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

[carbuff]

http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth500309/m1/1/zoom/

Autry was one of 6 kids with divorced parents. He was born in Amarillo and was in youth detention (Gatesville) by age 13 as a runaway. He bounced in and out of incarceration for the next 13 years. In January of 1980 he moved to Port Arthur and worked in the propane industry. Not 4 months after his arrival he is arrested for murder. Interestingly, Autry did have 2 pen pals that attended his execution- a man from Houston and a married woman (with 3 kids) from the Dallas area.

Nevertheless, Port Arthur is quite a ways up the coast from Port Aransas/Rockport. I doubt there is connection specifically with Autry, but this is the line of thinking investigators should be pursuing.

Coincidentally, his mother, his victim and his female, married pen pal all shared the first name Shirley.

Are the pen pal's three kids all accounted for?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Roselvr]

I'll see what I can find Friday when I get back to my laptop. Seems like I remember looking up articles on her before; hopefully I saved them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I could have swore someone did

Do we know when the police first asked for the help of the press? I'm having a hard time finding any mention in the newspapers from the 80s, although I could just be using modern terminology for my search terms and she was described differently but I left my search pretty broad.

Not sure when LE went to the press, I always assumed there was something in the beginning. I tried a few different terms, nothing was working.

Here's a more recent article that is tagged as having their information provided by the Walker County Sheriff's department: http://walker.countynewstoday.com/front-page-slider/1980-murder-case-still-an-open-investigation/

They describe WCJD as such:

"Physical description:5 feet 6 inches, 108 lbs
Hazel eyes
15-20 years old
Brown hair 10 inches in length
Toenails painted pink with nail polish
Fingernails not painted
Ears pierced (no earrings or studs)
Inverted right nipple

Clothing:
Blue jeans
Yellow pullover shirt
Dirty white colored knit sweater with big pockets, length pass the waist line
Leather sandal shoes
Rectangular penchant with brown stone (some described as smoky stone) on gold chain"

I don't trust it. Why is it now the clothes have changed? Could it be to separate NCMEC's recon from Carl's?

 

[BayouGypsy]

carbuff, I know we aren't really supposed to, but I did find the pen pal on FB. I kind of peeked around but I'll have to go back and see, I remember seeing she has contact with one of her daughters. If you search her name, you should find her easily.

 

[Tony1902]

When did the pendant (penchant) get in?

 

[Onfortuneswheel]

I'm thinking the sheriff's department didn't reach out to the media until recently. An article in the Huntsville Item from Nov 2015 says:

Employees and inmates at the Ellis Unit were asked about Jane Doe, but no one said they knew her. A search of missing persons reports and news coverage didn't yield any results and schools and law enforcement agencies around Rockport and Aransas Pass could not identify her either.

The quote kind of implies that the sheriff's department reviewed media reports but didn't ask for their help in engaging the public.

 

[BayouGypsy]

Does anyone know how long after the discovery of WCJD were the inmates and employees of Ellis questioned?

 

[Vital Forces]

Does anyone know how long after the discovery of WCJD were the inmates and employees of Ellis questioned?

I'd say probably within a week and almost certainly within two weeks.

Ellis isn't a minimum security prison by any means. It's not somewhere you go for a short time. Releases wouldn't be frequent.

 

[BayouGypsy]

Yea, I'm wondering if, going on the connection with James David Autry idea, what if our girl was with the brother and they were going to visit James? From what it seems, if the brothers had a rough upbringing, maybe she did, too and that was why nobody has looked for her? Any way to see if the Autry's had a car matching the description of the car the witness said she got out of? Maybe he dropped her off to ask directions and met up with her later? Went to visit his brother and told him what he did, brother denied knowing who she was to save his brother's hide? Can anyone find out if James had any visits from his brother in that time frame?

 

[Kimm11]

Has tina kemp been ruled out?

 

[zelda_s]

Has tina kemp been ruled out?

I dunno if she was officially ruled out, but it was pointed out earlier on in the thread that there are dental differences between Tina and WCJD

 

[Onfortuneswheel]

Yea, I'm wondering if, going on the connection with James David Autry idea, what if our girl was with the brother and they were going to visit James? From what it seems, if the brothers had a rough upbringing, maybe she did, too and that was why nobody has looked for her? Any way to see if the Autry's had a car matching the description of the car the witness said she got out of? Maybe he dropped her off to ask directions and met up with her later? Went to visit his brother and told him what he did, brother denied knowing who she was to save his brother's hide? Can anyone find out if James had any visits from his brother in that time frame?

There's also the possibility that WCJD was going to visit someone else (someone not on Death Row) and Robert Allen Autry was either going or coming from visiting James "Cowboy" Autry.

Finding out James' visitor logs would be interesting. I wonder if the Department of Corrections keeps that information even after an inmate has been executed? Does anyone know if Death Row only has certain visiting days and hours? If the prison/the different units had restricted visiting schedules we could narrow down who WCJD might have been going to visit.

EDIT: I think I just answered my own questions. It's rather complicated and is possibly unlikely that Autry would be allowed two visitors in the same week: https://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/documents/cid/Offender_Rules_and_Regulations_for_Visitation_English.pdf

 

[zelda_s]

I worry that even if we found who she was visiting, he wouldn't admit to knowing her not that we shouldn't try, it just makes me sad poor little Ruthie

 

[Springrain]

A minor and off-topic point, but I think it is more likely she was wearing the pantyhose under her jeans than the pantyhose being left over from another murder or a girlfriend (but of course that is possible).

If they were left in the vehicle from a previous murder, then it seems he would use them to stop the bleeding, as with WCJD--although he very well may not have. Also, some people were pantyhose under pants.

Yesterday, while on an out-of-city trip for my business class, I was wearing slacks and was about to put on my shoes. I realized I forgot to bring socks (I packed last minute, LOL) and one of my friends said "Just wear your hose under your pants. I do it."

 

[Onfortuneswheel]

A minor and off-topic point, but I think it is more likely she was wearing the pantyhose under her jeans than the pantyhose being left over from another murder or a girlfriend (but of course that is possible).

If they were left in the vehicle from a previous murder, then it seems he would use them to stop the bleeding, as with WCJD--although he very well may not have. Also, some people were pantyhose under pants.

Yesterday, while on an out-of-city trip for my business class, I was wearing slacks and was about to put on my shoes. I realized I forgot to bring socks (I packed last minute, LOL) and one of my friends said "Just wear your hose under your pants. I do it."

If she were wearing the hose on under her pants and she was raped, why would the perpetrator take the time to remove the hose? Pantyhose are likely to rip if you bump into a wall the wrong way. Why take the time to remove them instead of ripping them?

 

[Alleykins]

Just to add my two cents about the pantyhose. Not all were created equal back in the day. I used to wear them under pants for the control top portion (the precursor to Spanx if I recall correctly), and though they run easily, I never found them easy to rip off -especially around the waist and especially with the control top ones. Ever had to go really bad and fought to get 'em off? It can be quite a struggle. LOL Also, the ones I wore used to have a cotton crotch, so it would not have been easy access, and I bet that pissed off the killer. I think placement of the pantyhose denotes the frustration of them originally being in the way of the perp and he having to deal with them, otherwise, they would have been used for restraint, if anything.

 

[BayouGypsy]

I also have questions about the pantyhose. If she was wearing them when she was last seen holding her sandles, wouldn't the bottoms have been ruined or at least dirty? Would the investigators have made notations of that fact?

 

[rascal32]

I also have questions about the pantyhose. If she was wearing them when she was last seen holding her sandles, wouldn't the bottoms have been ruined or at least dirty? Would the investigators have made notations of that fact?

Probably part of the evidence they haven't released to the public. I wish they would release everything they can since its been so long, might help the case... Might not though. I understand they want to keep certain details under wraps for the investigation but geeze this girl has been nameless too long


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rascal32]

I can't seem to remember what happened to the neckless.. Was it lost or do police have it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Flonite]

I think the necklace has been lost.

 

[carbuff]

I also have questions about the pantyhose. If she was wearing them when she was last seen holding her sandles, wouldn't the bottoms have been ruined or at least dirty? Would the investigators have made notations of that fact?

They've never said whether she was wearing other foot gear, or barefoot, or what, so that may be one of the details they're withholding. Or maybe the witnesses just didn't notice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk