AL ROMULUS JANE DOE: WF, 30-40, found in Slughter Creek on banks of the Black Warrior River in Romulus, AL - 18 Apr 1982

[Romulus]

108UFAL - Unidentified Female​

Sketches of the victim (left by Wesley Neville). To view postmortem photographs (after funeral preparation), please click here.

Date of Discovery: April 18, 1982
Location of Discovery: Romulus, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama
Estimated Date of Death: Hours prior
State of Remains: Recognizable face
Cause of Death: Homicide by strangulation

Physical Description​

Estimated Age: 30-40 years old
Race: White
Sex: Female
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 110 to 115 lbs.
Hair Color: Dark brown to black, shoulder length
Eye Color: Brown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Somewhat ruddy complexion. Scar over right eye, beneath eyebrow. Her ears were not pierced. She did not use nail polish, or regularly file her nails. Evidence of a prior pregnancy. She had done manual labor.

Identifiers​

Dentals:Available. Partial upper denture plate. The partial denture replaced the upper right central and lateral incisor teeth.
Fingerprints: Available
DNA: Unknown.

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Preppy button-up, long-sleeved light blue shirt; blue knit pants with an elastic waistband; a white bra; white panties; size seven grey tennis shoes.
Jewelry: Unknown.
Additional Personal Items: Unknown.

Circumstances of Discovery​

The victim as located in April 1982 in Slughter Creek, on the banks of the Black Warrior River, in rural Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. She was sexually assaulted, strangled, and severely beaten .

Investigators believe the victim was possibly fishing in the area at the time of the attack, based on what she was wearing. It was likely she was not local to the area, investigators surmise.

Witnesses saw a woman matching the victim's description on April 16, 1982 with a man about 35-40 years old. The pair's vehicle, a 1973 or 1974 Ford LTD with a dark vinyl top with possible front-end damage, was stuck in a muddy area along Robert Cemetery Road. The woman asked the two witnesses for help, while the man remained in the vehicle and was visibly upset. He swore and blamed the woman for the accident. He was further described as white with a ruddy complexion and was about 6'1" tall at a weight between 180 and 200 pounds.

The woman was buried on December 9, 1982 in Sunset Memorial Park. She was nicknamed "Miss X" by the press.

Investigating Agency(s)​

Agency Name: Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office
Agency Contact Person: Lt. Jack Kennedy or Lt. Loyd Baker
Agency Phone Number: 205-752-0616 (Ext. 691 for Baker)
Agency E-Mail: Lbaker(at)tuscco.com
Anonymous tip submission: here
Agency Case Number: 19820418001 / H15A-1160-82

Agency Name: Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences
Agency Contact Person: Lisa Cary
Agency Phone Number: 205-344-5420
Agency E-Mail: lisa.cary(at)adfs.alabama.gov
Agency Case Number: 01(A)-82-45534

Agency Name: Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 205-464-8690
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: Unknown

Agency Name: CrimeStoppers
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 205-752-STOP
Agency E-Mail: Homicide(at)tuscco.com
Agency Case Number: Unknown

NCIC Case Number: U172296346
NamUs Case Number: 61157

Information Source(s)​

108UFAL

NamUs
Tuscaloosa News
Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office
Reddit
Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences


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[Summer_Breeze]

Tuscaloosa Investigators Hope New Technology Helps Identify Victim In 1982 Cold Case

Here's the latest in the unsolved murder of a woman whose body was found on the banks of the Black Warrior River in Fosters in 1982.

patch.com

Ryan Phillips,Patch Staff
Posted Wed, Mar 29, 2023 at 11:14 am CT
Updated Wed, Mar 29, 2023 at 12:47 pm CT

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit has produced new facial images of a longstanding unsolved cold case of a woman who was found dead in the Fosters area of Tuscaloosa County on the Black Warrior River in April 1982.

Captain Jack Kennedy, the commander of the multiagency unit, told local media the victim’s body was found in good condition and very near to the time of her death, likely within 24-48 hours.

According to a story written by former Tuscaloosa News reporter Ken Stickney at the beginning of the investigation, the woman's body was found partially submerged in Slaughter Creek on April 18 by three fishermen on Dry Creek Road near the Old Robinson Bend Landing.

An autopsy at the time said the woman — who would go on to become known locally as "Mrs. X" — had been strangled, beaten and sexually assaulted.

Stickney would go on to report that while investigators had yet to make an arrest or name potential suspects, at one point that April they were looking for a man and woman who had been seen in the area two days prior to the body being found.

Police said at the time that the two individuals were in a vehicle that was stuck in the muddy roadway in the immediate vicinity of where the body was later found, ultimately requiring assistance from three individuals to free the vehicle. It was during this encounter that the man informed the three individuals that they had "just left a bar."

Following widespread media attention, an update from Stickney six weeks after the body was found said the couple had still not been located or come forward.

The woman's body was reportedly kept in a freezer for eight months as investigators worked to identify her, before she was buried in a "pale gray casket" on Dec. 9, 1982 in Sunset Memorial Park, in a section for unclaimed or unidentified individuals.

Rev. Joe Bob Mizzell, of Albert Baptist, presided over the funeral and a handful of mourners attended.

<snip>
In an effort to secure a break in the case, Kennedy said the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office worked with the Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services (FACES) Lab at Louisiana State University (LSU) to create new images of the victim from the original photographs and medical records.