TX TX - Jennifer Day, 14, Dallas, 25 June 1985

New Posts

O

olllllo

New Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2009
Messages
6
Reaction score
1
I was a sophomore in high school when this case happened. I remember meeting a new friend and going over to his house some months later, and seeing a large picture of a girl framed on a living room end table. When I asked who she was, he told me that it was his sister and that she was the victim of this then-well-publicized case. That awkward and painful moment has stuck with throughout the years, and for some reason I googled it tonight. I found that it is still unsolved, and I can't find any real quantitative info on it. I looked here and don't believe she has ever been brought up on this board. I know that this forum has worked wonders over the years, so I thought I would bring her up to shed some light on what appears to be a cold case. Here is the story from http://missing87975.yuku.com/topic/3076/UNSOLVED-CHILD-MURDER-JENNIFER-DAY :
Dallas, TX -- June 25, 1985 -- A 14-year-old North Dallas girl disappeared from her job at a Preston Road doughnut shop early Sunday morning, and Dallas police said Monday that they feared the teen-ager might have been abducted.

Jennifer Day, daughter of Patsy and Don Day, was last heard from about 5:30 a.m. Sunday after reporting for work at Preston Road Donuts, 11810 Preston Road, police said. Manager Joe Hight told investigators he talked to Jennifer shortly after she opened the store.

June 27, 1985 -- In a field 10 miles north of the doughnut shop where 14-year-old Jennifer Day was last seen Sunday morning, a construction worker in north Plano discovered her body early Wednesday morning. Jennifer's body was in 2-foot-tall grass near Preston Road and State Highway 121 and was seen by the construction worker from the cab of his bulldozer.

An autopsy showed that she had been stabbed several times in the throat, but doctors were unable to determine if she had been sexually assaulted.

July 3, 1985 -- The stabbing death of 14-year-old Jennifer Day last week has elicited "more emotion from investigators than I've ever seen on any case,' Dallas police homicide Lt. Ron Waldrop said Tuesday. And though police have no suspects or leads, Waldrop said the investigators are determined to find the killer.

"They really want to solve it bad,' he said. "They'll do everything that's humanly possible to try.'

No arrests have been made.
Click to expand...
 
I can't find out much at all about this case. One thing has me curious; are you sure she was only 14 years old? Texas law at the time (probably before and still) requires anyone applying for a job, even part-time MUST be 16 years old. If she was only 14, some questions need to be asked of her parents and her employer; right there, they were breaking federal child labor laws. ETA: Wonder if they looked at the suspect from the Austin Yogurt Shop Murders form 1991? (he died in 2010.)
 
Stella said:
I can't find out much at all about this case. One thing has me curious; are you sure she was only 14 years old? Texas law at the time (probably before and still) requires anyone applying for a job, even part-time MUST be 16 years old. If she was only 14, some questions need to be asked of her parents and her employer; right there, they were breaking federal child labor laws. ETA: Wonder if they looked at the suspect from the Austin Yogurt Shop Murders form 1991? (he died in 2010.)
Click to expand...

Actually, a 14 year old can legally work in Texas.

The purpose of the Texas Child Labor Law is to ensure that a child is not employed in an occupation or manner that is detrimental to the child's safety, health, or well-being.

Except as specifically authorized by the statute, it is illegal to employ a child under 14 years of age.

http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/lablaw/cllsum.html

IMO, David Penton is good for this.
 
That is strange. My daughter went after school job hunting at 15 (in 1986, in Dallas!) in order to help pay for her braces and was told at every place that she had to be 16; the last place she tried told her it was against the law to hire under 16.
 
Stella said:
That is strange. My daughter went after school job hunting at 15 (in 1986, in Dallas!) in order to help pay for her braces and was told at every place that she had to be 16; the last place she tried told her it was against the law to hire under 16.
Click to expand...

I know some of it is company policy, but it also has to do with type of employment. Example- a 14 year can work in a fast food lacation, but can't cook on the grill.

I was 14 when I had my first job working with livestock. I was so proud to get my paycheck each week. :twocents:
 
Thank you for letting me know! I still have 2 kids at home that will be thrilled to learn they won't have to wait as long as I thought.
 
Bumping for this young lady's family.
 
I learned of this case over this summer and it has haunted me ever since. I'm baffled why this case hasn't been solved, especially using the new technology in dna. So many people have no idea that this 14 year old was abducted, brutally murdered and dumped in a field that is now a very developed area between Plano and Frisco, Texas. Sadly, her mother died in May of 2015 never seeing the killer(s) of her daughter brought to justice. There is a killer amongst us...……..
 
S.S. said:
I learned of this case over this summer and it has haunted me ever since. I'm baffled why this case hasn't been solved, especially using the new technology in dna. So many people have no idea that this 14 year old was abducted, brutally murdered and dumped in a field that is now a very developed area between Plano and Frisco, Texas. Sadly, her mother died in May of 2015 never seeing the killer(s) of her daughter brought to justice. There is a killer amongst us...……..
Click to expand...
Her brother and I worked together during this time and became friends. He never really talked about this much and I didn’t ask what happen. I found out most of the story from news. As we got older we had less contact and at this time we have no contact. Such a sad story, can’t believe nobody has been caught. I didn’t know his mom died, sad
 
Hi I'm Jennifer's nephew Brendan, I just had a conversation with my dad about her murder and he said a few things regarding the investigation. The police suspected a guy that worked nearby the doughnut shop that owned a white sudan that looked like the car that was seen driving away from the doughnut shop. The guy was also a suspect in two murders that were similar to Jennifer's case. The car was sold and the police couldn't find it for several years, by the time they found the car it would be pointless to look for dna evidence. The prime suspect also killed himself before the police could get a confession out of him. One other suspect was a guy that showed up at the doughnut shop once claiming that he worked there, even though the other employees were never notified. When two police officers who frequented the doughnut shop came in he left in a hurry. The guy had an alibi so he was no longer considered a suspect. That's pretty much all I know, I just wanted to provide some insight on the case, seeing as so many people are interested in this case.
 
S.S. said:
I learned of this case over this summer and it has haunted me ever since. I'm baffled why this case hasn't been solved, especially using the new technology in dna. So many people have no idea that this 14 year old was abducted, brutally murdered and dumped in a field that is now a very developed area between Plano and Frisco, Texas. Sadly, her mother died in May of 2015 never seeing the killer(s) of her daughter brought to justice. There is a killer amongst us...……..
Click to expand...
My grandmother became an advocate for the rights of victims of violent crimes, she founded the Victims Outreach organization and was the executive director for 14 years. She provided support for over 20,000 victims and won numerous awards, also George W. Bush appointed her to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice. She was an amazing woman and I was crushed when she died
 
Here is a clip from news coverage on Jennifer's murder
texashistory.unt.edu

[News Clip: Day body]

Video footage from the KXAS-TV/NBC station in Fort Worth, Texas, to accompany a news story.
texashistory.unt.edu texashistory.unt.edu
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 135 more.
Total: 1,768 (members: 136, guests: 1,632)

Online statistics

Members online
136
Guests online
1,632
Total visitors
1,768
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
591,780
Messages
17,958,732
Members
228,606
Latest member
wdavewong
Back
Top