Identified! AZ - Maricopa, WhtFem, 40-50, UP2004, Phoenix, auto/pedestrian, Nov'04 - Amelia Muñoz Loera

[Coffee56]

WARNING - PM AT LINKS!!

Case Numbers
NCMEC Number--
ME/C Case Number04-3949
Demographics
SexFemale
Race / EthnicityWhite / Caucasian
Possible First Name--
Possible Middle Name--
Possible Last Name--
Possible Nickname--
Estimated Age GroupAdult - Pre 60
Estimated Age Range (Years)40-50
Estimated Year of Death2004
Estimated PMIMinutes
Height5' 4"(64 inches) , Measured
Weight158 lbs, Measured
Circumstances
TypeUnidentified Deceased
Date Body FoundNovember 21, 2004
NamUs Case CreatedMay 11, 2008
ME/C QA Reviewed--
Location Found Map
LocationPhoenix, Arizona 85040
CountyMaricopa County
GPS Coordinates (Not Mapped)--
Circumstances of RecoveryThis woman was struck by a car that fled the scene at 15th Street and Broadway.
Details of Recovery


Inventory of RemainsAll parts recovered
Condition of RemainsRecognizable face
Physical Description
Hair ColorBlack
Head Hair DescriptionShort black
Body Hair Description--
Facial Hair Description--
Left Eye ColorBrown
Right Eye ColorBrown
Eye DescriptionBrown
Distinctive Physical Features
No Known Information

Clothing and Accessories
Item
Description
Clothing
Green sweatpants and a flowered t-shirt
On the Body

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

182UFAZ

 

[Melt71]

Pending DDP case - at lab for sequencing

 

[Melt71]

Now "loaded into GEDmatch and undergoing genealogical analysis" according to DDP's FB page.

 

[ntt1]

First appearance on the DDP spreadsheet and she has a top match of 215.9 cM.

 

[MarziPanda]

That's a pretty close match, should be a quick ID unless there's endogomy in the mix.

 

[djanga]

There is an update on Phoenix Jane Doe on DDP facebook page:
“The Phoenix Police Department has reached out to the public for assistance.2004. DNA analysis has suggested that the woman may have family in Calvillo, Aguascalientes, Mexico. Visit our site for a downloadable announcement”

 

[ntt1]

Now has a highest match of 371.3 as per the DDP Spreadsheet.

 

[JovanSrna]

Now has a highest match of 371.3 as per the DDP Spreadsheet.

@Liv27 this should be a slam dunk now I take it? What kind of relationship are we looking at?

 

[Liv27]

@Liv27 this should be a slam dunk now I take it? What kind of relationship are we looking at?

I have a 359 cM on 23&Me and she’s my first cousin, once removed, so it should be around that.

 

[MarziPanda]

According to DNA painter there is a 64% this match is a great great aunt or uncle, half sibling to a grandparent, half first cousin, first cousin once removed, a half sibling's grandchild or a great great niece or nephew. There is a 35% chance it's a half great great niece or nephew, half great great aunt or uncle, a second cousin, half first cousin once removed, or a first cousin twice removed. And there's a 1% chance of a plethora of slightly more distant relatives but those are unlikely.

But with a match like that, no matter the relation, it's pretty much a slam dunk (unless there are NPEs in the mix to complicate things). My thoughts are with the family who are likely to receive the bad news soon.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

@Liv27 this should be a slam dunk now I take it? What kind of relationship are we looking at?

I have a 367 match on Ancestry who is my grandfather's cousin but as MarziPanda said, it could be any number of relations.

 

[Grungster]

Who hit her with their car? Why on earth did they flee the scene?

 

[leilarose68]

Joan commented on this in the DDP websleuths thread today already but next to Jane Doe's super high 371.3 cM match on the spreadsheet Joan has recently written "HUGE ENDOGAMY - so not quite as exciting as it appears!"

Endogamy, which means marriage within the family, can make family trees exceptionally difficult to work through. It happens a lot in insular communities/populations. So unfortunately it looks like this match isn't a slam dunk but probably just one more piece of a very complicated puzzle.

This is a good reminder that what appears to be a very close match may not be the slam dunk it appears to be... and ya never know!

 

[MarziPanda]

I did wonder about that. I almost mentioned endogamy in my post where I mentioned NPEs. So whilst this isn't a slam dunk, it is an important piece of the puzzle. They should generally know what families they're working with even if this is a more distant relation than they'd hoped. It's going to be a complicated case but I believe in the skills of our DDP researchers!

I realised nobody had posted her admixture yet. Here's the link to it:
Broadway.jpg

Looks like she was probably Hispanic/Latino or indigenous American, instead of white.

 

[Al Ka]

DNA Helping Unlock The Secrets Of A 16-Year-Old Crime In Phoenix



"First thing we get when we're born is our name," Detective Stuart Somershoe said. "That should be the one thing you get to keep when you die, and she doesn't have that."
---
'She' was hit and killed by a vehicle just after midnight on November 21, 2004. She was crossing the street near South 15th Street and East Broadway Road. Now, more than 16 years later, she is still unidentified. But forensic genealogy may finally be leading investigators to who this victim is.
---
She is an hispanic female, 40 to 50 years old, 5'4", short brown hair, and brown eyes. On that night, there was also illegible writing on her palm.
---
"Her death was probably instantaneous," the detective explained. "Witnesses saw the car fleeing from the scene and she was left lying there."
---
Binder said this victim's DNA shows that both parents are believed to be from a city called Calvillo in the Mexican state of Aguascalientes. This is a promising lead for investigators because Calvillo is small.

"We're looking for parents or siblings of this Jane Doe who are missing her,

DNA Helping Unlock The Secrets Of A 16-Year-Old Crime In Phoenix

 

[Al Ka]

Discovered - November 21, 2004
Unidentified for - 16 years
Sex - Female
Location - Phoenix, Arizona
Age - 40 - 50

Race - White/Hispanic
Height - 5'4
Weight - 158 pounds

Body condition - Recognizable face
Postmortem interval - Minutes
Cause of death - Vehicle accident

Characteristics

• Short brown hair.
• Brown eyes.
• Writing, apparently in Arabic, on the palm of her left hand.

Clothing and accessories

• White t-shirt with blue flower designs.
• Green sweatpants.
• White socks.
• White tennis shoes.
• A multicolored pen from a business on 2075 W. Indian School Road in Phoenix, Arizona.

Her Wiki page - Phoenix Jane Doe (November 21, 2004)

There is post mortem photo in her NamUs - The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[imstilla.grandma]

DNA Helping Unlock The Secrets Of A 16-Year-Old Crime In Phoenix



"First thing we get when we're born is our name," Detective Stuart Somershoe said. "That should be the one thing you get to keep when you die, and she doesn't have that."
---
'She' was hit and killed by a vehicle just after midnight on November 21, 2004. She was crossing the street near South 15th Street and East Broadway Road. Now, more than 16 years later, she is still unidentified. But forensic genealogy may finally be leading investigators to who this victim is.
---
She is an hispanic female, 40 to 50 years old, 5'4", short brown hair, and brown eyes. On that night, there was also illegible writing on her palm.
---
"Her death was probably instantaneous," the detective explained. "Witnesses saw the car fleeing from the scene and she was left lying there."
---
Binder said this victim's DNA shows that both parents are believed to be from a city called Calvillo in the Mexican state of Aguascalientes. This is a promising lead for investigators because Calvillo is small.

"We're looking for parents or siblings of this Jane Doe who are missing her,

DNA Helping Unlock The Secrets Of A 16-Year-Old Crime In Phoenix

This brings us to a drawing of a woman known to Det. Somershoe as "Broadway Street Jane Doe."

The woman is described as Hispanic, 40 to 50 years old, 5’4", with short brown hair and brown eyes. She was hit by a car in Phoenix and left to die near S. 15th Street and E. Broadway on Nov. 21, 2004. At the time, investigators found scribbling on her palm.

According to officials with the DNA Doe Project, the victim's DNA is traced back to Calvillo, a small town in Mexico’s Aguascalientes state, where her parents are believed to be from.

However, forensic genealogist Cairenn Binder says the Jane Doe could be found in multiple branches of a family tree.

"That's the hard part about solving her case, is not only does she have limited matches because she's born in a foreign country, most likely, but also it's challenging cause of the various connections between her family tree and her match's family trees," said Binder, who is with the DNA Doe Project.

"We're trying to reach out to people who are from there who might know this lady, a missing friend or a missing family member, and have someone contact us," said Det. Somershoe.
DNA Doe Project: Phoenix PD investigators use forensic genealogy to solve cold cases

 

[Melt71]

It almost feels like we need a DNA testing company to donate some kits so that more data can be obtained for comparison from within village residents.

 

[Grungster]

Stuart Somershoe is awesome. I emailed him about another case and he quickly responded, he also looked into my potential match and immediately excluded the possibility after looking in CODIS.

 

[Grungster]

Also, I wonder if this woman is Arabian. DNA doesn’t lie but I can see it in the face.