Identified! TX - Huntsville, 'Walker County Jane Doe', WhtFem 14-16, 91UFTX, 1 November 1980 - id'd November 2021 - Sherri Ann Jarvis (14)

[angiemeyer95]

Is her name Sherry or Sherri?

 

[Beekarina]

If she was at a party, why didn't anyone come forward and tell the police about it in the weeks after she was murdered? There should have been a number of people who saw her. Why did they all keep quiet?

That's a good point.

There are different ideas of a party too. Most of us reading along here think of a house party out of a John Hughes film, and not something seedier. Either end of the spectrum though, she could have gone somewhere with people she just met--say the people in the car--not stayed long, and no one gave her another thought. They could have been intoxicated, they could have been oblivious, they could have simply not cared.

Even if it was just a standard party, I know I went to parties as a teen, tagging along with friends in a different town, didn't stay long, we would might stop in have a drink, pick someone up, and on to the next destination. Parties on Halloween, parties during football season? So many people.

IF she was ever in a car with people after speaking with the waitress, and they were not involved in her death, maybe they have, or will come forward now?

As for her not having marks on her wrists, and that kind of thing, she was a young girl. Fairly small, and badly beaten. Without being too graphic, we do not know the order of the terrible injuries inflicted upon her.

 

[fhesse]

There are different ideas of a party too. Most of us reading along here think of a house party out of a John Hughes film, and not something seedier. Either end of the spectrum though, she could have gone somewhere with people she just met--say the people in the car--not stayed long, and no one gave her another thought. They could have been intoxicated, they could have been oblivious, they could have simply not cared.

But who killed her then?

 

[Beekarina]

But who killed her then?

I have no attachment to any theory. I lean towards someone who overheard her asking for directions, but if we are discussing possible explanations for how she spent the time between speaking with the waitress, and the horrible end of her life, I think pretty much anything is possible.

We have a possible sighting of her getting into a car with people after the waitress. If that was her, those people certainly could have harmed her. They may have also brought her somewhere else.

Two things nag at me a bit:

1. Sherri asking multiple people for directions to Ellis in a short time frame.
2. How quickly she was found after her death.

Did she really need directions to Ellis, or was she trying to make sure multiple people were aware of her presence and that she was headed to Ellis in case something happened to her?

 

[Sierras]

Is her name Sherry or Sherri?

Carl said up thread that her brother has spelled it Sherry, and their father's obituary shows it spelled Sherry. So he's going with that. That's my understanding.

 

[Friday Fan]

I

Did she really need directions to Ellis, or was she trying to make sure multiple people were aware of her presence and that she was headed to Ellis in case something happened to her?

Ellis is in the middle of nowhere. There are lots of TDCJ facilities in Huntsville. She could have gone to one, then to another, but none of them were Ellis. Huntsville is a prison town. I can see someone showing up in town: "OK..I'm in Huntsville, the prison should be here"

You would need a good quality Rand-McNally's to find your way to Ellis from Huntsville.

Sadly, the Texas prison system was originally built on former plantations and I don't want to get into controversy, but it was built for chain gangs and stuff like like. Anyway, you have a lot of these prisons all sprawled out.

To add to more confusion: I don't believe inmates were executed at Ellis. They are brought into the Huntsville Unit and executed there.



Sherry Found here: Google Maps
Ellis Unit: Google Maps

 

[Beekarina]

Thank you @Friday Fan That helps clarify why the first set of directions may have been to unclear, confusing, etc. I was hung up a little on how someone could travel so far at such a young age, and then be asking for the same directions consecutively. It just feels weird to me.

I guess if she wanted/ needed other help, when the waitress asked "Do your parents know where you are?" unless someone was in the truck stop watching her, that would have been the opportunity to ask.

 

[Adrian_Almost_Sleuth]

Even if this case is solved, we may never know why she was in Huntsville...

She was probably killed by a random stranger who saw her as easy prey: young, alone and needing a ride. This would be mutually exclusive of her reason for being in Huntsville.

Maybe people she was staying with may come forward and might remember why she went to Huntsville, but I would not be surprised if that info would be part of an investigation and it may not be released to the public, unless someone speaks to the media first.

Also chances are who killed her is already dead, if the person was a much older individual. (my brain goes to trucker, even if it isn't 100% proven)

 

[Friday Fan]

The sun set in Huntsville at 5:33 PM on October 31, 1980. Daylight Saving Time ended on October 26th, 1980. (The current schedule is based on 2007 legislation)


So around 5:30 pm, the window was running out to make it out to the Ellis Unit with any visible light. The roads going up the the unit are two lane and rural. There do not appear to be any street lights for 15 miles.

 

[Friday Fan]

I am looking for a newspaper article from a few years ago and can't find it. It was about the former lead investigator in her death who is now retired but still working on her case. The article contained two unique pieces of information. First, it contained the only mention of another witness who saw a teenage girl matching her description talking to young men in a station wagon. While this was fairly vague, it was the only indication that she might have left the truck stop alive. I personally believe she was killed by a truck driver, so I don't know what to make of this witness, but it is an interesting observation. The other piece of information was about the inmates at the prison. In the article, he stated that there was basically only one person that they suspected of being their contact, but he stonewalled them. I find that fascinating, because it suggests that they had some idea what she was looking for in the prison.

Has someone seen the article and knows where to find it?

It has a lot of errors in it...

https://www.portasouthjetty.com/articles/cold-case/

It says she was last seen during the day on October 30th.

Whereas, she was last seen in the early evening at the Hitchin Post on October 31st. Both time lines are very different.

I just don't find this credible....

He is also wrong about runaways. He called them "throwaways, who were never reported missing". That has proven pretty much to be BS. Parents do care. They may get frustrated and give up, but most of the time, they had contacted someone.

 

[Sierras]

I know there's a lot of speculation about why Sherry was trying to get to the prison. An awful thought has come to me. I sure hope it wasn't some kind of joke/prank that someone was trying to pull on her and ... it went horribly wrong.

 

[onceuponadecember]

My god, this is an even sadder timeline than I initially expected. From Carl's initial words, I had thought she was just wonderous and left home one day, but now I see it is even worse than any of us probably had thought.

 

[Spilt_Milk.77]

I wonder if they were freckles that were only really noticeable in the summer months and not the colder ones, when she was found.
But one of the recons does feature the mole, so they were aware of it it seems. Just don't understand why it wasn't listed as a distinguishing feature anywhere IF they knew about it

I'm from Fort Worth Texas which is a long way up north from where she was found and I didn't live in the 80s but it doesn't get that cold here, even now it's still getting up to 80. It might be hidden by something in the post mortem or covered by the mortician by accident after embalming.

 

[Hockeyfan158]

I think this might have been the guy who killed her again speculation but i think it might have been him or Edward Harold Bell Robert Ben Rhoades - Wikipedia

 

[Springrain]

I know there's a lot of speculation about why Sherry was trying to get to the prison. An awful thought has come to me. I sure hope it wasn't some kind of joke/prank that someone was trying to pull on her and ... it went horribly wrong.

Sorry, I'm not really sure what you mean - would you mind cluing me in a bit as to what you mean?

I'm from Fort Worth Texas which is a long way up north from where she was found and I didn't live in the 80s but it doesn't get that cold here, even now it's still getting up to 80. It might be hidden by something in the post mortem or covered by the mortician by accident after embalming.

It's up to 80 in November in Texas? Dang. If it was around that temp when Sherry got to Huntsville, I don't understand why she dressed as warmly as she did, especially with her being from Minnesota and (presumably) used to very cold weather. Maybe it was colder that day, I guess, but I have trouble understanding why a Minnesota girl would wear a blouse and a sweater and jeans in 80-ish weather?

 

[Spilt_Milk.77]

Sorry, I'm not really sure what you mean - would you mind cluing me in a bit as to what you mean?



It's up to 80 in November in Texas? Dang. If it was around that temp when Sherry got to Huntsville, I don't understand why she dressed as warmly as she did, especially with her being from Minnesota and (presumably) used to very cold weather. Maybe it was colder that day, I guess, but I have trouble understanding why a Minnesota girl would wear a blouse and a sweater and jeans in 80-ish weather?

It could've been for night temps, it's 54 and windy right now and the wind can get to you after walking for awhile. Maybe for the air conditioning in some places too.

 

[Spilt_Milk.77]

It could've been for night temps, it's 54 and windy right now and the wind can get to you after walking for awhile. Maybe for the air conditioning in some places too.

To add to this too: during my sophomore year I would be super cold in the morning with it being in the 50s and 40s when I would go to school I would layer with long sleeves and a jacket but it heating up to the upper 70s by 5 when I would go home. I'm hoping that might put it into perspective a Little

 

[abbey345]

According to the Weather Underground, this was the actual weather report for Oct. 31,1980.

College Station, TX Weather History | Weather Underground

 

[Spilt_Milk.77]

I looked up the weather on weather underground and it got down to 34 that night. (I don't know how reliable it is..weather underground used to have really good data, but things have gotten messed up over there) However San Antonio's was 37...so much cooler than average...if it is reliable....A big if

What city did you use? There's a post above that shows collage station which is super close to walker county and here's a link for Houston which is an hour away from walker county: Houston, TX Weather History | Weather Underground

It was in the 40s at the lowest according to the college station weather.

Now before we get too distracted with what the weather was I started talking about it because someone thought her freckles could've disappeared with the colder months. The weather here is too warm at that time for that dark of a freckle to vanish. Its just not visible in the post mortem and I think it's not visible after the embalming due to the type of foundation they use. Since it's not visible in those photos it's not really shown in the reconstruction.

 

[Sierras]

@Springrain, I'm sorry for being confusing. It was Halloween night as we all know. I just have a vague idea of some kids trying to pull a joke/prank on her by telling her she was supposed to meet someone at/by the prison. I don't know. I could be way off. It was just a wild idea that came across my mind. That may not even be what happened.