Found Deceased GA - Shirlene Ann Hammack, 18, Quitman, October 1, 1981

Murkywaters

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The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Last seen in October in 1981 in Brooks County
 
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The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

The body of a female was found in Dixie (less than 10 minutes from Quitman) on Halloween 1981. The body is described as being decomposed, but it doesn't look like she was dead for too long since they were able to get her eye color and weight.

The height, weight, and location match. However, Shirlene has no photos and the UID has no reconstructions. Additionally, most of Shirlene's distinguishing characteristics are unlisted on her NamUS profile.
 
  • #4
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced that it has identified the victim in a 1981 Brooks County murder case.

Nearly 39 years after it happened, investigators were able to identify Shirlene "Cheryl" Ann Hammack as the victim of the murder.

Victim in 1981 Brooks Co. murder case identified as fair worker

Much more at the link.
 
  • #5
RIP Cheryl. Glad you have your name back.
 
  • #6
I have found 2 threads at WS for this young lady... posting this on each .. the other one at WS is at Identified! - GA - Cauca/Female, 18-25, Dixie, Brooks Co, 31 Oct 1981 - Shirlene "Cheryl" Ann Hammack

Sheryl Hammack identified, returned home 38 years later | 11alive.com Published: 9:38 PM EDT August 14, 2020

Sheryl’s family lived in limbo for 37 years. Then, they saw a Facebook post from a woman they’d never met. Kelly Sage lives in Wyoming. But she grew up in Quitman, Georgia, just outside of Valdosta. A few years back, she visited the grave of a famous Jane Doe. “That’s one of my main interests, is the John and Jane Doe cases," Sage told 11Alive. “Somebody had etched her likeness in her gravestone.” In Quitman, the story is lore. In the fall of 1981, a body was found near the highway, stabbed and strangled. Investigators arrested a man named George Newsom, who eventually admitted to the murder. The body went unclaimed and was buried with the words, “Known Only to God.” “I was like, ‘You deserve better than that'," Sage said. "She’s a person, and she had her dreams, and her hopes. And this terrible person took that away from her.”

They learned the grisly details of her death. The GBI announced its discovery to the public days later. That was in January 2020. Six months later, Sheryl was still two weeks from coming home. “I get real sad," said her mother, Kathleen Hammack. "I can’t sleep now hardly. I might sleep one good night, and then there’ll be three or four nights where I won’t sleep none, thinking about it." Finally, the moment arrived. At the Hammacks' church in Zebulon, Georgia, the child “Known Only to God” returned to those who knew her best.

Today Sheryl Hammack sits in an unfinished plot in Thomaston. That word - "unfinished" - is fitting..... Sheryl’s family went to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. They waited one more year for tests to confirm what they both hoped and feared.

The Jane Doe was, indeed, Sheryl.
 
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  • #7
  • Murdered as part of a dispute by a fellow carnie who didn't even know her name
  • No employment records or tax info from the carnival to check
  • No pictures of this girl from family, friends, yearbook
I remember real horror stories about the fair and traveling carnivals from back then. Turns out they were true. I'm glad that at least justice was served on her killer but it's crazy that she wasn't identified for twice as long as her life and it took social media to circulate her composite far enough that someone who actually knew her could identify her and push the process through.

Godspeed, Cheryl. I bet your story would have been an interesting one.

Edit: I guess there is a drivers license photo
VWM3BJJGHZIVBFBY5LT23VE53I.jpg
 
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  • #8
Just stumbled onto this sad but sweet, older video.
'Aug 14, 2020
Shirlene Hammack went missing in the fall of 1981 after the she left home to join a touring fair.'

1684711533228.png
 
  • #9
Somebody at the fair must have known her identity for her belongings to be mailed back to her family
 

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