-old woman (pictured right) shares some similarities with Tuscaloosa Jane Doe.

Another missing woman who shares similarities with this unidentified murder victim was named Florence Ann Coker. Coker disappeared in July 1981 — nearly a year prior to the discovery of Tuscaloosa County Jane Doe. The 32-year-old woman was last seen in Crystal River, Florida and foul play has long been suspected in her case. According to The Charley Project, Coker’s husband was the last person to see her and he’s also the one who discovered her abandoned vehicle shortly following her disappearance. Nonetheless, no evidence has ever existed to make him a person of interest or suspect in her case. Her husband said at the time of her disappearance that she had a drinking problem, and that this may have played a role in her case. However, her family believes she would never have disappeared voluntarily — and the fact that her car was found abandoned with all of her belongings inside of it implies that she was the victim of a crime. Photos of Florence Ann Coker exist on the NAMUS database, as well as on the Charley Project page about her case. The photos of Coker show a woman who does indeed share similar features with Tuscaloosa County Jane Doe. Furthermore, the NAMUS profile on Coker’s case declares that the missing woman had a crescent shaped scar under her left eyebrow. While this is the opposite eyebrow as our Jane Doe, could it be a possible error?

Another woman by the name of Kathryn Elizabeth Collins disappeared approximately a year before the discovery of Tuscaloosa Jane Doe’s body. Collins, who was last seen in Texas, shares some similar physical features to the unidentified Alabama homicide victim. Brown hair, brown eyes — and identifying scars on her body. Collins, like Tuscaloosa Jane Doe, was a mother.

It’s likely that authorities have tested the DNA of Tuscaloosa Jane Doe to compare with many of these missing women whose cases also remain unsolved. But how are we to know? The NAMUS profile for this Jane Doe doesn’t list any relevant information to indicate whether or not any of these missing women have been compared to her case.

Possible serial killer victim?

The 1970s and 1980s were a peak season for serial killings. In fact, the state of Alabama was setting to a serial killer power couple who went on a killing spree in the very same year that Tuscaloosa County Jane Doe’s body was found. Judith Neelley and her husband Alvin (pictured left) assaulted and murdered young women throughout the South, including the state of Alabama. Could our Tuscaloosa County Jane Doe be a potential unidentified victim of the serial killing couple?

There were numerous other serial killers active in the United States during the time that Tuscaloosa County Jane Doe’s body was found. Could any of them be responsible for her sexual assault and murder?