GA GA - Atlanta, BlkFem 20-40, UP33, Found in shed, Clothing, Jewelry, May'04

[BrownBear]

Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP33

Demographics
Sex Female
Race / Ethnicity Black / African American
Possible First Name--
Possible Middle Name--
Possible Last Name--
Nickname/Alias--
Estimated Age Group Adult - Pre 40
Estimated Age Range (Years) 20-40
Estimated Year of Death 2004
Estimated PMI 0 Weeks
Height 5' 6"(66 inches) , Estimated
Weight Estimated

Circumstances
Type Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found May 22, 2004
NamUs Case Created June 29, 2007
ME/C QA Reviewed--

Location Found
Location Atlanta, Georgia 30314
County Fulton County
GPS Coordinates (Not Mapped)--
Found On Tribal Land--
Circumstances of Recovery Found in shed by a landscaper working nearby. Had probably been dead for 1-3 weeks.

Details of Recovery
Inventory of Remains All parts recovered
Condition of Remains Not recognizable - Decomposing/putrefaction

Physical Description
Hair Color Brown
Head Hair Description brown-black, appears to be styled in "corn rolls"
Body Hair Description--
Facial Hair Description--
Left Eye Color--
Right Eye Color--
Eye Description--

Distinctive Physical Features
No Information Entered

Clothing and Accessories
Clothing
light color "Counter Sports" tube top.
On the Body

Clothing
"Canyon River Blues" blue jeans. 23 inch measured inseam. "Ozark trail" blue plaid long sleeve mens, tall, extra large jacket.
Near the Body

Footwear
"Steve Madden" shoe on left foot. No size apparent (small).
On the Body

Jewelry
Red beaded necklace (rosary) with white cross. Yellow metal fine necklace with occasional beads. Yellow metal spiral ring with white stones. One metal toe ring.
On the Body

 

[BrownBear]

3 Exclusions
MP452 Tequila Jones 02/01/2004 Carroll GA
MP17504 Laura Hill 11/05/1986 Fulton GA
MP443 Aussie Binford 11/25/1993 Maricopa AZ

 

[victoriarobinson642]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Sonya Lawona Tukes seems like a possible match.

 

[snowgoose]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Sonya Lawona Tukes seems like a possible match.

Interesting - height and age line up and the timing works out. I'm actually shocked that Sonya is not already ruled out, especially since this is one of the oldest UIDs in NamUs.

The location has me leaning away from Sonya, though. I found this article about Sonya's disappearance, where her family members say she would not run away because she had a child whom she loved: Middle Georgia Cold Cases: The Phone Call - 41NBC News | WMGT-DT They suspect foul play, and IMO if she was killed near her home in Tennille, it doesn't make sense for a killer to drive 2+ hours from a small town to a big city to dump a body in a suburban residential area (on Doe Network it gives the address where the body was found). That only increases the chances of being stopped by police and of the body being found quickly. Surely you'd drive somewhere more remote and hide the body in a river or the woods.

Here is Jane Doe's page on Doe Network: 278UFGA

Sonya Tukes's Websleuths thread: GA - GA - Sonya Tukes, 22, Tennille, May 2004

 

[Katbrew]

Is Da wan Shaw Gibson disappearance related to Sonya Tukes? Both lived in Georgia.

 

[Nancy Drew RN]

This home (1004 Ashby) was sold in 2018 and appeared more or less abandoned at that time, with boarded up windows. It appears to have since been flipped into a very cute bungalow, based on the current Google street view from March 2022. Based on public property records from Fulton County and notices in the AJC, the house was in foreclosure as of late 2003, after being purchased in June 2000. The owner at that time appears to not have any criminal history of violence, etc. It has changed hands numerous times since then.

The overhead photo associated with the record from 2021 does still show a shed, although I don't know if it's the shed in question. If so (or if it's in the location of the previous shed), it's along the fence row to the house to the left of it. The current fence appears new, so there may not have been one in 2004.

As far as the rosary, she was found only a couple of blocks from the Catholic center at the Atlanta University Center Consortium, but the nearest actual Catholic church is St. Anthony of Padua, which is 1.2 mi to the South. Faith Alive Tabernacle is an African Heritage Christianity Church, which follows some Catholic practices, but I'm not sure if the rosary is one of them. It's about 1 mi from where she was found. I would think some sort of Catholic outreach ministry to the unhoused would be a likely source, but I've not been able to determine if there was something like that nearby.

 

[BrownBear]

3 Exclusions
MP452 Tequila Jones 02/01/2004 Carroll GA
MP17504 Laura Hill 11/05/1986 Fulton GA
MP443 Aussie Binford 11/25/1993 Maricopa AZ

1 New Exclusion
MP53252 Sonya Tukes 05/09/2004 Washington GA

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[cheemsg]

Per article the shed she was found in was in the 1000 block of Ashby Grove

Article clipped from The Atlanta Constitution

Clipping found in The Atlanta Constitution published in Atlanta, Georgia on 5/25/2004.

www.newspapers.com