Identified! MS - Lincoln Co, Wht/MixedFem 16-35, UP4769, poss from New Orleans, freckles, scars, mole, Sep'89 - MELINDA LOU BARNHOUSE

[victoriarobinson642]

SOLVED: After 34 years, Lincoln County Jane Doe is Identified.

Fantastic news! Rest in peace, Melinda.

 

[Susikatze]

SOLVED: After 34 years, Lincoln County Jane Doe is Identified.

Othram, you did it again! Wow, cant thank you enough!
Melinda looks so very different in life from her edited PM photo.
I guess she did not have Down syndrome and she was no prostitute, either.

 

[othram]

Othram, you did it again! Wow, cant thank you enough!
Melinda looks so very different in life from her edited PM photo.
I guess she did not have Down syndrome and she was no prostitute, either.

You don't know until you know. That's why we skip the faces and go straight to names

 

[Blurgle]

If that photo is an accurate representation of her she had BROWN eyes, not blue.

 

[MadMcGoo]

What an unexpected surprise!! Thanks to everyone who assisted in giving her name back.

Rest peacefully now Melinda.

 

[Susikatze]

If that photo is an accurate representation of her she had BROWN eyes, not blue.

Maybe darker blue. But indeed iveread some source where it said she had hazel eyes. The light blue is a really really bad recon on the postmortem.

 

[MadMcGoo]

LCSO Facebook.

Jane Does and Missing 1970s-1980s Facebook.

 

[SimsGuy67]

You don't know until you know. That's why we skip the faces and go straight to names

I assume no word on her date of birth or age? Unless family is uncomfortable with that which is ok too. Based on the photo of her in what seems to be her graduation, I'd say she would probably be over 18. Well done Othram and thank you for identifying her. Rest in peace Melinda.

I agree that the reconstructions don't really look like her.

 

[taramarie]

LCSO Facebook.
View attachment 422764

Jane Does and Missing 1970s-1980s Facebook.
View attachment 422765

She has such a sweet smile. Rest peacefully, Melinda

 

[imstilla.grandma]

An artist’s rendering of Jane Doe, now known to be Melinda Lou Barnhouse, at the time her body was found in 1989.

A press release from Othram Laboratories says the identification was a collaboration between the Mississippi Office of the State Medical Examiner, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, and Othram.

Jane was discovered on September 17th, 1989, wearing only socks in the bushes by a rest stop along I-5 in Southern Lincoln County near mile marker 26. Charges were filed in her murder but her attackers were unable to identify her, saying only that she was a sex worker they picked up in New Orleans. They told police they intended to rob her but ended up killing her her and dumping the body.

It stuck with investigators and other members of the community, including journalists through the years, how tragic it was that in essence, she had died alone, probably in a strange place, at the hands of what were known to be strangers to her.

Investigators were unable to definitively determine anything that might identify her. They could only estimate her age to be between 16 and 35 years old at the time of her death, officials said.

The case was already active when Sheriff Steve Rushing became an investigator in 2000.

“Even when I was an investigator this was one of those cases that was still sitting out there, and we all wanted to know who she was,” he said. “They did a great job on convictions, we just didn’t know who she was. I’d heard about it all my career.”

Descriptions indicated that she had brown, shoulder-length hair, possibly naturally curly or wavy, and blue eyes. She was around 5’2″ and 140 pounds. She had a scar on her forehead and another scar on her right thigh. Based on the condition of the remains, investigators believed she had died just days before her discovery.

She was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Lincoln County with a tombstone that said, “Jane Doe.” It still stands as a testament to a life largely unknown, and violently lost.

In 2022, the Mississippi Office of the State Medical Examiner, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, and Mississippi Bureau of Investigation began to explore the possibility of forensic genetic genealogy as a tool to generate new leads on the Jane Doe case. Forensic evidence collected in the case was sent to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas. Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive genealogical profile for the unknown woman. Othram’s in-house genealogy team then leveraged this profile to conduct extensive genetic genealogy research, ultimately providing investigative leads to law enforcement.

“We were fortunate that we still had the evidence here,” Rushing said.

“Sheriff Boyte said that case was the kicker,” he said. “We just always wanted to know who she was, and we just didn’t have what we needed to find out.”

Lincoln County Jane Doe identified through DNA after almost 34 years - Darkhorse Press

A mystery that has long lived in the minds of Lincoln County residents has finally been solved after DNA identified Jane Doe, a homicide victim from September 1989, as Melinda Lou Barnhouse of Maryland. A press release from Othram Laboratories says the identification was a collaboration between...

darkhorsepressnow.com

 

[AliceInPain]

I wonder what her story was.
The picture of her in the grey t-shirt looks to be mid- to late 80s (?) so if she was estranged from her family it can't have been for too long.
Also wondering how a pm photo can look so entirely different from the real person, usually you can tell.
RIP Melinda Lou <3

 

[Bit of hope]

SOLVED: After 34 years, Lincoln County Jane Doe is Identified.

Here is hope for the future. Thank you so much to all involved in identifying her. Kudos.

Melinda, poor sweetie, may you fly with the angels.

After 34 years, Lincoln County Jane Doe is Identified.

Mississippi Office of the State Medical Examiner, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, and Lincoln County Sheriff's Office Team with Othram to Identify 1989 Jane Doe

dnasolves.com

"Originally from Maryland, the circumstances surrounding how she ended up in Mississippi remain unclear. Significantly, the suspect in the case had been apprehended prior to the Barnhouse's identification and is currently serving time in prison."

Is there more to know about her? Was she a missing person?

 

[Bit of hope]

What an unexpected surprise!! Thanks to everyone who assisted in giving her name back.

Rest peacefully now Melinda.

Hi Mad, can you change the header to 'Identified" if you have the time?

 

[cheemsg]

Anyone know how old Melinda was? There's no articles on this that specify age

 

[SimsGuy67]

This article suggests she was 18. She was so young...

Advance DNA testing identifies Lincoln County Jane Doe death victim 34 years later

For decades, a mysterious woman’s death was whispered about among locals.

www.wlbt.com

 

[MadMcGoo]

This article suggests she was 18. She was so young...

Advance DNA testing identifies Lincoln County Jane Doe death victim 34 years later

For decades, a mysterious woman’s death was whispered about among locals.

www.wlbt.com

Just a baby.

 

[EmiliaRT007]

WOOHOO! She’s been identified! So happy about that.

RIP Melinda Lou Barnhouse.

 

[EmiliaRT007]

Just a baby.

She had her whole life ahead of her, sad it was cut short. Child/teen/20s/30s Doe cases hit the hardest for me. But don’t worry, she’s just fine in the afterlife.

 

[Friday Fan]

This article suggests she was 18. She was so young...

Advance DNA testing identifies Lincoln County Jane Doe death victim 34 years later

For decades, a mysterious woman’s death was whispered about among locals.

www.wlbt.com

That's what her killer said.

There are two pictures of her. Her HS graduation and the sweater pic. She's significantly older in the sweater pic.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

That's what her killer said.

There are two pictures of her. Her HS graduation and the sweater pic. She's significantly older in the sweater pic.

Rest in peace, precious soul.