MS MS - Janie Sanders, 16, Pascagoula, 26 Sept 1975

IT kills me that there are so many of these cases unsolved. Someone has to know something.

Is it. Known to be an El Camino for sure? Could it have been a Ford Ranchero? I have a reason for asking.

killarney rose said:

Is it. Known to be an El Camino for sure? Could it have been a Ford Ranchero? I have a reason for asking.

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There was a previous post stating not to fixate on the car, since the perp could have used a different one. If you have ANYTHING that could remotely help, I would recommend contacting LE.

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killarney rose said:

Is it. Known to be an El Camino for sure? Could it have been a Ford Ranchero? I have a reason for asking.

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It was believed to be an El Camino. A definite ID wasn't made. A description from an eyewitness who didn't know the difference could across the same for either vehicle.

Just now seeing the responses for some reason. This is my reason for asking.

At the time this happened i was living in central FL and going to high school. There was a man who lived there. He worked at a conveinence store. I'll call him W. he had two teenaged sons, S & M. He lived a couple blocks away from the store with his gf and sons. My bff dated the olsedst and i sort of semi dated the youngest.

Frequently W,S,&M would leave town a few days st a time. S told bff they were fishing but we never saw any evidence of it, and were both very suspicious of the fishing story at the time. We thought their trips had to do with drugs.

W drove an early 70s model blue Ford Ranchero. We both stopped seeing S&M so it became a non issue with us and I dont know what ever became of them. After high school I lost touch with the bff and found out last year she passed away in 1999. Its probably a very long shot but the day I read about this case I immediately thought about the Ranchero, and the fishing trips.

ETA link for pics of blue Rancheros. Ws was like the one in the top row second from left.

https://www.google.com/search?q=blu...2MyAGT5ICIAQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAA&biw=1024&bih=672

Himmie14 said:

A cold case in my town of Pascagoula have been reopened. Janie Sanders was 16 when she was raped and killed on September 26, 1975. Her killer has never been caught. The detective looking into the case is asking for help locating people: witness, friends, other victims. I know this may be a bit of a long shot, but this murder has haunted this town. Maybe someone can help.

Detective Versiga is looking for any information regarding information on anyone who had reason to travel I-43 in the '70's, El Caminos that are dark blue or station wagons that could be mistaken as an El Camino, and anyone that was acting strange before or after her death.

He is also looking for a William Jaun, possible Jaun William, or his family. They either lived in Pascagoula or visited before 1973. He had a daughter that was between 10 and 17 years old in 1973.

Any information would help.

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There is a Juan Williams listed on Helen st.

Do you have any info that may help, I know the general area and remember hearing of the crime. The I-43 reference has me confused, can you explain.

Any locals remember the service station on the north West corner of Market St. & Jackson Ave at that time?

Janie Sanders

I'm going to guess that "I-43" was meant to be Hwy 43? At any rate, it looks like the vehicle's tires were purchased in California or Oregon. Now let's see, how many serial killers travelled cross country from the West Coast to the south in the 1970's? And I don't mean to be facetious at all. I'm greatly relieved that there's been progress on Janie's case, and sincerely hope it continues. :crossfingers:rayer:

Here is Det. Versiga's contact information again:

"If you have any information about the case, call Detective Versiga at (228) 938-6682."

http://www.wlox.com/story/13384024/who-killed-janie-sanders

Janie Sanders Cold Case Homicide on Facebook

**Janie Sanders Homicide...Need Information**
by Darren Versiga on Saturday, February 5, 2011 at 11:21pm
I need anyone to come forward who may have had someone pull up to them in a vehicle and exspose themself. Do not get transfixed on the Blue El Camino...Bad Guy may have had another vehicle. This would have been in the 70's and 80's. He would pull really close to the female and drive by slow so someone could see what he was doing. Real Prevert. I'm sure that someone else is out there who may have been a victim of this guy and someone knows who this guy is. Someone knows of someones brother, father, or friend ...etc that was weird like this. Please call me with information. I have two victims so far and I know there are more. Both say he drove an El Camino.

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More at the link

ETA: Forgot to mention that Larry Mann, who Det. Versiga considered a suspect, was executed in April for the 1980 abduction and brutal murder of another young girl in Pinellas County, Florida, 10 year-old Elisa Nelson.

http://tbo.com/pinellas-county/man-who-killed-palm-harbor-girl-to-be-executed-this-week-b82473699z1

The El Camino (or similar car) had a camper on the back of it. So, the back was closed in and could have indeed been the crime scene. With so little time to commit the murder, it is hard for me to imagine where he could have taken her in time to then leave her at the location she was discovered.

Perhaps the guy softened her up a bit on previous trips when he didn't have time... such as telling her he'd give her a ride home or whatever else. So, the day he decided to kill her, she got right into the car with him.

i am thinking this because of the girl murdered basically in school (or very near it). Could someone see from outside the hallway she had to pass down?

The murderer might be someone who would watch and plan.

So William Jaun is the guy they think did it?

http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2016/04/1970s_murders_of_3_mississippi.html
1970s murders of 3 Mississippi women might be linked, cases reopened

Bumping for Janie - it's now been 45 years.

Sept 29 2022
VIDEO @ link.
''PASCAGOULA, Miss. - It’s a 47-year-old murder case that still haunts Pascagoula with thousands of pages of case files detailing the murder of a 16-year-old. WLOX is revisiting the Janie Sanders cold case murder mystery. We’re hoping someone has the clue that will solve it.''

''Pascagoula police say Janie disappeared at the intersection of Louise and Lanier Streets around 3:30 p.m. A call came in either at 4:05 or 4:20 depending on which report you read, alerting authorities to the body.

“That’s a very short window to rape, stab, and half their blood drain out of their body,” Lieutenant Versiga said.

She was found lifeless and nude, dumped like garbage in a makeshift trash heap off a dirt road across the state line in Grand Bay, Alabama. Coroners discovered her body was drained of so much blood indicating she wasn’t killed here where she was found.''


“Please turn yourself in,” Rivera pleaded. “Clear your soul because you are going to burn in hell anyway. It’s been haunting me ever since I was 16 years old. Now I’m 63. You need to come forward and just give everybody some peace.”

If you have any information that could help solve this case, call 228-217-1308.''

CastlesBurning said:

Taken From the Intersection: The Murder of Janie Sanders

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Good article with photos. It has been over 47 years, but maybe these unsolved (and possibly connected) murders can still be solved.

I wonder if Thomas Whisenhant, a serial killer from Irvington, AL, who worked at the Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, has ever been looked at in Janie’s case. He would have driven through Pascagoula, where she was presumably picked up or abducted, then Grand Bay, where her body was found, on his way home from work. His primary crime spree lasted from November 1975 to October 1976, and his victims were female convenience store workers aged 23-44. At least two of his victims were also shot, but all of them were mutilated with a knife.

The MO and victimology are somewhat different, but this could have been a crime of opportunity, where Whisenhant was on his way home and happened to see her. He was from the Mobile area, growing up in Prichard, then later living in Theodore, before moving with his wife to Irvington, so he was familiar with the area.

As a point against him, the car he was driving at the time of his arrest for the above crimes was a white pick-up, not a blue El Camino or similar. There’s nothing to suggest he lived in California or Oregon, instead going from Prichard to Lackland AFB in Texas for basic training, then Colorado Springs in 1965, where he was court martialed for attacking a WAF with intent to murder. He served time in Fort Carson and a federal prison before getting paroled in 1973.

Unfortunately, he was executed for the murder of Cheryl Payton in 2010, so if there really is no evidence in Janie’s case, it will be impossible to prove.