Identified! FL - Clermont, WhtMale UP6030, 24-32, transgender, breast implants, Sep'88 Pamela Leigh Walton

[summergirl1]

u/arctolamia on Reddit found some newspaper articles about Pamela not long before her death. Very sad to think she was so young and also makes me wonder why she ended up in Florida

Pam Walton

Clipping found in Lexington Herald-Leader published in Lexington, Kentucky on 7/6/1988. Pam Walton

www.newspapers.com

Pam Walton

Clipping found in Lexington Herald-Leader published in Lexington, Kentucky on 7/6/1988. Pam Walton

www.newspapers.com

I noticed this was in her hometown so I looked up the address and found it to be associated with her now deceased adoptive mother, who lived there. Possibly (probably?) this was when she stole whatever she stole (it could just be money, too) either because of the fine and/or other financial issues, or because she intended to leave after this incident (and possibly others) and needed money or something to sell for money to start her new life in Florida (or wherever if she wasn't sure where she was going at first). It maybe this incident or this and others led to the final fragmenting of her ties with her adoptive family..

 

[summergirl1]

View attachment 570433Here is one from Harrodsburg, KY (not far from Lexington), about 4 months before her death.

I wonder what was her connection to this address? It was a little over an hour away from her hometown. I looked it up and it's a house. Renting a room? Other family than her adoptive parents (their address in Carlisle is mentioned in my other post). Or was she living with someone she knew there? You can find Google Street View images of this address and also images of the home of her deceased adoptive parents mentioned in her other arrest record that's been posted..

 

[fsngruv]

Records regarding charges, fines, proceedings, penalties, bail, sentencing, dismissals etc are in the court records.

The case where the prostitution charge was dropped to loitering would be a court decision, not a police decision.

Police reports contain arrest and citation records, they don't contain court records.
After someone is arrested, the courts take over.

The police report would only contain the arrest record for the DUI, marijuana and driving without a license.

Respectfully, but importantly this is all information your friends obtained on their own and then told you how they obtained it according to you. I will refrain from any more conservation because I fear it is becoming grossly off topic.

 

[Kudzuu]

Carlisle is not far from Mount Sterling and Owingsville where I was a teacher from 1984 to 1988. I can tell you from experience that these small towns were horrible to anyone not straight.

The Bar in downtown Lexington had drag shows on Saturday nights and while I never attended one I knew gay men who did. Back then the term trans wasn't a thing yet. We just called them cross dressers or drag queens or Queer or gay depending on how they identified. Or bull dikes etc.

My bet is Pamela was targeted by police for her crimes and it wouldn't surprise me if they physically harmed her.

Also, many gay men and drag queens (using the old term) were murdered when The Bar closed. They'd go to their cars and get jumped. I heard stories of this. It was downtown no lights out back then. The murders were never in the news. It got so bad people who went to The Bar had to go in groups of 2 or more. I went to the bar a few times. It was a wild place.

Pamela was more than brave.

Times have changed but not enough.

I mean no disrespect using the outdated terms that some may feel are slurs. It was not a slur and I intend not to put down anyone.

I'm just sharing life in Kentucky for non straight folks however they want to identify.

 

[summergirl1]

Blurry, but still a goodie: Pamela played in her high school band. There's another photo of the band lined up in her school's 1977 yearbook, but I can't seem to figure out if she's on the far left or far right (forgot which way files go in military-style marching band...) but it's there in case someone wants to figure it out. From what I could tell, she was a tuba player. She was also in her school's photography club.

Sorry these are blurry, but worth sharing to treasure her memory.

That last picture sure looks like the earlier reconstruction, but from the side..

 

[summergirl1]

I came of age in 1990's rural Kentucky, which I suspect that would be about as equally "redneck" as Florida at the time of this individual's death.
People, especially gay people, would kind of just "know" who was gay without anyone having to make some sort of formal announcement. There were only a couple "out" people at my high school. The rest of us just kind of kept our mouths shut, basically to avoid any kind of stigma being attached to us.

After graduation, some of us stayed around. Some of us went to the bigger cities, even if merely to Louisville a couple of counties north, where gays had more of a presence. The others, who knows?...

That being said, I honestly don't think I know a single transgendered transgender person. I know several folks that cross-dress (or whatever you'd call drag-queenism) for drag contests at the gay bars in Louisville or for parties and such. But nobody that does it in "everyday" life.

I think it's important to keep the M-to-F part (meaning stressing the "male") and that it is necessary.
There are plenty of people who just kind of "drop off the face of the Earth" once they reach maturity, or run away from home.

Such individuals were almost certain to have been looked upon as "male" at that point in their life. Those recognizing them as "female" would likely be from closer to their death. And nobody's really recognized them from that period. Either that or they didn't know their true identity.

This is a very old post (from 2016), but it's interesting that Pamela turned out to be from Kentucky..

 

[Kudzuu]

This is a very old post (from 2016), but it's interesting that Pamela turned out to be from Kentucky..

Sounds about right. I came of age in the 70's about 45 minutes from blocket.

 

[Friday Fan]

There are going to be some interesting questions.

1. How did Pamela get the surgery she did? How did she afford it?

2. What exactly happened to disrupt her links with her family? (I know, it was probably her transition, but still.) What was the theft accusation about?

3. What sorts of connections did she have locally.in Kentucky?

4. Why did she go to Florida? Did she have connections there?

The excellent post by Marzipanda above does create a plausible outline—Pamela may have been forced into sex work as the only way to finance her transition, it might actually have been the only job she could get in Kentucky—but the details could at least explain how she got down to Florida.

Yes. It is kind of amazing, considering how young she was etc....

It makes you wonder....???

I was used to "cross-dressers" and not people who had transitioned. Maybe there were more than we knew about?

I'm pretty sure based on their addresses, that Pamela's family did not appear wealthy and also since the mother's obituary listed her under her adopted name, that they did not assist with the surgery. Nor do I feel likely they would have had the funds, even if Pamela had "stolen" them. Maybe there was a benefactor? Or maybe she saved and saved for the surgery?

 

[RandyMcDonald]

Carlisle is not far from Mount Sterling and Owingsville where I was a teacher from 1984 to 1988. I can tell you from experience that these small towns were horrible to anyone not straight.

The Bar in downtown Lexington had drag shows on Saturday nights and while I never attended one I knew gay men who did. Back then the term trans wasn't a thing yet. We just called them cross dressers or drag queens or Queer or gay depending on how they identified. Or bull dikes etc.

My bet is Pamela was targeted by police for her crimes and it wouldn't surprise me if they physically harmed her.

Also, many gay men and drag queens (using the old term) were murdered when The Bar closed. They'd go to their cars and get jumped. I heard stories of this. It was downtown no lights out back then. The murders were never in the news. It got so bad people who went to The Bar had to go in groups of 2 or more. I went to the bar a few times. It was a wild place.

Things could be bad.

At least as late as the 1970s, drag queens going to perform at a bar on Yonge Street in Toronto--then the heart of the village and also a major street--often had to run past, with other bar visitors, crowds of young people throwing garbage and rotten tomatoes. Sometimes the police gave them the tomatoes. Growing up on PEI in the 1980s, meanwhile, the climate was very repressive--the first Pride parade in the mid-1990s was set up specifically with the goals of letting Islanders know there were LGBTQ Islanders and of trying to get discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation included in the human rights code.

It makes you wonder....???

I was used to "cross-dressers" and not people who had transitioned. Maybe there were more than we knew about?

I do not doubt it. Lots can get hidden in small towns, especially as people get marginalized and/or moved away.

 

[RandyMcDonald]

I noticed this was in her hometown so I looked up the address and found it to be associated with her now deceased adoptive mother, who lived there. Possibly (probably?) this was when she stole whatever she stole (it could just be money, too) either because of the fine and/or other financial issues, or because she intended to leave after this incident (and possibly others) and needed money or something to sell for money to start her new life in Florida (or wherever if she wasn't sure where she was going at first). It maybe this incident or this and others led to the final fragmenting of her ties with her adoptive family..

That is one narrative that sounds not terribly unbelievable.

 

[Tower]

Things could be bad.

At least as late as the 1970s, drag queens going to perform at a bar on Yonge Street in Toronto--then the heart of the village and also a major street--often had to run past, with other bar visitors, crowds of young people throwing garbage and rotten tomatoes. Sometimes the police gave them the tomatoes. Growing up on PEI in the 1980s, meanwhile, the climate was very repressive--the first Pride parade in the mid-1990s was set up specifically with the goals of letting Islanders know there were LGBTQ Islanders and of trying to get discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation included in the human rights code.



I do not doubt it. Lots can get hidden in small towns, especially as people get marginalized and/or moved away.

Thank you for sharing this, to you and all who are sharing historical context in this thread. I apologize for not mentioning everyone by name here. I grew up in large cities in California and there was certainly discrimination of all kinds, but nothing like this. In the 80s and 90s, folks of all kinds were pretty celebrated in San Francisco, from what I saw when I was little.

I am sad that we still don’t allow everyone to live their truth proudly.

 

[Kudzuu]

The people who scare me are the ones who act supportive but aren't. Their motivations to do that are usually not good. I mean this as all marginalized groups.

I have a black friend who can weed out what she calls undercover racists.

Unfortunately it is getting easier to hate in the present climate.

I am 100% for living your truth. Moo

 

[summergirl1]

There are going to be some interesting questions.

1. How did Pamela get the surgery she did? How did she afford it?

2. What exactly happened to disrupt her links with her family? (I know, it was probably her transition, but still.) What was the theft accusation about?

3. What sorts of connections did she have locally.in Kentucky?

4. Why did she go to Florida? Did she have connections there?

The excellent post by Marzipanda above does create a plausible outline—Pamela may have been forced into sex work as the only way to finance her transition, it might actually have been the only job she could get in Kentucky—but the details could at least explain how she got down to Florida.

Yes, I wonder who she knew in Florida (through some connection in Kentucky or elsewhere) or ended up knowing once she got there. If she knew anyone there, they never reported her missing. Her murder seems to have been committed by a person who did not know her though, likely a very similar scenario to this Doe who was never publicly identified Pillar Point Doe | DNA Doe Project. The person may or may not be alive and it may not be, like the above case, provable enough in court to charge the person (in that case two people). This probably has been mentioned before in this very long thread, but I think where she was found was kind of out of the way. Who would have known of that location? And where might they have come across Pamela to begin with?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[EmiliaRT007]

She was 25. Born 13 May 1963.

I just clicked back on this post for the first time in a while. I’m so happy they found her chosen name. She was so young. Rest well, Pamela.

 

[Triss]

I'm late to the party but oh gosh how happy I am to see her identified!
Godspeed Pamela, you deserved better

 

[dotr]

Oct. 5, 2025, By Kyani Reid lengthy article rbbm

Case still unsolved of Florida “Julie Doe” found in September 1988, identified decades later as Pamela Leigh Walton

The remains were discovered in Lake County, Florida, west of Orlando, on September 25, 1988.

www.nbcnews.com

''According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, years of genealogical research by the DNA Doe Project eventually led to relatives of Julie Doe, who provided DNA for comparison. In February 2025, the results confirmed her identity as Pamela Leigh Walton. She was 25 years old when she died.
Pamela was born in Kentucky, placed for adoption, and given the name Lee Allen Walton. As an adult, she changed her name to Pamela and began her transition.''

Pamela WaltonLake County Sheriff's Office
''Volunteers with the DNA Doe Projectspent nearly five years piecing together her family tree, facing challenges such as sealed adoption records, unknown parentage, and what Hendershott describes as Kentucky’s complex genealogical patterns. “It was definitely a difficult case,” he said.

Pamela’s story, however, is not over. According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office website, her manner of death remains undetermined, and investigators are still gathering information. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged Dateline’s interview request last week but has not yet responded further.
“We’ve been able to identify who she is but we can’t really answer the questions why or how,” Eric Hendershott told Dateline. “That becomes, ultimately, the responsibility of the investigating agency.”

Anyone with information about Pamela Walton’s case is asked to call the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Team at 352-343-9529 or email [email protected]. You may also call Crimeline at 800-423-8477 (TIPS) to report any tips anonymously.''


''

 

[Sleuthster]

I'm glad Pamela got her name back

 

[Nieves]

RIP Pamela.

Oct. 5, 2025, By Kyani Reid lengthy article rbbm

Case still unsolved of Florida “Julie Doe” found in September 1988, identified decades later as Pamela Leigh Walton

The remains were discovered in Lake County, Florida, west of Orlando, on September 25, 1988.

www.nbcnews.com

''According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, years of genealogical research by the DNA Doe Project eventually led to relatives of Julie Doe, who provided DNA for comparison. In February 2025, the results confirmed her identity as Pamela Leigh Walton. She was 25 years old when she died.
Pamela was born in Kentucky, placed for adoption, and given the name Lee Allen Walton. As an adult, she changed her name to Pamela and began her transition.''

Pamela WaltonLake County Sheriff's Office
''Volunteers with the DNA Doe Projectspent nearly five years piecing together her family tree, facing challenges such as sealed adoption records, unknown parentage, and what Hendershott describes as Kentucky’s complex genealogical patterns. “It was definitely a difficult case,” he said.

Pamela’s story, however, is not over. According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office website, her manner of death remains undetermined, and investigators are still gathering information. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged Dateline’s interview request last week but has not yet responded further.
“We’ve been able to identify who she is but we can’t really answer the questions why or how,” Eric Hendershott told Dateline. “That becomes, ultimately, the responsibility of the investigating agency.”

Anyone with information about Pamela Walton’s case is asked to call the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Team at 352-343-9529 or email [email protected]. You may also call Crimeline at 800-423-8477 (TIPS) to report any tips anonymously.''


''RIP

 

[Nieves]

I'm late to the party but oh gosh how happy I am to see her identified!
Godspeed Pamela, you deserved better

I agree.