Howard County police have identified the Jane Doe victim from the department’s oldest cold case homicide and reunited two of her surviving adult children who were previously unaware of what had happened to their mother.
VIDEO: NEWS CONFERENCE TO ANNOUNCE IDENTIFICATION OF JANE DOE
In July 1971, a woman was found unconscious in a Woodstock field after an apparent assault. She was transported to the hospital where she died from her injuries on Sept. 7, 1971. For 54 years, her identity remained unknown and the homicide investigation went cold.
Now, thanks to advances in DNA profiling and the HCPD cold case unit’s exhaustive research, police have identified her as Sadie Belle Murray, born Sept. 7, 1924, in Pennsylvania, who at the time of her death went by Sarah Belle Sharkey.
“The work done by our cold case unit to solve a mystery of more than 50 years, and then bring siblings back together after 70 years apart, is nothing short of extraordinary,” Police Chief Gregory Der said. “Our department will use every tool available to help close cases. In this instance, a combination of advanced technology and dedicated police work provided answers that had eluded a family for decades.”
Using genealogy technology, cold case investigators also identified her two surviving adult children as Charles Leroy Sharkey, 79, of Cleveland, and Mildred Marie Cantwell (Sharkey), 81, of Springfield, Ill. They reunited in July 2025 when cold case detectives notified them.
“Today marks the culmination of our efforts and our persistence in public safety. Since taking office, we’ve made solving cold cases in Howard County a priority because justice delayed doesn’t need to mean justice denied,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said. “Together with Chief Der and our law enforcement leadership, we’ve taken decisive steps to ensure that every unsolved homicide is treated with the urgency and care it deserves. Their work reminds us that justice has no expiration date.”
In October 2024, HCPD submitted histology slides from the case for advanced forensic analysis by a private company. This resulted in a DNA profile from the samples, and HCPD investigators worked with the company’s forensic genetic genealogy team to build out a family tree.
That led investigators to Charles, who was originally thought to be a distant cousin. But his DNA was a direct familial match, and he was determined to be Sharkey’s son. HCPD detectives then located his sister Mildred.
“It’s actually great and it’s something that I thought would have never happened,” Charles Sharkey said. “I thought I’d never connect again with my family. I tried there for a while, even traveling to Pennsylvania where we were born and Cleveland where we were adopted. I got nowhere. There was nothing.”
“Learning about my mother was closure for me,” Mildred Cantwell said. “I always wondered…and I am glad to have that closure. Being reunited with my brother is awesome. He’s the only thing in that family that I remember. The closure is worth everything because I always wondered what happened to her.”
The investigation into Sarah Sharkey’s homicide remains open. Detectives believe she was last living in Pennsylvania but it is unknown why she was in Howard County and who she may have been with at the time.
HCPD’s cold case unit has had great success in recent years, closing three cases since 2021. Prior to 2021, the last cold case closed by the department was in 2012 with the arrest of Robert Jarrett for killing his wife Christine in Elkridge in 1991.
• In April 2025, HCPD arrested and charged Edward Robinson, 31, of Columbia, in the July 2020 shooting in Columbia that killed Rabiah Ahmad and forced the delivery of her baby girl Ahja, who died five days later.
• In March 2025, HCPD closed the 1975 homicide of Roseann Sturtz. Charles William Davis Jr., who has been incarcerated in the Jessup Correctional Institution since 1978, confessed to her murder but could not be charged as he was given full immunity to discuss the case in 1981.
• In May 2021, HCPD closed the 1982 homicide of Laney Lee McGadney by charging Howard Bradberry Jr., then 62, with her murder. Bradberry Jr. pled guilty in 2022.
All open cold cases are listed on the HCPD website. Anyone with information on any of the cases is eligible for a reward of up to $30,000 and should contact police at 410-313-STOP or
HCPDCrimeTips@howardcountymd.gov.
www.howardcountymd.gov
www.crimewatchers.net
