Identified! TX - Huntsville, 'Walker County Jane Doe', WhtFem 14-16, 91UFTX, Nov'80 Sherry Ann Jarvis

[MOTORUNNER]

I hope it hasn't been demolished, but it's likely it might have been. There's no old motels left around where I live

 

[zeldazonk1976]

Carl, when did this gentleman say he met Kathy again? Was it the summer prior to her murder? If so, Madisonville being so close to Huntsville would mean Kathy may have been familiar with the area.

 

[CarlK90245]

Carl, when did this gentleman say he met Kathy again? Was it the summer prior to her murder? If so, Madisonville being so close to Huntsville would mean Kathy may have been familiar with the area.

Sometime in 1980 after April. His birthday is April, and he remembered that he was 12 years old at the time. And it was probably summertime, since they were spending most of the day by the swimming pool.

 

[Vital Forces]

The best chance of ever finding her identity would be to offer a sizable reward and targeted advertising of such to 50 - 60 year olds in southeastern Texas. Unfortunately, neither philanthropists nor the government would see it as a good use of money.

 

[paul1980]

What we need is a "Scrooge McDuck" willing to spend their loads of cash on the cause of true crime.

 

[Sierras]

I just came across this a little bit ago. I hope it's okay if I post this link. Missing Persons Of America. "Walker County Jane Doe; A 36 Year Mystery".


http://www.missingpersonsofamerica.com/2016/10/25/walker-county-jane-doe-mystery/

 

[paul1980]

Thirty Seven years ago today she said "who cares?". If only she could see how many of us care nearly four decades later.

 

[taramarie]

Thinking of our girl today and hoping like I do every year that she’ll have her name back before yet another year goes by ❤️


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Cryptic]

I wonder if this poor girl was learning disabled, but not to the extent that she would be classified medically as mentally retarded nor identified as such by the people she met?
The victim asked for directions to the Ellis unit at 6:30 pm and stated that she intended to visit some one there.

The Ellis unit is not only located in a rural area 12 miles north of Huntsville, but it has always been maximum security and currently houses death row. Anybody with even general familiarity with prisons either from relatives or pen pals would know that one just does not show up and expect to visit, especially at 6:30 pm.

Then factor in that she was probably told by several people that it was outside of town, but she continued to walk towards it. One of the links also states that she disliked wearing shoes. Though one need not be slow to dislike shoes, the totality could suggest that she was slow and home bound (barefoot mostly).

Thus, she may have dropped out of school early and not been in year books from her stated home town area. I wonder if any retired social workers from the area would remember a family with a learning disabled daughter who had dropped out of school and was prone to run away?

 

[CADwrest]

I wonder if this poor girl was learning disabled, but not to the extent that she would be classified medically as mentally retarded nor identified as such by the people she met?
The victim asked for directions to the Ellis unit at 6:30 pm and stated that she intended to visit some one there.

The Ellis unit is not only located in a rural area 12 miles north of Huntsville, but it has always been maximum security and currently houses death row. Anybody with even general familiarity with prisons either from relatives or pen pals would know that one just does not show up and expect to visit, especially at 6:30 pm.

Then factor in that she was probably told by several people that it was outside of town, but she continued to walk towards it. One of the links also states that she disliked wearing shoes. Though one need not be slow to dislike shoes, the totality could suggest that she was slow and home bound (barefoot mostly).

Thus, she may have dropped out of school early and not been in year books from her stated home town area. I wonder if any retired social workers from the area would remember a family with a learning disabled daughter who had dropped out of school and was prone to run away?

The only issue there is that she's also been described as street-wise, and gave off a feeling like she could pull off a con. That doesn't really jibe with her being learning disabled, IMO.

 

[Gardener1850]

I wonder if this poor girl was learning disabled, but not to the extent that she would be classified medically as mentally retarded nor identified as such by the people she met?
The victim asked for directions to the Ellis unit at 6:30 pm and stated that she intended to visit some one there.

The Ellis unit is not only located in a rural area 12 miles north of Huntsville, but it has always been maximum security and currently houses death row. Anybody with even general familiarity with prisons either from relatives or pen pals would know that one just does not show up and expect to visit, especially at 6:30 pm.

Then factor in that she was probably told by several people that it was outside of town, but she continued to walk towards it. One of the links also states that she disliked wearing shoes. Though one need not be slow to dislike shoes, the totality could suggest that she was slow and home bound (barefoot mostly).

Thus, she may have dropped out of school early and not been in year books from her stated home town area. I wonder if any retired social workers from the area would remember a family with a learning disabled daughter who had dropped out of school and was prone to run away?

She was likely a young teen and a likely a runaway from out of the area. Why would you expect her to know the prison hours or anything about it? It wasn't like she had internet to look it up. Not knowing what someone has to do to visit a prison doesn't make a person "learning disabled"-- it indicates she was young and didn't have the info or resources needed to plan out a visit to the prison in advance and that possibly she had never been there before. She also might have left home without telling anyone where she was going. Imagine you are a teen and you want to go visit a person in prison and your family would disapprove of that. You don't ask them questions like "what are the visiting hours?" if you want to run away and not be tracked down. She might have thought she could run away, visit someone in prison, and go back home without her family knowing where she went. As for the shoes-- they were wedges. Have you ever walked really far in wedge shoes? They are not comfortable. Her feet probably hurt. This doesn't indicate anything about someone being "home bound". This indicates she didn't wear the right shoes for running away. IMO, the total picture looks like a young teen who made an impulsive or last minute decision to go somewhere and didn't have the right shoes or enough info before setting out. JMO.

 

[Cryptic]

She was likely a young teen and a likely a runaway from out of the area. Why would you expect her to know the prison hours or anything about it?

Because she repeatedly told people that she was going to the Ellis unit (maximum security prison outside of Huntsville) to visit someone. So yes, it is not unreasonable to expect that somebody would have general knowledge of a place they intended to visit.

Not knowing what someone has to do to visit a prison doesn't make a person "learning disabled"--

No..... but walking towards a prison after 6pm after being informed that it was many miles away and expecting to be allowed to visit person 'p' (not having general information of the place she intended to visit) might indicate that the person is learning disabled.

Sh. Imagine you are a teen and you want to go visit a person in prison and your family would disapprove of that. You don't ask them questions like "what are the visiting hours?"

Actually, I would probably ask that question to the person I intended to visit. Assuming she had been in contact with the person (not an unreasonable assumption).

My guess is that most prisoners are eager to receive visitors, espescialy if the visitor is a young lady, and they would have given her very exacting information on visiting hours, registration procedures etc. to insure that she was not turned away.

As for the shoes-- they were wedges. Have you ever walked really far in wedge shoes? They are not comfortable. Her feet probably hurt. This doesn't indicate anything about someone being "home bound".

I never said it indicated she was homebound. Rather, I said "could suggest". One of the links stated that witnesses related that she did not like wearing shoes. This implies a little more than "these particular shoes don't fit well".

As a side note, I cared for pre-teen once who did not like wearing shoes, did a lot of stuff on impulse and had little knowledge of anything beyond her immediate experience. Yes, she spent a lot of time at home (until it went downhill). She was also slow.

No...this does not mean that all such people are slow.

 

[MOTORUNNER]

I know TX has a large Latino/Latina population, does anyone think WCJD could be latina? I know it really makes no difference or adds anything to this case, going through a lot of Corpus Christi yearbooks I'm seeing a lot of hispanic women.

 

[CADwrest]

No..... but walking towards a prison after 6pm after being informed that it was many miles away and expecting to be allowed to visit person 'p' (not having general information of the place she intended to visit) might indicate that the person is learning disabled.

We don't actually know what she was told about the walk to the prison. She just got directions from Gulf Oil without a map, and apparently thought it was doable. That makes me think the distance wasn't described except in a general way at that point ("Here's the directions, but that prison's miles away. You've got a long walk."). Once she got the map at Hitchin' Post, though, I think she got a better idea of how far it really was (and remember that she'd already walked a considerable distance by then). I think that's why she started looking for rides and/or a truck to sleep in after that.

One of the links stated that witnesses related that she did not like wearing shoes. This implies a little more than "these particular shoes don't fit well".

Keep in mind, though, that was referring to "Kathy." We don't know for sure if she was, in fact, WCJD.

 

[cvaldez1975]

that doesn't have to be true. I know a woman who was learning disabled and not very smart and she is very conniving and always scamming.

shes 40 years old already and never been caught for her scams. sued a few times though.

I think sometimes ppl may lack in one area and hone in another.

The only issue there is that she's also been described as street-wise, and gave off a feeling like she could pull off a con. That doesn't really jibe with her being learning disabled, IMO.

 

[turbo_sloth]

Agreed. Also where has it been said that she did not liking wearing shoes? I've only ever read that she was carrying a pair of shoes, but I've never seen it mentioned that she said she didn't like to wear shoes. Since she arrived at the truck stop by car and was found dumped by the highway I would think its reasonable to assume that she didn't plan to walk the entire distance to the prison, but intended to hitchhike there and if she couldn't find a ride at the Hitching Post, she would walk along the road until she found someone that would pick her up.

 

[malaika]

IMO she did not really look hispanic based on her morgue photos.

 

[Cryptic]

Keep in mind, though, that was referring to "Kathy." We don't know for sure if she was, in fact, WCJD.

Good point.

I am doubting that she intended to visit Ellis unit prison. The victim appeared to not only lack knowledge of its general location, but also general knowledge of how to visit some one there. There are many explanations for the apparent inconsistency ( learning disability, non disabled person prone to do things on impulse, left home in a hurry etc.).

Despite these possibilities, had she been in contact with the person she intended to visit, I think he would have ensured that she had very good information on visiting as many prisoners like visits, especially from young ladies.

Likewise, had she had contact with even friends or family, she would probably would have known in general terms that prisons have visitation days and procedures. She lacked basic knowledge, not a mere unawareness of say, the "no fish net pantyhose rule".

I wonder if Ellis unit was not her intended destination. Was there perhaps a rural night club near Ellis unit that she was too young to get into, thus told a lie about her destination to avoid unwanted questions? Or, was she visiting a local that lived near the prison and did not want to reveal information about him?

In the end, we will never know. I do, however, think that if she were going to Ellis, the conversation would have been: "I am visiting Ellis tomorrow morning. Do you know where I can spend the night?"

 

[Cryptic]

Agreed. Also where has it been said that she did not liking wearing shoes? I've only ever read that she was carrying a pair of shoes, but I've never seen it mentioned that she said she didn't like to wear shoes. Since she arrived at the truck stop by car and was found dumped by the highway I would think its reasonable to assume that she didn't plan to walk the entire distance to the prison, but intended to hitchhike there and if she couldn't find a ride at the Hitching Post, she would walk along the road until she found someone that would pick her up.

My statement that she did not like to wear shoes may not be accurate. Rather, an individual described as a run away in the Huntsville area at the rough time of the murder who had the victim's appereance was noted as not liking to wear shoes. This individual may not be the victim.

 

[Vital Forces]

This is a painful longshot but I'll post it as food for thought.

Could she have been trying to reach Ronald Clark O'Bryan?

He gave five children, including his son and daughter, poisoned pixie sticks on Halloween night 1974 with the goal of collecting life insurance on his children. Timothy O'Bryan died but none of the other children ate their pixie sticks. No surprise Ronald O'Bryan was sentenced to death. O'Bryan was originally scheduled for execution on August 8, 1980 and was ultimately executed March 31, 1984.

She would have been about the same age as Timothy and may have even known him, and she arrived in Huntsville on Halloween night. Her motivation could have been to condemn him or ask him why he did it.

Sources say O'Bryan was held in the Walls Unit in Huntsville but other sources say that death row inmates were housed at Ellis.