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

[KT Can]

91UFTX
<modsnip - remove unrelated link>



Unidentified White Female
Located on November 1, 1980 in Walker County, Texas.
Cause of death was homicide.
The victim had been dead for six hours before she was found.

• 
  [*]Estimated age: 14 1/2 - 16 1/2 years old
  [*]Approximate Height and Weight: 5'0 - 5'3" (most likely 5'2"); 110 - 120 lbs.
  [*]Distinguishing Characteristics: Light brown hair past the shoulders, cut in wing fashion, natural, no evidence of color treatment. Brown or Hazel eyes. A 1 1/2" scar at end of right eyebrow . Her ears were pierced. Her toenails was painted pink. No tattoos.
  [*]Clothing: She was wearing a rectangular-shaped pendant with a smoky blue stone on a gold chain (as seen in the victim's sketch above). She may have been wearing jeans and a yellow shirt. A pair of high-heeled sandals, 3" or 4" inch platforms with light brown straps, had been thrown beside the body.
  [*]Dentals: Available. Her teeth had been well cared for.
  [*]Fingerprints: Available
  [*]DNA: mtDNA available in CODIS

Case History
The victim's body was dumped on side of I-45 north, 2 miles north of Huntsville, TX. The general condition of the body and her overall health and nutrition indicated she had probably come from a middle class home. There were no identification with the body. No semen was found on or in the victim's body.
When the murder became known through media accounts, several people came forward and said they’d seen a teenager matching her description the day before her body was found.
A witness identified the victim as a girl who had been at the South End Gulf station around 6:30 p.m. on Halloween night asking for directions to the Ellis prison unit.
She had been wearing blue jeans, a yellow pullover sweater with big pockets that hung below her waist, and she was carrying high-heeled sandals in her hand. To the best of his recollection, she had been let out of a 1973 or ‘74 blue Chevrolet, possibly a Caprice, with a lighter colored top, which was being driven by a white male. She looked disheveled like she had been traveling, and perhaps sleeping in her clothes.
She left the station, walking north on Sam Houston avenue.
A waitress working at the Hitchin’ Post truck stop on Interstate 45 said the girl came into the restaurant the same evening and again, asked for directions to the Ellis Unit, saying she had a friend there. A map was drawn for her and she departed.
The waitress asked the girl how old she was and the girl responded 19. The witness thought that was an obvious lie and then asked the girl if her parents knew where she was. The young girl replied, "Who cares". The witness then stated she asked her where she was from. The girl replied Aransas Pass/Rockport, TX area. It has not been verified that the girl was the unidentified victim.
Her photograph was shown to every inmate at Ellis Prison Unit, but no one claimed to know the girl.
On January 16, 1981, the unidentified girl was buried in the Adickes Addition at Oakwood Cemetery. Huntsville Funeral Home buried her, and Morris Memorials provided her tombstone.
It is believed that Henry Lee Lucas killed this girl, but investigators could not make a match between the bite mark on her left shoulder and his dental reconstruction.

Case Details:
Walker County Jane Doe was found lying face down and nude by a truck driver on November 1, 1980 near the Sam Houston National Forest in Walker County Texas. This is about a half mile south of the FM 1696 exit near Huntsville.
The victim, an attractive young teenage girl, had been savagely beaten and sexually assaulted before dying by slow strangulation. Her face and body were covered with bruises from the beating and there was a human bite mark on her back near her right shoulder. The autopsy revealed she had been sexually assaulted with a blunt instrument.
When the murder was reported, several people came forward and said they'd seen a teenager matching her description the day before her body was found. One witness, the manager of a gas station which no longer exists, positively identified the victim as a girl who had been at the station around 6:30 p.m. Halloween night asking for directions to the Ellis prison unit. She was wearing blue jeans, a yellow pullover sweater with big pockets that hung below her waist, and carrying high-heeled sandals in her hand. To the best of his recollection, she had been let out of a 1973 or 74 blue Chevrolet, possibly a Caprice, with a lighter colored top, which was being driven by a white male. She looked disheveled like she had been traveling and perhaps sleeping in her clothes. She left the station, walking north on Sam Houston avenue.
A waitress working at the Hitchin Post truck stop out on Interstate 45 said the girl came into the restaurant the same evening and again, asked for directions to the Ellis Unit, saying she had a friend there. A map was drawn for her and she departed. She never reached the Ellis Unit and she was never seen alive again.


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[YaYa_521]

Please continue here….

 

[Beekarina]

My stepfather was a truckdriver, and we had a CB radio in the finished basement of our home. It was a pretty common thing for people to own in the 70s/80s, both in homes and vehicles, prior to cellphones. My father had one too, and he was not a trucker, or anything remotely close.

Anyway, like FridayFan, my friends, sisters, etc and I used to sneak on. Mostly we would "sandbag", but we would also do the CB radio equivalent of prank calls. I'm wondering now if Sherry could have befriended a trucker--or someone else--via CB while she was still in Minnesota? It could have functioned a bit like young girls meeting people online and running away today.

 

[Beekarina]

Just as a random example, Charlotte Erdman (15 yo) disappeared from Watertown, WI a few years before Sherry and she also sent a letter saying which indicated she would stay in touch, but was never heard from again.

 

[Alleykins]

Just as a random example, Charlotte Erdman (15 yo) disappeared from Watertown, WI a few years before Sherry and she also sent a letter saying which indicated she would stay in touch, but was never heard from again.

In 1963, Mary Switalski went missing in IL, sent a letter home, and was never heard from again. I wonder how many other young women followed this same pattern.

 

[Beekarina]

In 1963, Mary Switalski went missing in IL, sent a letter home, and was never heard from again. I wonder how many other young women followed this same pattern.

Some may have left intending never to return, and wrote to assuage guilt? Or maybe they thought they were safe at that point in leaving, and then things went horribly wrong? It's so hard to know, but it's interesting.

 

[Deguello]

So good to see a name finally affixed to this now former Jane Doe. Sure seems like 1980 was the year in which the butcher's bill came due--at least in Texas with regard to serial murders.

What a shame Sherri befell such a bad end--that girl would've been an absolute knockout as an adult. In any event, the location itself is really the key in this instance: based on the descriptions provided in an earlier thread, that was a seedy, shady, dicey place full of all sorts of unsavory characters, and it would've been very easy for a predator to seduce Sherri into his clutches in such a gritty setting. My feeling on this is that Sherri ran into the wrong person at the Hitch 'N Post. Unfortunately, that area wasn't far from the infamous "Texas Killing Fields"--which is a straight shot down I-45 from Huntsville. That was prime territory upon which serial offenders could (and did) operate.

- D

 

[FaerieDust]

I suppose it could have been a Sable Starr/Lori Mattix type situation as well, where she was hanging out with older dudes with bad intentions, they were 'cool' because they rode Harleys or played in bands, she was being taken advantage of, but she couldn't see it for what it was because it was exciting to her.

No judgement, I was in a similar situation at a similar age. Manipulated by a mid-twenties 'cool/bad guy' when I was in my teens. He only had one intention and strung me along telling me he loved me and all that... thankfully I got accepted into university so was removed from the situation. He tried to ruin my life in another way and I spent years suicidal thinking he would come after me. I still have the trauma despite living far far away and have moved on with my life as best I can.

I'm so pleased that she has been identified, and hopefully now the killer can be bought to justice.

 

[MadMcGoo]

MOD NOTE

I have had to do some major cleanup on this thread and the previous.

Please keep in mind that Sherry's family may very well be reading these threads. There is absolutely nothing to suggest she was involved in prostitution, trafficking or anything of the sort. Just don't discuss it.

There is also no evidence that "Kathy/Cathy" was Sherry or in any way connected to her. This subject is considered off topic at this time. Should something from LE or MSM be presented on this topic in the future, we will reconsider this topic.

Websleuths is a victim friendly site. Thank you for helping keep it that way.

-Mad

 

[Alleykins]

Thank you @MadMcGoo

 

[Sneaker33]

If I understand correctly, Sherri's parents at the time of her disappearance are her birth mother and the father who raised her. I read her biological father and mother divorced. Others have said Sherri was not heading in the direction of her bio father's location. I do wonder if she had established relationships with her bio father and his side of the family. I don't know his name or whether he had extended family. I bring this up because it is possible Sherri had cousins, aunts and uncles in other parts of the country. Have no idea what age she was when her mother married Mr. Jarvis but if old enough she could have remembered names of possible relatives and playmates from the past. Looking for clues as to what brought her to Texas.

 

[Mark Evans]

Another beautiful picture . Good to remember he like this. RIP.

 

[abbey345]

Another beautiful picture . Good to remember he like this. RIP.

I agree, beautiful picture. Love her dimples and smile. Thanks for posting.

 

[worldwatcher]

Personally,I do think the Ellis Unit prison was some kind of meeting point.
It is hard to believe that,a young girl was going to visit an inmate,without an aldult guidance.
But who knows,right?!

Could be that Sherry hanged out with the wrong crowd.She was so young,and I have been there too...getting caught up with the wrong friends and before you know it,you are caught up in the middle..


Anyway,if you search back,getting back in the 80ss,a lot was going on there, —jawdropping..

This was going on,a few months after her body was found:
WARDEN AND 2D OFFICIAL ARE SLAIN AT TEXAS PRISON; INMATE IS HELD (Published 1981)

It does seem to be coming back ,to the witnesses report,about a young girl,on her own,traveling...-a lot of miles..asking for directions to Ellis prison..

I truly understand how to search in a Dutch database,but this one is new for me,have no clue if ,it is posted before..but thought ,maybe a (re) post might be worthy,in case of interest...

“The Echo , a prison newspaper for inmates in the Texas prison system dated 1933 to 1995. The letterpress copybook of monthly reports has been digitized and is part of the | Texas Digital Archive“

Texas Archival Resources Online

 

[Beekarina]

Do we know if William Bradford was ever considered in connection with this case?

 

[rosesfromangels]

I read that Sherri was 13 when authorities took custody of her for chronic truancy. We know she ran away sometime in her 14th year. Does anyone happen to know how long she was in the state's custody exactly? While the articles I read weren't precise, I'm guessing she was in state custody approx. 6-9 months?

I'm pondering this b/c I'm trying to draw some correlation between someone she might have met while in state custody that ended up in Texas in prison. That does seem like alot of coincidence and seemingly rapid succession of events, but what other connection to Texas did she have?

What a mystery this little miss has been, and continues to be. I don't know about you, but I went to school with a "Sherry". Fortunately her fate didn't end up as horrific as our subject of this thread.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Beekarina]

Roses, the court hearing was in March of 1980, so the same month she turned 14.

After Minnesota girl identified as 1980 Texas homicide victim, hunt goes on for killer – Twin Cities

I'm not sure when in 1979 she was removed for truancy though. The article only says "shortly before she disappeared." Maybe it was very late in 1979?

 

[rosesfromangels]

Roses, the court hearing was in March of 1980, so the same month she turned 14.

After Minnesota girl identified as 1980 Texas homicide victim, hunt goes on for killer – Twin Cities

I'm not sure when in 1979 she was removed for truancy though. The article only says "shortly before she disappeared." Maybe it was very late in 1979?

Thank you Beekarina. So while not impossible, the short period where she was in state custody would seem too short to form an attachment that would take her to Texas? Albeit, kids are very impulsive. There had to be some other established connection to Texas?

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Beekarina]

Thank you Beekarina. So while not impossible, the short period where she was in state custody would seem too short to form an attachment that would take her to Texas? Albeit, kids are very impulsive. There had to be some other established connection to Texas?

Amateur opinion and speculation

Or she may have formed connections before she was removed? I mentioned chatting to people on the CB as one possible way to have talked with, and possibly met or formed some sort of association with people without those close to her being aware.

We also do not know anything about the sisters who left her in Wisconsin. Why did they all go to Wisconsin initially? And then, why did Sherry (likely) go to Denver?

I personally find the places Sherry ran to odd. When I think of an impulsive kid running away, I think NYC, I think California. Denver? Ok, maybe....maybe if you grew up with some idea of Denver as a nearby metro or had a personal connection. But the others? They do not make sense as an attractive destination in and of themselves.

I feel there has to be some sort of personal connection to ALL of the places Sherry was known/thought to have been.

 

[EllieFox]

Reading about the speculation about why Sherry/Sherri was visiting a prison, at 14 years old when we are inexperienced and often romantic I think she may have been a pen pal of an inmate at the prison and may have only started writing to them when she was in the reform home away from home and maybe had a curfew and was lonely or bored. That Cathy was also possibly visiting a prisoner pen pal at Sugarland Prison could show that this practice was fairly common for teens at the time. In fact someone else commented on Facebook that they saw an ad in a newspaper around this time and did the same, becoming a prisoners pen pal. Her journey from Minnesota to Texas could have been to visit her penpal if they had formed a romantic 'relationship' with each other and she felt he was her 'boyfriend'. The prisoner may not have known what Sherry/Sherri looked like as they had never met or if they'd only seen a photo they may not have recognized her autopsy photo as it didn't look that much like her anyway. She may have even been planning to surprise him so may not have expected a visit from her.