Identified! TX - Williamson Co., 'Orange Socks' WhtFem 33UFTX, 15-30, off I-35, Oct'79 - Debra Jackson

[Triss]

So so glad she has her name back. Rest in peace, Debra.

I listened to the conference but missed a big part of it. I believe they said they uploaded her sister’s DNA to CODIS (after the sister recognised the new recon) but she wasn’t close enough a match to Debra. So the DNA Doe project uploaded the sister’s DNA to GEDmatch and that’s how they identified her. Can anyone confirm or correct?

Debra's sister wasn't close enough a match to her? Wow okay, that's weird. I wonder how many cases are out there where a family member actually provided their DNA sample and it wasn't recognised by the system as a match.

 

[DSCrime]

Timeline for Debra Jackson, according to KXAN news:

Williamson Co. names victim in 40-year-old cold case

"WCSO is asking for the public’s assistance in finding out any more information about Jackson, particularly about her whereabouts during the time period of 1977, when she left Abilene, up to her death in Williamson County, in 1979.

Officials and investigators have narrowed the woman’s timeline and locations over these years to roughly:

• 1977 — Debra was reportedly working somewhere, but it’s not yet known where.
• 1978 — Debra worked at a Ramada Inn — now called Camelot Inn — in Amarillo.
• 1978 — Debra worked at an assisted living facility in Azle, Texas"

 

[Tssiemer]

Debra's sister wasn't close enough a match to her? Wow okay, that's weird. I wonder how many cases are out there where a family member actually provided their DNA sample and it wasn't recognised by the system as a match.

Half siblings?

 

[Kitsey]

Every time this happens, I just don’t get it.

RIP Debra

 

[Kitsey]

I’m curious about how healed scars from childhood were confused for recent insect bites.

 

[Two for the road]

I’m curious about how healed scars from childhood were confused for recent insect bites.

ME probably thinking horses not zebras.

 

[DSCrime]

It's devastating that Debra Jackson was a few hours from Abilene all this time and never identified.

 

[hayaletcatcher]

Someone asked if her parents were still alive but they said they were still chasing that up so doesn't sound like they were/are a close family.

 

[hayaletcatcher]

Debra's sister wasn't close enough a match to her? Wow okay, that's weird. I wonder how many cases are out there where a family member actually provided their DNA sample and it wasn't recognised by the system as a match.

They said children and parents, siblings don't always match. Wonder if it was because of the DNA issues too, or step siblings.

 

[hayaletcatcher]

Photo from her updated wiki

 

[hayaletcatcher]

Debra/Orange Socks

 

[waunakeegan]

I will edit this post as the press conference proceeds.

Do you think a new thread for Debra Jackson should be created in the Cold Cases forum?

 

[Kitsey]

ME probably thinking horses not zebras.

I know I’m nitpicking but scars look way different than insect bites, right?

This whole case is so sad. She was so young.

 

[Two for the road]

I know I’m nitpicking but scars look way different than insect bites, right?

This whole case is so sad. She was so young.

I think he said they were impetigo scars. That would look a lot like healed mosquito bites. As an ME you don't really do a lot of outside the box thinking. You guess at what it could be and sometimes you're right sometimes you're wrong.

I'm any case, her photo looks A LOT like Carl's newest recon!! I think we need to be better about adding glasses to Doe pictures. There have been several cases where the does were found to have worn glasses in life and even if they weren't found at the crime scene, it might be the one stand out thing someone remembers about a person!

 

[Kitsey]

I think he said they were impetigo scars. That would look a lot like healed mosquito bites. As an ME you don't really do a lot of outside the box thinking. You guess at what it could be and sometimes you're right sometimes you're wrong.

I'm any case, her photo looks A LOT like Carl's newest recon!! I think we need to be better about adding glasses to Doe pictures. There have been several cases where the does were going to have worn glasses in life and even if they weren't found at the crime scene, it might be the one stand out thing someone remembers about a person!

Totally agree, and I was thinking that eyebrows should be altered in different recons, too. Debra had thick, unplucked brows at her death, but that doesn’t mean they were always that way. Eyebrows can really change the way a person looks.

 

[Earth]

ME probably thinking horses not zebras.

I don't think horses or zebras; I often think unicorns.

Every identification is a mixed bag. The person is identified, someone can finally go home, but often the killer is still unknown and may be out there. It also adds fury and irritation if the autopsy was wrong (i.e. Marilee Bruszer, Bobby Whitt).

 

[LeenC]

Debra's sister wasn't close enough a match to her? Wow okay, that's weird. I wonder how many cases are out there where a family member actually provided their DNA sample and it wasn't recognised by the system as a match.

That’s exactly why I thought I misunderstood the entire thing. I suppose they could be half-sisters but it still strikes me as odd that CODIS would not pick up on that.
Another possibility is thay maybe they use a different kind of DNA in CODIS than in GEDmatch and Orange Sock’s DNA was insufficient to make a definite match through CODIS? I have to admit that my knowledge on the exact workings of CODIS is pretty much zero.

In any case, it made me wonder the same thing as you: how many families have their DNA in CODIS and are not recognised as a match?

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

I think we need to be better about adding glasses to Doe pictures.

LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK!

No, seriously, I second this; I wear glasses at work, but I do not like to wear them at all, so I usually take them off during breaks. I have lost count of the number of times my co-workers have failed to recognise me for a brief moment, only to blurt out how different I look without glasses. We see recons of Does with different hair styles, why not with glasses and (more) make-up?

-----------------

From DNA Doe Project's Facebook page:

"The DNA Doe Project is happy to share the news along with the Williamson County Sheriff's Office, Texas that Orange Socks Jane Doe has been identified as Debra Jackson. It was our honor to be a part of this search since April 2018. There have been many challenges. It was a difficult process to obtain sufficient DNA for usable data to upload to GEDmatch. We were further challenged when the two databases we rely on for genetic genealogical research were suddenly reduced in size by a change in their terms of service.

We were in the process of narrowing our genealogical search, when the recent publication of the new facial reconstruction by Natalie Murry caught the attention of a family member. The relative was too distant for traditional CODIS testing to confirm the identification. However, DNA Doe Project was able to assist in the identification by testing the relative with a direct-to-consumer DNA test. That identification was supported by additional DNA matches we had already found on GEDmatch.

DNA Doe Project wishes to thank our team of DNA experts, our dedicated volunteer genealogists, our labs, and the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office for entrusting us with this case."

 

[Friday Fan]

That’s exactly why I thought I misunderstood the entire thing. I suppose they could be half-sisters but it still strikes me as odd that CODIS would not pick up on that.
Another possibility is thay maybe they use a different kind of DNA in CODIS than in GEDmatch and Orange Sock’s DNA was insufficient to make a definite match through CODIS? I have to admit that my knowledge on the exact workings of CODIS is pretty much nothing.

In any case, it made me wonder the same thing as you: how many families have their DNA in CODIS and are not recognised as a match?

There was a case of an Unknown out of the Pacific Northwest (Last name was Morrison) She was found in 1974. DNA was tested against her mother and brother. It was inclusive. So, they exhumed her father who died in 1976. He was a match. I guess they need to make sure that enough centimorgans match up to be "conclusive". Maybe her mom did meet the threshold for "parent" and they were left in limbo, but so weren't certain. (I don't know, just speculating)

 

[rainwaterstill]

I’m curious about how healed scars from childhood were confused for recent insect bites.

Wire fencing?