TX PLAINVIEW JANE DOE: WF, 15-25, found decapitated on dirt road near Plainview, TX - 16 Feb 1982 *DEBRA MACKEY*

On February 16, 1982 the badly decomposed headless and nude body of a small, young White/Caucasian female was found on a dirt road in the desert outside Plainview, Hale County, Texas. The woman, found with her hands tied behind her back, was in her late teens to early twenties. Several days later, a human skull was found in the area and, having thought to be that of the woman, was buried with her in a Plainview cemetery. Subsequently, following exhumation of the body in 2015, the original determination by Pathologist Erdmann of Childress that the skull belonged to the woman was discredited.

DNA Doe Project Status: Research in progress

Plainview Jane Doe 1982 - DNA Doe Project

Follow the DNA Doe Project case from Plainview, Texas. This case is currently in progress as our team of volunteers work the data.

dnadoeproject.org

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Estimated Age Group: Adult - Pre 40
Height: 4' 9"-5' 2"(57-62 inches) , Estimated
Weight: 95-105 lbs, Estimated
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Traumatic injuries

On February 16, 1982, the headless body of #JaneDoe was found with her hands bound in Plainview, #TEXAS and is still UNIDENTIFIED!

Estimated Age Group: Adult - Pre 40 Height: 4' 9"-5' 2"(57-62 inches) , Estimated Weight: 95-105 lbs, Estimated Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Traumatic injuries

www.crimewatchers.net

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[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Texas Rangers Reopen “Jane Doe” Cold Case in Plainview

Investigators with the Texas Rangers have reopened a Hale County cold case murder. Back in 1982, authorities found a young woman, decapitated outside Plainview, but were never able to identify the …

www.myhighplains.com

Texas Rangers Reopen “Jane Doe” Cold Case in Plainview​

A Hale County murder mystery that sat cold for nearly 33 years will get a second chance to finally be brought to light.

Back in February of 1982, Hale County officials found a young woman’s body, decapitated, left on a dirt road outside Plainview. Tony Arnold, an investigator with the Texas Rangers, recently happened upon the case while reviewing that of another Hale County murder from around the same time. He’s now the one heading the reopened investigation into the death of the Hale County “Jane Doe.”

“We just wanted to see what we could do to get her identified,” Arnold said.

A serial killer by the name of Henry Lee Lucas would try to take credit for Jane Doe’s death. In the 80s he was even indicted for the murder. The charge was eventually dropped after he was sentenced to life in prison for another homicide. Jane Doe’s identity remained undiscovered.

“They tried finger print comparisons, with negative results,” Arnold explained. “They tried a facial reconstruction, and had negative results.”

Jane Doe’s remains were buried in a Plainview cemetery under the marker “Jane Doe.” Inside that grave was a skull that, at the time, experts believed belonged to her. But the medical examiner who determined that, Dr. Ralph Erdmann, would later be discredited for falsifying autopsies.

Arnold says there’s now doubt that the skull buried with Jane Doe’s remains belongs to the victim.

“We could have more than one person in there.”

Those remains have now been exhumed for DNA samples. Those samples are now on their way to the Center for Human Identification at the University of North Texas. Experts there will cross reference Jane Doe’s DNA profile with those of known missing persons nationwide.

Arnold remains hopeful this will be the step to finally solve the case.

“We’re hoping that we’ll get an ID because technology advances every day, as well as that database grows every day.”

 

[Summer_Breeze]

41-year-old missing persons case being investigated as homicide

The investigation into the 1982 case of Debra Mackey was changed after an identification was made of remains found in Hale County, four decades later.

www.lubbockonline.com

Gabriel Monte
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
June 8, 2023

A 41-year-old Lubbock missing persons case has turned into a homicide investigation, and police officials are offering up to $5,000 for any information that will help solve it.

Investigators with the Lubbock Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit are helping the Texas Rangers investigate the death of Debra Mackey after remains found in Hale County in 1982 were identified in November as hers, according to a Lubbock police news release issued Thursday.

Mackey, who was 20 at the time, was reported missing by family members on Jan. 6, 1982. She was last seen five days before in the 1700 block of Avenue E.

Investigators are asking for help getting a clearer picture on the circumstances around her disappearance, the release states.

On Feb. 16, 1982, a body was discovered in Hale County. However, the remains were unable to be identified, though a medical examination indicated the remains belonged to a Caucasian person.

Three years later, Henry Lee Lucas, a serial killer who gained notoriety for lying about many of the murders he committed, confessed to killing the person who was found in Hale County. Investigators determined that Lucas was lying, and the remains were buried in 1993, the release states.

On Feb. 8, 2015, Texas Rangers exhumed the body, hoping to finally identify it.

However, the identity of the body remained elusive until September of 2021, when representatives with the DoeNetwork, a non-profit group aimed at helping out with missing persons cases, offered to test the remains.

In November, investigators learned that the testing indicated the remains were Mackey's.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Plainview Jane Doe 1982 - DNA Doe Project

Follow the DNA Doe Project case from Plainview, Texas. This case is currently in progress as our team of volunteers work the data.

dnadoeproject.org

Description
On February 16, 1982 the badly decomposed headless and nude body of a small, young female thought to be white/Caucasian was found on a dirt road in the desert outside Plainview, Hale County, Texas. The woman, found with her hands tied behind her back, was in her late teens to early twenties. Several days later, a human skull was found in the area and, having thought to be that of the woman, was buried with her in a Plainview cemetery. Subsequently, following exhumation of the body in 2015, the original determination by Pathologist Erdmann of Childress that the skull belonged to the woman was discredited. In December 2019 DNA Doe Project obtained DNA results that suggested the woman was predominantly African American.

NamUs UP53955
Date Found February 16, 1982
Race Black / African American
Sex Female
Age Late teens, early twenties
PMI Year(s)
Location near Plainview, TX

 

[Kimster]

What made them determine in the beginning that she was caucasian? They shouldn't put that down unless they are 100% sure.

 

[Kimster]

​

• 
• Mackey, circa 1982

• Missing Since 01/01/1982
• Missing From Lubbock, Texas
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race Black
• Date of Birth 07/23/1961 (61)
• Age 20 years old
• Height and Weight 5'0, 110 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A checkered plaid hooded coat, a plaid shirt, green pants, brown shoes and a red and white bandana on her head.
• Associated Vehicle(s) Brown vehicle
• Distinguishing Characteristics African-American female. Black hair, black eyes. Mackey may use the last name Terrell.

Details of Disappearance​

Mackey was last seen in the 1700 block of Avenue E in Lubbock, Texas at 2:00 a.m. on January 1, 1982. She left her mother's residence in a brown vehicle and has never been heard from again. Few details are available in her case, but foul play is suspected.

Debra Denise Mackey – The Charley Project

 

[Kimster]

Plainview Jane Doe 1982 - DNA Doe Project

Follow the DNA Doe Project case from Plainview, Texas. This case is currently in progress as our team of volunteers work the data.

dnadoeproject.org

Description
On February 16, 1982 the badly decomposed headless and nude body of a small, young female thought to be white/Caucasian was found on a dirt road in the desert outside Plainview, Hale County, Texas. The woman, found with her hands tied behind her back, was in her late teens to early twenties. Several days later, a human skull was found in the area and, having thought to be that of the woman, was buried with her in a Plainview cemetery. Subsequently, following exhumation of the body in 2015, the original determination by Pathologist Erdmann of Childress that the skull belonged to the woman was discredited. In December 2019 DNA Doe Project obtained DNA results that suggested the woman was predominantly African American.

BBM

So the skull doesn't match the body? Is that what I'm reading?

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

BBM

So the skull doesn't match the body? Is that what I'm reading?

What made them determine in the beginning that she was caucasian? They shouldn't put that down unless they are 100% sure.

Yes, sounds like it. Sounds like they assumed that the skull belonged to her, since she was found a few days earlier in the same area without her skull. But then later DNA testing determined they were not the same. It sounds like that's how they finally determined her race as well. I've heard of other cases that list a race, or even a sex, and later DNA testing determines that to be incorrect. A lot of assumptions were made before DNA testing.

It sounds like the skull that was found may still be unidentified?

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Plainview Jane Doe 1982 - DNA Doe Project

Follow the DNA Doe Project case from Plainview, Texas. This case is currently in progress as our team of volunteers work the data.

dnadoeproject.org

Debra Mackey’s case had remained unsolved for over four decades, leaving investigators and the community searching for answers. In 1982, authorities initially misidentified Debra’s race as Caucasian, which led to significant challenges in identifying her accurately.

Known as Plainview Jane Doe 1982, the remains discovered along a dirt road were badly decomposed and missing her skull, but it was clear to authorities that she was the victim of foul play. A skull found at another location was believed to belong to Jane Doe’s remains, and was even buried with her in 1982. After exhuming the remains in 2015, authorities determined the skull was actually from another person. They reached out to the DNA Doe Project in 2018 to try using DNA to learn her identity. The challenging biological sample spent nearly a year in the labs before a workable DNA profile was developed and research into Jane Doe’s family tree could begin.

The DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit organization specializing in the identification of unidentified persons using genetic genealogy, played a pivotal role in resolving this case, but not in the usual way. One of the first tasks for the team was to evaluate the possible race and ethnicity of the DNA profile, and they quickly concluded that this Jane Doe was in fact African-American and not Caucasian as investigators originally thought. With this new information, a search of the NamUS database turned up Debra Mackey’s missing persons record, and this lead was provided to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Confirmation of the identification was announced this month.

“One of the major confounding factors in this case that likely prevented her from being identified all of these years was the fact that Plainview Jane Doe was believed to be white. However, DNA never lies,” said team leader Kevin Lord. “I’m so glad that we were able to help provide answers to Debra Mackey’s family and hope that Debra’s killer will now be brought to justice.”