Identified! TX - Huntsville, 'Walker County Jane Doe', WhtFem 14-16, 91UFTX, Nov'80 #5 - Sherri Ann Jarvis

[Beekarina]

I agree about the red shoes. It helps narrow things down, although I personally feel like who knows? i.e. were the witnesses provided any details, for example? They were probably pretty shaken up learning of a young girl murdered so close, at least temporarily, even with all the other shady stuff that allegedly was going on in lot and general vicinity. If you had seen a young girl who did not "belong", she would definitely stick in your mind, especially if you were concerned for her safety, as the waitress seemed to have been. (i.e. "Do your parents know where you are? How old are you?")

 

[Beekarina]

I still think it's a possibility that she was killed by a prison guard who happened upon her walking along his route either to or from work,I'm not sure if prison guards carry (or carried in 1980) night sticks or batons or whatever they would call them,but I keep thinking back to the blunt object used in her assault.

This is a good theory. We actually had one of those night sticks that a family friend who was a police officer gave my mom for protection around the same time. (Different state, on the down low.) I remember being fascinated by it because it was so heavy, and something we were not supposed to touch. Would be a horrible thing to be attacked with.

 

[CADwrest]

I believe that Sherry was 3rd oldest out of 6, but please anyone correct me if I am wrong!

She's the 4th of 6.

 

[muxxypup]

Re the witnesses I believe I read somewhere that they identified Sherry as the girl they encountered when shown the morgue photo but I could be mistaken. MOO

This is what I want clarifying, did the witnesses identify her from the morgue photos or did they go to the morgue and identify her in person? If the case is the latter then it's very unlikely they would have been mistaken.

 

[muxxypup]

Also, I seem to remember reading in one of the earlier threads that the position in which her body was found seemed to be consistent with her being thrown from a height. If I remember correctly the positioning of her body was as if it had 'tumbled' as opposed to being rolled over or dragged.

 

[Doe Eyed King]

In loving memory of

Sherry Ann Jarvis

We remember
When you were small
Chasing you down the hall
You left your little fingerprints
On almost every wall
We watched you grow
Running and laughing
And making up games
Until one day
Where you ran to no one knew
So far away
Lost looking for the way
But when they found you
No one knew your name
An innocent soul
On a lonely journey
All was taken from you
When your life they stole
All those years
Trying to piece together
The story untold
Years you were still a daughter
A best friend a sister
And then robbed of
Years you could have been
Surrounded by love
An aunt a bride a mother
You were never forgotten
They formed and dug
Kept at it
Never sweeping you
Under the rug
Now, so long after you've gone
With what little was left
So many found so precious
They would not sleep
Until it was done
And now you've finally
Been reunited
Rest In Peace
Your part of the journey
Has ended

Ken Roady 11/08/2021

 

[rosesfromangels]

In loving memory of

Sherry Ann Jarvis

We remember
When you were small
Chasing you down the hall
You left your little fingerprints
On almost every wall
We watched you grow
Running and laughing
And making up games
Until one day
Where you ran to no one knew
So far away
Lost looking for the way
But when they found you
No one knew your name
An innocent soul
On a lonely journey
All was taken from you
When your life they stole
All those years
Trying to piece together
The story untold
Years you were still a daughter
A best friend a sister
And then robbed of
Years you could have been
Surrounded by love
An aunt a bride a mother
You were never forgotten
They formed and dug
Kept at it
Never sweeping you
Under the rug
Now, so long after you've gone
With what little was left
So many found so precious
They would not sleep
Until it was done
And now you've finally
Been reunited
Rest In Peace
Your part of the journey
Has ended

Ken Roady 11/08/2021

As tragic and heart breaking as Sherry's case is, it is reassuring to know that this world still has so many good people who cared about this child. CarlK is at the top of that list.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Oakie]

Gone Cold has a podcast about Sherry:

https://player.fm/series/series-2359659/sherri-ann-jarvis-identifying-walker-county-jane-doe

 

[sunnynz]

This is what I want clarifying, did the witnesses identify her from the morgue photos or did they go to the morgue and identify her in person? If the case is the latter then it's very unlikely they would have been mistaken.

Yes I think this is important. Because honestly, look at how different the pm photos look compared to the real sherry. If the witnesses were shown the pm pics I find it amazing that they could link those to seeing sherry in real life. I know there is the link with the shoes but I also know how unreliable eyewitness testimony is and I feel like there’s a chance that the ‘who cares’, Aransas pass, Ellis unit girl was a different girl to sherry. And in that case, sherry may never have set foot in Huntsville. She may have been taken from another town then discarded from a vehicle as it travelled through Huntsville. Not saying this is definitely what happened but it’s something to consider.

 

[Tahlia Woodson]

Completely unrelated to our sleuthing here, but I just came across a video on Sherri's case on my Tiktok for you page. Was definitely surprised but I'm glad her story is being shared outside the UID community and people are becoming aware

 

[Beekarina]

Yes I think this is important. Because honestly, look at how different the pm photos look compared to the real sherry. If the witnesses were shown the pm pics I find it amazing that they could link those to seeing sherry in real life. I know there is the link with the shoes but I also know how unreliable eyewitness testimony is and I feel like there’s a chance that the ‘who cares’, Aransas pass, Ellis unit girl was a different girl to sherry. And in that case, sherry may never have set foot in Huntsville. She may have been taken from another town then discarded from a vehicle as it travelled through Huntsville. Not saying this is definitely what happened but it’s something to consider.

That's an interesting point.

She was found on the side of the road heading AWAY from Huntsville though, correct? (meaning if you had left the Hitchin' Post and headed for the highway. But perhaps I have misunderstood, and it could run in either direction?)

One thing I have wondered about is if the staff at the Hitchin' Post ever contacted police, even unofficially to keep a look out? It seems as though the waitress was particularly concerned about the young girl who came in that night. Where everyone who came forward and saw her is now deceased, it is impossible to know, but could someone have suggested to an officer, a guard or even a known trucker "Hey, there is a young girl traveling alone. Can you give her a ride? Can you watch her?" and unknowingly said this to her killer?

 

[sunnynz]

That's an interesting point.

She was found on the side of the road heading AWAY from Huntsville though, correct? (meaning if you had left the Hitchin' Post and headed for the highway. But perhaps I have misunderstood, and it could run in either direction?)

I believe so, but my point being that whatever vehicle she was in may not have stopped the the hitching post (or if it did, she may have stated in the vehicle either alive or dead).

 

[pukasonqo2]

Texas True Crime on Spotify has a podcast about Sherri and this photo
She looks so full of life…

 

[worldwatcher]

Guess..,it must be posted before in previous threads,because this article dates from 2015.
But have no clue,which similar murder in Houston,they mean?:

“Billingsley said the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences (HCIFS) approached the Sheriff's Office with interest in Jane Doe's case because it was also going through old cases and found a similar murder in Houston.”
——-
"We are looking at this now from other angles," Billingsley said. "If you look at both murders, they happened along the I-45 corridor. Look at where Jane Doe was last seen and where she came into town. A trucker could have done this and there is a large database of truck-stop killers. We are going to sort through those."

SBM

Sheriff's Office reopens 1980 murder investigation

 

[JennyJukes]

Guess..,it must be posted before in previous threads,because this article dates from 2015.
But have no clue,which similar murder in Houston,they mean?:

“Billingsley said the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences (HCIFS) approached the Sheriff's Office with interest in Jane Doe's case because it was also going through old cases and found a similar murder in Houston.”
——-
"We are looking at this now from other angles," Billingsley said. "If you look at both murders, they happened along the I-45 corridor. Look at where Jane Doe was last seen and where she came into town. A trucker could have done this and there is a large database of truck-stop killers. We are going to sort through those."

SBM

Sheriff's Office reopens 1980 murder investigation

Probably this one in particular. Same year same I-45 and apparently similar murder/rape methods but no more details : Harris County Jane Doe (October 1980)

 

[worldwatcher]

Probably this one in particular. Same year same I-45 and apparently similar murder/rape methods but no more details : Harris County Jane Doe (October 1980)

Thank you,it seems like a lot of does still unidentified,after I followed your link and clicked further...
This woman is also mentioned
Harris County Jane Doe (December 1980)
So,if I understand correctly.., - only Sherry was found,without clothes..?

 

[luulabobss]

Thank you,it seems like a lot of does still unidentified,after I followed your link and clicked further...
This woman is also mentioned
Harris County Jane Doe (December 1980)
So,if I understand correctly.., - only Sherry was found,without clothes..?

Yes, I believe her body was found nude and the red sandals were nearby. She had a necklace on, which was ‘lost’ and never photographed.

 

[worldwatcher]

Yes, I believe her body was found nude and the red sandals were nearby. She had a necklace on, which was ‘lost’ and never photographed.

Yes ,I know..too bad.Only her sandals were sent to search for DNA.

Anyway,it seems that the investigation is still focused on other unresolved cold cases:
"Bean’s team is investigating whether Jarvis’s death can be linked to other cold-case murders committed in the same area around the same time."

How Walker County Jane Doe Was Identified at Last

If that is the case,then I do think,..it must be,about the two mentioned Jane Doe murders.

 

[doyoulovemepfg]

Yes ,I know..too bad.Only her sandals were sent to search for DNA.

Anyway,it seems that the investigation is still focused on other unresolved cold cases:
"Bean’s team is investigating whether Jarvis’s death can be linked to other cold-case murders committed in the same area around the same time."

How Walker County Jane Doe Was Identified at Last

If that is the case,then I do think,..it must be,about the two mentioned Jane Doe murders.

I believe that there are at least three other cases connected to Sherry's based off information that LE has put out, although it seems that, based off the location Sherry's body was found, there could also be a connection to the Texas Killing Fields.

I have said it before and I will say it again - I do not believe that this was Sherry's killer's only offense, nor do I believe it was their first. The brutal and heinous manner in which Sherry was raped, murdered and thrown on the side of the road like trash leads me to believe that this was someone who knew what they were doing. People don't just start off with this monstrous type of crime, there is almost always a "lead up" of sorts with other violent and antisocial behavior prior to a perp getting to this level of depravity.

LE should not only be looking into other unsolved rapes and murders from this time frame - I believe they should also be looking into domestic violence type cases as well. I don't want to get too into other cases on this thread, but look at the rap sheet of the Waukesha parade killer prior to the unspeakable things he did on Sunday - domestic violence, assault with a deadly weapon, strangulation and suffocation, making terrorist threats - exactly the type of rap sheet and/or collection of crimes that I believe Sherry's killer also has. If we are thinking about this type of profile here, the more this guy - and likely, Sherry's killer - believed they were getting away with things, the more brazen and reprehensible their crimes became.

There's no way there isn't some sort of "testing the waters" type of crime that this perp committed - I cannot logically see Sherry's manner of death being perpetrated by a first time killer/rapist/abuser.

 

[Beekarina]

With the mention of Houston, I've wondered before if Julie Davis ("Princess Blue") and this case could be connected? This was prior to Sherry being identified, so the thought is convoluted. ( Basically, I wondered if Margaret Holst could have been WCJD, and then I thought Julie Davis and Margaret also both looked quite a bit a like, and wondered if someone might have a type.)

Julie's remains were found in Manvel, Texas, which is only about an hour and a half along rte 45 to Huntsville, passing through Houston. Julie was married to a man who was from Houston, but no one seems to have details on his name or whereabouts. ( a sibling met him once.) Margaret is still missing.