Identified! MS - Lincoln Co, Wht/MixedFem 16-35, UP4769, poss from New Orleans, freckles, scars, mole, Sep'89 - MELINDA LOU BARNHOUSE

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Lincoln County Jane Doe

Capture.JPG
Forensic artist Harvey Pratt rendering of UID

Date Discovered: Sunday, September 17th, 1989
Discovery Location: I55 Mile Marker 26 between McComb and Brookhaven MS
https://www.google.com/maps/@31.3313522,-90.4766138,186a,35y,266.34h,39.47t/data=!3m1!1e3


Physical Description:
Race: Caucasian w/ Asian or Native American Mixture
Sex: Female
Age: 16-35 Years Old
Height: 5’2” – 5’4” (62”-64”)
Weight: 135-145 lbs.
Head Hair: Brown shoulder length, naturally curly or wavy
Facial Hair:
Eye Color: Blue
Clothing: Nude wearing white cotton athletic socks w/three stripes
Jewelry:
Misc. Items:
Condition of Remain: Recognizable face
Characteristics/Medical/Scars: Freckles, pierced ears, mole on neck, scars; forehead 1.0cm, right thigh, possible form of down syndrome, small hands and feet, stocky torso
Transportation:
Postmortem Interval: 24 Hours
Estimated Year of Death: 1989
Cause of Death: Strangulation
Fingerprint Status: Available and entered
Dental Status: Available and entered
DNA Status: Not available

Circumstances:
The unidentified woman’s body was discovered by a man from Tennessee he had stopped at the rest area on I-55 South in Lincoln County MS. This rest stop did not have restrooms, so the man walked into a wooded area behind some bushes where he found the woman’s nude body.

Investigators determined she was moved to the rest stop several hours before she was discovered possibly early Sunday morning. An autopsy was performed by the State Medical Examiner. He determined that the woman died from strangulation and was approximately 30 years old, 5’2”-5’4”, brown hair, blue eyes weighing 135-145 with shovel shaped incisors. The woman’s ethnicity was Caucasian with a possible mixture of Asian or Native American descent. During the autopsy it was also determined that the woman may have possibly had a form of Down’s Syndrome. A sketch of the woman was created based on an artist’s conception and was disturbed to media outlets throughout the southeast. Investigators contacted institutions in Mississippi and Louisiana that serve people with Down’s syndrome, looking for runaways, missing persons or anything unusual. No new leads were acquired through the institution contacts.

In 1990 a many whom was being held in jail for assault wrote a letter stating he had information about the rest stop slaying. The man was questioned by investigators and he revealed aspects of the woman’s murder that only the killer would have known. One item from the autopsy that had not been publicly released was that the woman had numerous bite marks on various places of her body. With this knowledge the investigators made a dental impression of the man and had it compared it to the woman’s bite marks. It was confirmed by a forensic odontologist that the man’s dental impression matched the bite marks found on the woman.

The man was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced 20 years. At the time he was already serving a 20-year sentence for other charges with this added sentencing he is to serve 40 years without parole.

The man claimed he was innocent and that his wife and three of her friends committed the murder. In 1998 prison interview the man stated that the Jane Doe’s name was Jennie Miti and that she was a prostitute he had picked up in New Orleans French Quarter due to her resemblance of his 1st wife. The man took her to a motel in McComb, MS where he strangled her because he was unable to pay her $ 200. The man also stated that he stole $ 400 from her purse and had seen a Louisiana driver’s license with her name on it.

The lead was followed by investigators however it did not produce any results of being able to identify her.

The unidentified woman was is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery Brookhaven, MS.

Investigating Agencies:
Mississippi Chief Medical Examiner
215 Allen Stewart Drve
Pearl, MS 39208
UID Case # B0096789C
NCIC # U382447056
E-Mail: msme@mcl.ms.gov
Tele: 601.420.9140
Web: https://www.dps.state.ms.us/crime-investigation/state-medical-examiner/contact-information/

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office
215 Justice Street
Brookhaven, MS 39602
Tele: 601.833.5231
E-Mail: sheriff@co.lincoln.ms.us
Web: http://www.lincolncountysheriffms.org/

Information Sources:
NAMUS
UID Case # UP4769: Unidentified Person Case
Case Manager: Amy Dobbs
Tele: 865.235.6523
E-Mail: Amy.Dobbs@unthsc.edu

Doe Network Case # 845UFMSL: 845UFMS

News/Blogs:
09/18/89 – The Clarksdale Press Register
09/18/89 – The Greenwood Commonwealth
09/18/89 – Enterprise Journal
09/18/89 – Clarion Ledger
09/20/89 - Enterprise Journal
09/21/89 - The Clarksdale Press Register
09/21/89 – Clarion Ledger
09/29/89 – The Greenwood Commonwealth
10/18/89 – Clarion Ledger
10/20/89 – Enterprise Journal
10/21/89 – Hattiesburg American
08/28/90 – The Clarksdale Press Register
08/28/90 – Enterprise Journal
09/09/90 – Enterprise Journal
09/20/90 – Enterprise Journal
06/26/91 – Clarion Ledger
09/19/03 – Daily Leader

Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/51196772/jane-doe
 
“possibly had a form of Down’s Syndrome”

What does that even mean? How can they be unsure or speak of a “form” of Down’s syndrome? There’s only one type of Down’s syndrome. It’s the result of having 3 chromosome 21s instead of 2. While this can be caused by different mechanisms, the resulting symptoms are the same (though they may vary in severity). As far as I know only mosaicism could potentially give fewer symptoms but mosaicism as a cause for Down’s syndrom is extremely rare.

In any case, they should know by now whether or not she had Down’s syndrome.

I’d like to know what exactly they based this diagnosis on... Because if it’s just based on her facial features, she may as well be of Mongolian descent (no offence).
 
Last edited:
Her Namus page no longer mentions a “possible form of Down’s syndrome”. (Which makes me very happy because it was rather unprofessional imo)

The victim is believed to be mixed Caucasian and Oriental or possibly mixed Caucasian and American Indian. The victim was found in the bushes at a rest stop on Interstate 55 (Southbound side). Possibly from the New Orleans, LA area at the time of her homicide.
Click to expand...

NamUs
 
I don't know how advance gene testing was in 1989 but it is very possible she had a chromosome abnormality, specifically a Trisomy, and lack of advancement/knowledge came to that conclusion based on physical features and dental. Shovel shaped incisors have been linked to genetic disorders, which Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) is.

But saying that, shovel shaped incisors are also common in East, Southeast and Central Asians, ect..
 
Quick, random question...if he's scheduled for release in 2030 (he'll only be 67 years old), would it be possible for robbery charges to be brought against him prior to his release? Robbery has no statute of limitations in MS. He admitted to stealing $400 from her purse after he'd strangled her. As far as I know, robbery consists of stealing something from a person or in their presence and using the threat of harm or injury, or causes injury, to obtain the stolen property. That's the gray area for me. He didn't have to threaten or harm her to steal the money because he had already killed her. My brain is just going down the "is there any way to keep him in prison longer?!" train tracks.

I've submitted a request for comparison for this UID (The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)), but haven't heard back yet. One of the CSIs for a MS Sheriff's Dept. that worked on her case said that she always had a feeling that the UID was on the youngest end of the estimated age range, which fits Cassandra. A lot of other things match up, as well.
 
I absolutely recommend to read information from person who is reinvestigating the case in quest to identify this Jane Doe. Lots of information how the case was handled at the time, details about evidence, how suspect met Jane Doe, confession, life of suspect and rural place where it all happened.

I am not sure how long information will be out there, but definitely worth screenshoting all.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10207177217826138&set=gm.647921975757439&type=3&theater
 
Al Ka said:
I absolutely recommend to read information from person who is reinvestigating the case in quest to identify this Jane Doe. Lots of information how the case was handled at the time, details about evidence, how suspect met Jane Doe, confession, life of suspect and rural place where it all happened.

I am not sure how long information will be out there, but definitely worth screenshoting all.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10207177217826138&set=gm.647921975757439&type=3&theater
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion. Is there another link? The one above is broken. :(
 
I’ve been working on this case for well over a year. With locals mostly. Getting information about this case has been like pulling teeth. Case’s trial was held out of county (Natchez) and there were initially problems in locating the documents. They are located in Natchez County, as we now know. I’ve been able to view some of the court documents and most of the written and transcribed confession taken from Case before his trial. I’m almost certain the man is innocent of this Jane Doe’s murder. If not entirely innocent, he did NOT act alone. This is 100% educated speculation on my part, but I’m confident enough in my opinions to share them.

I wish the Facebook link worked, I’d love to take a look. (I have requested to join the Group) There’s a chance I know the person looking into this Jane Doe’s case, but I’ve not actively been investigating it as of late so I can’t be sure. It definitely deserves to be revisited and her identity returned to her!!

I will comb through the documents I’ve gathered and share anything I can with those who are interested. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her...
 
Some of the information I’ve gathered over the last couple of years....from verifiable witnesses to some aspect of the case or documents I’ve personally seen...

1. She had VERY blue eyes. The recons depict her eyes almost white, but they were so blue that they appeared almost that light.

2. She was found nude except for a pair of white socks, but a couple of items of clothing/personal items were taken into evidence. It does not state where these items were confiscated from, but after lots of investigating, I believe that most were probably taken from either where she was found or someplace she had been. They include; a “Bic cigarette lighter, articles of paper, blue t-shirt, hair brush, pink comb, ladies clothing”.

3. Reports state she had bite marks on several parts of her body; take this with a grain of salt. Crime scene and post mortem photos show marks more consistent with ones received when skin is scraped against asphalt or animal/insect predation, not bit by a human. This is based on my own observations, but to give a little more weight to it, here is an entire book written about the ME/dentist whom the “bite mark evidence” came from... The Epidemic of Wrongful Convictions in America (I think I’ve got a free PDF copy if anyone is interested in reading it)

4. I’m not sure where anyone came up with her having a “form” of Down syndrome. This seems like smoke and mirrors to me. She was short and had “stubby” fingers.

5. Case was the only person charged with and convicted of her murder, although at least 4 people allegedly met the victim before her death and knew of her murder. From what I’ve read, he was fed a lot of the information “that only the killer would have known”. Either by the killer(s) or the people interrogating him.

(I’m sure I’m missing key points that I’ll eventually remember and post)
 
MadMcGoo said:
Case’s trial was held out of county (Natchez) and there were initially problems in locating the documents. They are located in Natchez County, as we now know.
Click to expand...
Natchez is in Adams County...an error on my part.
 
MadMcGoo said:
Some of the information I’ve gathered over the last couple of years....from verifiable witnesses to some aspect of the case or documents I’ve personally seen...

1. She had VERY blue eyes. The recons depict her eyes almost white, but they were so blue that they appeared almost that light.

2. She was found nude except for a pair of white socks, but a couple of items of clothing/personal items were taken into evidence. It does not state where these items were confiscated from, but after lots of investigating, I believe that most were probably taken from either where she was found or someplace she had been. They include; a “Bic cigarette lighter, articles of paper, blue t-shirt, hair brush, pink comb, ladies clothing”.

3. Reports state she had bite marks on several parts of her body; take this with a grain of salt. Crime scene and post mortem photos show marks more consistent with ones received when skin is scraped against asphalt or animal/insect predation, not bit by a human. This is based on my own observations, but to give a little more weight to it, here is an entire book written about the ME/dentist whom the “bite mark evidence” came from... The Epidemic of Wrongful Convictions in America (I think I’ve got a free PDF copy if anyone is interested in reading it)

4. I’m not sure where anyone came up with her having a “form” of Down syndrome. This seems like smoke and mirrors to me. She was short and had “stubby” fingers.

5. Case was the only person charged with and convicted of her murder, although at least 4 people allegedly met the victim before her death and knew of her murder. From what I’ve read, he was fed a lot of the information “that only the killer would have known”. Either by the killer(s) or the people interrogating him.

(I’m sure I’m missing key points that I’ll eventually remember and post)
Click to expand...

Wow, MadMcGoo! Thank you for sharing, and for all your hard work on her case! I agree that it seems unlikely that Case worked alone, if he had any part in it at all. When you have the time, I'd love to see what you've found. Now that Princess Blue has been identified, I'm rethinking all of the possible matches that I've missed in other cases. Her bright, crystal clear blue eyes are a big help when comparing to any potential match. You don't see eyes like that very often!
 
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