BSO’s OPEN AND UNSOLVED: A VICTIM WITHOUT A NAME

MEDIA NOTE: A version of the video without captions can be found HERE. 

In the evening hours of December 18th, 1998, someone dragged a woman into an isolated area on U.S. 27 about one mile north of I-75. She would never again see the light of day. She took her last breath in the grassy area where she was abandoned. Twenty-four years later, her murder remains a mystery, swallowed by the stillness of the sawgrass. Her story is the focus of the fourth episode of the Broward Sheriff’s Office’s “Open and Unsolved” cold case series which can be found linked in the photo above or on YouTube. 

The body of the woman was discovered by a boater the next day. BSO detectives arrived to find her lying face down with no identification on her. BSO Cold Case Homicide Unit Detective Zack Scott said her last moments were very violent. “There were clear indications that she had been sexually assaulted,” Scott said. “The medical examiner’s office later determined that she died as a result of asphyxiation, someone had strangled her.”

The case proved an uphill battle from the beginning. Investigators had only her colorful clothing and a sketch to go by. Investigators canvassed the few establishments in the area with no results. They searched missing persons databases to no avail. The location of the crime is remote without cameras around, and cellphones with cameras were not common in the 1990’s. With no witnesses, no leads, not even her name, the case turned cold and she became known as Jane Doe.

Detective Scott said this is one of the hardest types of cases to work. Not knowing who their victim is means no links to relationships that can lead to the killer; however, this does not deter detectives’ determination in solving the case. Investigators turn to forensic investigative methods including a new sketch of Jane Doe. Detectives hope the video and the sketch might jog someone’s memory and lead them to identify Jane Doe and catch her killer. “The sketch is vital. The only photos or portraits that we have of our victim is when she’s deceased. That is probably not going to be the representation that people would recognize of that person, who they were,” Scott said.

In homicide cases where the victim is unidentified, the tragedy is two-fold. There’s the crime itself along with the indignity of being nameless. Jane Doe’s voice was silenced leaving only BSO detectives to speak for her. “When it’s a case like this where the victim doesn’t even have a name, to me there’s that extra step of motivation. We have to be the surviving family. We have to say something for this victim. That she did count. They all count,” Scott said.

Anyone who might have information on Jane Doe’s homicide is asked to contact Det. Zack Scott at 954-321-4214. If you wish to remain anonymous, please contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477), online at browardcrimestoppers.org, or dial **TIPS (8477) from any cellphone in the United States. Any information that leads to an arrest in this case is eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.