LA LA - Jenelle Gridley, 17, Ada, 19 May 1983

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aimster216

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Hello, I am trying to find information on an unsolved murder case from 1983. Jenelle Marie Gridley, aka "Pookie", was only 17 when was found beaten, raped and strangled to death on a roadside in Ada, Louisiana on May 19, 1983. Jenelle was found by a truck driver in a rural area near an interstate in Louisiana very close to the Texas border. She was found off the road in a wooded area across from a truck stop. The truck driver who found her had pulled over on the side of the road to use the bathroom. He was cleared of suspicion after his interview. Jenelle was living in Jefferson, Texas at the time she was murdered and was known to hitchhike. When searching the internet, I am unable to find ANY case details or her obituary. It's as if she never even existed. Her 2 year old daughter grew up without a mother and our family has lived all these years with no answers. I have contacted the parish where her body was located and have yet to hear back from any agency with records/timeline information related to her case. All of the officers who worked her case are retired or deceased and the current officers do not know if there are any files left from her case as the sotrage area is unorganized and unlogged. I am desperately seeking information as to what events/persons caused her untimely death. Someone committed this brutal murder and for the last 33 years there has been a killer left un-convicted in this child's death. Please help me find answers for our family.

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/forum/true...der-jenelle-pookie-gridley.html#ixzz4vzLPLQMU
 
What a tragic crime. Thank you for giving Jenelle a piece of your heart and fighting for her justice Aimster216.
 
bluesneakers said:
I can't sign in without an account but there are two articles here:

May 30th, 1983 Longview News-Journal from Longview, Texas · Page 8
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/208433485/

May 29th, 1983 The Times from Shreveport, Louisiana · Page 1
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/220375166/
Click to expand...


I have an account.

The first:

Grandparents Identify Girl From TV Photo

It says that eight days after the girl's beaten body was found in Bienville Parish, her grandparents recognized her photo on tv and notified authorities. She was Janelle Marie Gridley, age 17 of Avinger, TX. The coroner said her grandparents were watching a Shreveport newscast on Friday that featured the dead woman. Her body was found May 19 in a wooded area off Interstate 20.

The second:

Woman Identified as Texas Hitchhiker

The body of a young white woman found May 19 off Interstate 20 was identified Saturday as an Avinger, TX teenager. Identified as Jenelle Marie Gridley, 17. Mentions she was identified by her grandparents seeing her photo on tv.

The young woman died of internal injuries, apparently from a beating, an autopsy showed. Authorities believed she was hitchhiking when she was murdered. Her body was left in a wooded area near the Ada-Taylor entrance ramp in Bienville Parish.

Authorities were alerted to the body by an anonymous caller. Police said the caller placed a second telephone call to police when authorities at first failed to locate the body. The Bienville Parish sheriff's office, which is investigating the death, had no suspects last night. Norris said the teenager was a known hitchhiker. She lived with her grandparents, but recently had visited her mother in Alaska by hitchhiking. She was last seen by relatives in Houston at Easter, when she visited her father.

Above is a summary, most is transcription.

Kind of shocking that she hitched from Texas to Alaska. Dangerous even then.
 
Bluesenakers and Betty P!!! You two are amazing! I have searched for the past 2 years and was not even able to find anything at all!! Much of the information that I have gathered on my own is inaccurate as there have been many details forgotten or remembered wrong. The dates I had don't seem to match what actually happened. She was known to hitchhike frequently and unfortunately this is what led to her untimely death. It just seems as if she was written off as not important due to the lifestyle she was living. Were there any images attached to those new paper articles?
 
First off, I'd like to thank Aimster for putting this out there. She's my cousin and I totally didn't even know this existed.

Jenelle was my mom, but more than anything, she was just a kid. She was barely 17 when she was found on the side of the road. I never knew her. The only picture, aside from one of her lying in a casket which even I don't look at, is attached. It was taken about a month before she died.

It's really hard growing up and not knowing your parents. It's even harder when the only thing you have to go off of is an autopsy report of your mom. She had on coral nail polish. She was wearing a parka. She was missing a sock. I knew all these things because I read them in her autopsy report. That's not easy reading for a kid. But then again, I've now outlived my mom by two times plus some.

I say all this because the reason it's always been important to me to find information about what happened to her was because she was a human being. She wasn't treated like one while alive. Jenelle was beaten and raped while just a child. She hitchhiked because she was a runaway. Her family was abusive and she was molested early on. She ran away at the age of 10. She was pregnant at 13 with me. She ran from Alaska because her stepfather was raping her. She ended up in a ditch in Ada, Louisiana. That poor child suffered her entire life. While I could never bring her back, I will never stop trying to bring her justice. She deserves at least that.

The articles are correct: My great grandparents saw her face on the news. Back then in 1983, they would show Jane Does on the TV from the neck up to help in identifying bodies.

Someone called and told the police her body was there. The police went out and looked and didn't find it. They called again and gave more specific instructions. Every day I wonder about this person. Someone out there knows something. I am begging you to please help me find some peace for her.

Attached is what I have of my mom: A picture a month before she died, a snippet from her death certificate showing you that this child suffered and where her autopsy was done. Nothing really significant in the autopsy and unfortunately almost everyone has passed. If you know anything, please help. Thank you.
 

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Obieewok said:
First off, I'd like to thank Aimster for putting this out there. She's my cousin and I totally didn't even know this existed.

Jenelle was my mom, but more than anything, she was just a kid. She was barely 17 when she was found on the side of the road. I never knew her. The only picture, aside from one of her lying in a casket which even I don't look at, is attached. It was taken about a month before she died.

It's really hard growing up and not knowing your parents. It's even harder when the only thing you have to go off of is an autopsy report of your mom. She had on coral nail polish. She was wearing a parka. She was missing a sock. I knew all these things because I read them in her autopsy report. That's not easy reading for a kid. But then again, I've now outlived my mom by two times plus some.

I say all this because the reason it's always been important to me to find information about what happened to her was because she was a human being. She wasn't treated like one while alive. Jenelle was beaten and raped while just a child. She hitchhiked because she was a runaway. Her family was abusive and she was molested early on. She ran away at the age of 10. She was pregnant at 13 with me. She ran from Alaska because her stepfather was raping her. She ended up in a ditch in Ada, Louisiana. That poor child suffered her entire life. While I could never bring her back, I will never stop trying to bring her justice. She deserves at least that.

The articles are correct: My great grandparents saw her face on the news. Back then in 1983, they would show Jane Does on the TV from the neck up to help in identifying bodies.

Someone called and told the police her body was there. The police went out and looked and didn't find it. They called again and gave more specific instructions. Every day I wonder about this person. Someone out there knows something. I am begging you to please help me find some peace for her.

Attached is what I have of my mom: A picture a month before she died, a snippet from her death certificate showing you that this child suffered and where her autopsy was done. Nothing really significant in the autopsy and unfortunately almost everyone has passed. If you know anything, please help. Thank you.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting this information Obieewok. Your mom lived such a sad, tragic life. Poor girl never got much of a break, did she. I'm so glad you are doing well.

As her daughter, you could probably contact the local police department or sheriff where her body was found. According to the newspaper articles, she was found in Bienville Parish and the sheriff's dept. was investigating her death.

Here is a link to their web site

https://www.bienvillesheriff.org/

As her daughter, they should work with you and provide you with information about her case. After all these years, let's hope they still have her file and any evidence they thought pertinent to the investigation. If she was sexually assaulted, hopefully they have some DNA from the killer, etc. Sometimes these cold cases just sit in the files until a relative contacts them for an update. Ask if they have any evidence they can test with new technology.

It does sound as though her killer was someone who picked her up while hitching. The information about the anonymous caller does sound suspicious, but perhaps that was the trucker who discovered her body. Since it was near a truck stop, it may have been another trucker who killed her. There are no photos with either of the two articles. I'll have to check, but there were some serial killers who were truckers back in those days.

Please let us know how it goes with the Bienville Parish Sheriff's Office. Hopefully they have more information for you.
 
Betty P said:
Thanks for posting this information Obieewok. Your mom lived such a sad, tragic life. Poor girl never got much of a break, did she. I'm so glad you are doing well.

As her daughter, you could probably contact the local police department or sheriff where her body was found. According to the newspaper articles, she was found in Bienville Parish and the sheriff's dept. was investigating her death.

Here is a link to their web site

https://www.bienvillesheriff.org/

As her daughter, they should work with you and provide you with information about her case. After all these years, let's hope they still have her file and any evidence they thought pertinent to the investigation. If she was sexually assaulted, hopefully they have some DNA from the killer, etc. Sometimes these cold cases just sit in the files until a relative contacts them for an update. Ask if they have any evidence they can test with new technology.

It does sound as though her killer was someone who picked her up while hitching. The information about the anonymous caller does sound suspicious, but perhaps that was the trucker who discovered her body. Since it was near a truck stop, it may have been another trucker who killed her. There are no photos with either of the two articles. I'll have to check, but there were some serial killers who were truckers back in those days.

Please let us know how it goes with the Bienville Parish Sheriff's Office. Hopefully they have more information for you.
Click to expand...

Thank you Betty! I've already been down that road. Unfortunately Bienville has zero info. While a rape kit was done and there was at one time an evidence box, due to a flood and/or fire in the late 80s early 90s nothing exists. Both of the original detectives that worked this case along with the coroner are deceased. Bienville has no desire to pursue this case any further. Jenelle's death was always erroneously attributed to Henry Lee Lucas, but he was incarcerated at this time.

Even if it's just a shot in the dark, I'm so thankful to have this post up so that everyone knows she did matter and she did exist. Thanks again Aimster! And thank you Betty.
 
aimster216 said:
Hello, I am trying to find information on an unsolved murder case from 1983. Jenelle Marie Gridley, aka "Pookie", was only 17 when was found beaten, raped and strangled to death on a roadside in Ada, Louisiana on May 19, 1983. Jenelle was found by a truck driver in a rural area near an interstate in Louisiana very close to the Texas border. She was found off the road in a wooded area across from a truck stop. The truck driver who found her had pulled over on the side of the road to use the bathroom. He was cleared of suspicion after his interview. Jenelle was living in Jefferson, Texas at the time she was murdered and was known to hitchhike. When searching the internet, I am unable to find ANY case details or her obituary. It's as if she never even existed. Her 2 year old daughter grew up without a mother and our family has lived all these years with no answers. I have contacted the parish where her body was located and have yet to hear back from any agency with records/timeline information related to her case. All of the officers who worked her case are retired or deceased and the current officers do not know if there are any files left from her case as the sotrage area is unorganized and unlogged. I am desperately seeking information as to what events/persons caused her untimely death. Someone committed this brutal murder and for the last 33 years there has been a killer left un-convicted in this child's death. Please help me find answers for our family.

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/forum/true-
Obieewok said:
First off, I'd like to thank Aimster for putting this out there. She's my cousin and I totally didn't even know this existed.

Jenelle was my mom, but more than anything, she was just a kid. She was barely 17 when she was found on the side of the road. I never knew her. The only picture, aside from one of her lying in a casket which even I don't look at, is attached. It was taken about a month before she died.

It's really hard growing up and not knowing your parents. It's even harder when the only thing you have to go off of is an autopsy report of your mom. She had on coral nail polish. She was wearing a parka. She was missing a sock. I knew all these things because I read them in her autopsy report. That's not easy reading for a kid. But then again, I've now outlived my mom by two times plus some.

I say all this because the reason it's always been important to me to find information about what happened to her was because she was a human being. She wasn't treated like one while alive. Jenelle was beaten and raped while just a child. She hitchhiked because she was a runaway. Her family was abusive and she was molested early on. She ran away at the age of 10. She was pregnant at 13 with me. She ran from Alaska because her stepfather was raping her. She ended up in a ditch in Ada, Louisiana. That poor child suffered her entire life. While I could never bring her back, I will never stop trying to bring her justice. She deserves at least that.

The articles are correct: My great grandparents saw her face on the news. Back then in 1983, they would show Jane Does on the TV from the neck up to help in identifying bodies.

Someone called and told the police her body was there. The police went out and looked and didn't find it. They called again and gave more specific instructions. Every day I wonder about this person. Someone out there knows something. I am begging you to please help me find some peace for her.

Attached is what I have of my mom: A picture a month before she died, a snippet from her death certificate showing you that this child suffered and where her autopsy was done. Nothing really significant in the autopsy and unfortunately almost everyone has passed. If you know anything, please help. Thank you.
Click to expand...
crime/2653603-1983-unsolved-murder-jenelle-pookie-gridley.html#ixzz4vzLPLQMU
Click to expand...
aimster216 said:
Bluesenakers and Betty P!!! You two are amazing! I have searched for the past 2 years and was not even able to find anything at all!! Much of the information that I have gathered on my own is inaccurate as there have been many details forgotten or remembered wrong. The dates I had don't seem to match what actually happened. She was known to hitchhike frequently and unfortunately this is what led to her untimely death. It just seems as if she was written off as not important due to the lifestyle she was living. Were there any images attached to those new paper articles?
Click to expand...

aimster216 said:
Hello, I am trying to find information on an unsolved murder case from 1983. Jenelle Marie Gridley, aka "Pookie", was only 17 when was found beaten, raped and strangled to death on a roadside in Ada, Louisiana on May 19, 1983. Jenelle was found by a truck driver in a rural area near an interstate in Louisiana very close to the Texas border. She was found off the road in a wooded area across from a truck stop. The truck driver who found her had pulled over on the side of the road to use the bathroom. He was cleared of suspicion after his interview. Jenelle was living in Jefferson, Texas at the time she was murdered and was known to hitchhike. When searching the internet, I am unable to find ANY case details or her obituary. It's as if she never even existed. Her 2 year old daughter grew up without a mother and our family has lived all these years with no answers. I have contacted the parish where her body was located and have yet to hear back from any agency with records/timeline information related to her case. All of the officers who worked her case are retired or deceased and the current officers do not know if there are any files left from her case as the sotrage area is unorganized and unlogged. I am desperately seeking information as to what events/persons caused her untimely death. Someone committed this brutal murder and for the last 33 years there has been a killer left un-convicted in this child's death. Please help me find answers for our family.

Read more: 1983 Unsolved Murder-Jenelle "Pookie" Gridley (case, county) - True Crime -Crime in the news, unsolved cases - City-Data Forum
Click to expand...
 
I am new to this website. I am so sorry about her tragic passing. I knew her back in the early eighties. We all lived out on lake o'the pines. I was looking up cemetery records for the Jefferson area and happened upon Jenelle's name from the Mims cemetery. I knew most of her family back then. So deeply sorry for your family.
 
Obie - I would write a letter to the Sheriff of the Parish and one to the editor of the local newspaper and ask them for help. Some of the cops that were there are still alive as are some of the newspaper people, even if retired, they might remember something. Spark an interest in the community. The truck driver may still be around too.

Your momma deserved so much better in life and in death. I wish you the best.
 
 
Hey all. I'm so sorry about this tragedy and the lack of clear information. I'm new to this website and want to do some more research to see if I can help. It was mentioned above that there was a truck driver that was cleared, does anyone happen to know his name? Also where Jenelle might have been heading? (seems like East somewhere). Any additional genealogy info might help in the search. Thanks!
 
Hey all. I'm so sorry about this tragedy and the lack of clear information. I'm new to this website and want to do some more research to see if I can help. It was mentioned above that there was a truck driver that was cleared, does anyone happen to know his name? Also where Jenelle might have been heading? (seems like East somewhere). Any additional genealogy info might help in the search. Thanks!
 
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