Identified! TX - Huntsville, 'Walker County Jane Doe', WhtFem 14-16, 91UFTX, Nov'80 Sherry Ann Jarvis

[WalkingTheCow]

And to continue on that thought - If she had hitched a ride toward the prison, would the driver kill her immediately while in town on Haloween Night (with plenty of potential witnesses walking the streets), and then turn back the opposite direction of where they were heading? Or would he have immediately turned around in the opposite direction of where she was heading before killing her?

Probably neither. He would have at least taken her to a remote area before attacking her, and that remote location would have been a much more preferable dumping spot, rather than alongside I-45.

So do you think it was Robert Ben Rhoades or another truck driver we have now idea about?

 

[CarlK90245]

So do you think it was Robert Ben Rhoades or another truck driver we have now idea about?

I’m open to Rhodes as a possible perp. I’m kind of leaning toward it being someone else we’ve not heard of though. Rhodes is an obvious possible, so I think if it was he, they would have been able to pin it on him somehow.

 

[LucyOso]

Rhodes also kept his victims for awhile, didn't he?

 

[paul1980]

Yeah... trying to pin it on Rhoades is kind of like how every story about fast food legends attaches itself to McDonalds, every talk show story attaches itself to Johnny Carson or Jay Leno... and every attractive young woman was almost kidnapped by Ted Bundy or almost killed by Charles Manson.

 

[CarlK90245]

So suppose that after leaving the HP, she continued toward the prison and ran into trouble along the way. Her route would have taken her all the way through the well-populated city of Huntsville, past Sam Houston University, and along the 10 miles or so of rural area between Huntsville and the prison. There would have been no need to take her body back through town, past the Hitchin Post, onto northbound I-45 and then dump her 3.5 miles north of that. It would have been more simple to dump her body in the rural area between Huntsville and the prison.

BBM

Just looked at the map again. The route from the Hitchin' Post to the prison would not take her past Sam Houston State University (I revised my comment above). It would take her up University Drive, but the University would be well-south of that.

But nevertheless, my point still stands that her first hour of walking along that route would be thorugh a well-populated area. Especially on Halloween night. And any supposed attack against her (if along that route) would have had to have been after she got out of city limits. At that point, the likelihood of the killer returning through town to dump her body on I-45 would not be a likely scenario.

 

[CarlK90245]

Interesting that the Wynne Unit prison is only a mile east of the Hitchin Post. It's been stated before, but I wonder how sure they are that she was headed for Ellis.

And I wonder if they interviewed the inmates and employees at Wynne.

 

[Vital Forces]

Interesting that the Wynne Unit prison is only a mile east of the Hitchin Post. It's been stated before, but I wonder how sure they are that she was headed for Ellis.

And I wonder if they interviewed the inmates and employees at Wynne.

The waitress at the Hitchin Post drew a map for her. A map to Ellis would be necessary but Wynne could be reached without one.

I wonder if the waitress ever redrew the map at any point in the investigation.

 

[Vital Forces]

Questions I have after reading up tonight:

What type of stone was on her necklace? Could it have been a birthstone, which might tell us the month she was born?

Why didn't she hitchhike from the Southport station to Ellis? She could not have reached Huntsville from southern Texas without being an expert hitchhiker by that point.

If a prison was in fact her destination, is there any possible explanation other than she was trying to reach someone who could then call for someone else to get her?

I've never believed the pen pal theory. I heard the theory that she was living with a stepfather and her mother died. She didn't get along with him and wanted to reach Ellis to find her father or brother in hopes of reaching other family members to live with. She wasn't malnourished yet and she was had brought a pair of shoes she valued.

How common was the type of shoes they found? If they were uncommon, did they ever try finding stores which sold them?

 

[Vital Forces]

I feel compelled to work out my birthstone theory. My best information is that stone was blue or brown.

The 1912 American National Association of Jewelers list includes three birthstones which may be a match.

Amethyst (purple) for February.

Sapphire (dark blue) for September

Topaz (light blue) for November. Blue topaz is the state gemstone of Texas, for what it is worth.

Oxyn, not included in the 1912 list but in even older traditions represents July, can be brown.

It seems probable that the necklace was stolen by a property clerk or detective. There was probably only a tiny amount of gold in the necklace, and I cannot find any information that any of these stones was particularly valuable.

 

[CarlK90245]

What type of stone was on her necklace? Could it have been a birthstone, which might tell us the month she was born?

Nobody involved in the investigation is able to provide a consistent description of the necklace. Depending on what source you read, it is either square or rectangular, silver or gold colored metal, and has either a red, green, "smoky", or blue stone. Attempts to get clarification have been unsuccessful. I suspect that they might have lost the necklace.

Why didn't she hitchhike from the Southport station to Ellis? She could not have reached Huntsville from southern Texas without being an expert hitchhiker by that point.

She may have tried, without success.

If a prison was in fact her destination, is there any possible explanation other than she was trying to reach someone who could then call for someone else to get her?

She could have easily asked the owner of South-End Gulf if she could use his phone, if that was the case.

How common was the type of shoes they found? If they were uncommon, did they ever try finding stores which sold them?

They aren't very forthcoming with precise details of the shoes. They probably have that as a "hold back" so that if anyone confesses some day, they will be able to validate the confession. They only say that they were wooden high heel sandals with red leather straps. Shoes like that were not uncommon in the 70's and early 80's.

 

[Vital Forces]

She could have easily asked the owner of South-End Gulf if she could use his phone, if that was the case.

I don't think she had a phone number for any of her relatives. She would have needed to reach the prison to get information about how to contact other family members.

Her father (or possibly uncle or older brother) was who she was trying to reach in my opinion. She probably didn't have very up-to-date information about him, and he may have been released or transferred months earlier.

They aren't very forthcoming with precise details of the shoes. They probably have that as a "hold back" so that if anyone confesses some day, they will be able to validate the confession. They only say that they were wooden high heel sandals with red leather straps. Shoes like that were not uncommon in the 70's and early 80's.

I wonder if she hit him with her shoes and that's why he didn't take them as a trophy. Perhaps the shoes were damaged and that's the detail they're holding back.

 

[LucyOso]

Interesting that the Wynne Unit prison is only a mile east of the Hitchin Post. It's been stated before, but I wonder how sure they are that she was headed for Ellis.

And I wonder if they interviewed the inmates and employees at Wynne.

That was a thought I had as well. Maybe she was directed to Ellis but she was going to Wynne? Did they check released prisoners or with guards from Wynne? And, did the check with the university students? A prank gone wrong?

 

[WalkingTheCow]

If I went to Huntsville, how far could I go? Is the case information publically available in the courthouse? Are the police there friendly? It's only a 40 minute drive from me.

I actually visited Huntsville last semester. I visited the prison (no, not Ellis) as part of a field trip. Unfortunately due to time constraints I was unable to visit any locations relating to this crime. I didn't realize that the cemetary is only across the street from the prison (duh).

 

[CarlK90245]

If I went to Huntsville, how far could I go? Is the case information publically available in the courthouse? Are the police there friendly? It's only a 40 minute drive from me.

Some people have had luck getting the detective to talk about the case, but I guess it depends on who you talk to, and what kind of mood they are in. I don't think you would be able to get info on the case from the courthouse. It is still an open case, so you can't get any info on the case via FOIA.

I didn't realize that the cemetary is only across the street from the prison (duh).

The Addicks Addition to the cemetery is at the corner of 9th Street and Martin Luther King Drive. There isn't a prison across the street. The Huntsville Unit (AKA the "Walls Unit") where all of the Death Row executions take place is a few blocks away (on 12th Street and Avenue I)

 

[paul1980]

Carl, at which point would the case be closed, Black Dahlia style, with a "the perp has likely been dead for years"?

 

[CarlK90245]

Carl, at which point would the case be closed, Black Dahlia style, with a "the perp has likely been dead for years"?

IDK,. That's up to the local authorities. Different locales have different standards for when to throw in the towel.

 

[aThousandYearsWide]

This is a thought I've had lately. She was found with panty hose, but she was last seen wearing jeans and holding a pair of red heeled shoes. Now the clothing wasn't found at the scene but the shoes were, and this description was just based off of a couple eye witnesses, but I personally don't see someone walking barefoot while wearing panty hose since they would rip, and also don't see someone wearing pantyhose with jeans. It would also be helpful to know if her shoes were open toed which would lead me to believe further that she wasn't wearing panty hose since they would show through. It was a different time; nevertheless, so I may be wrong on this, but my point is if the panty hose aren't hers the killer may be (A) a married man, or (B) a woman. IMO I had always pictured her visiting a love interest at the prison, hence the high heels. If the killer was a women maybe it was a jealous girlfriend of whoever she was visiting. Just a thought I had, and I may be wrong.

 

[Nancy Drew RN]

This is a thought I've had lately. She was found with panty hose, but she was last seen wearing jeans and holding a pair of red heeled shoes. Now the clothing wasn't found at the scene but the shoes were, and this description was just based off of a couple eye witnesses, but I personally don't see someone walking barefoot while wearing panty hose since they would rip, and also don't see someone wearing pantyhose with jeans. It would also be helpful to know if her shoes were open toed which would lead me to believe further that she wasn't wearing panty hose since they would show through. It was a different time; nevertheless, so I may be wrong on this, but my point is if the panty hose aren't hers the killer may be (A) a married man, or (B) a woman. IMO I had always pictured her visiting a love interest at the prison, hence the high heels. If the killer was a women maybe it was a jealous girlfriend of whoever she was visiting. Just a thought I had, and I may be wrong.

I believe they've been described in the past as red heeled sandals, possibly wedge/platform. Sometimes shoes like this might still have a closed toe, explaining the panty hose. If open toe, I personally would not wear panty hose with them, even though I will occasionally wear tights with jeans for warmth, but would someone who was a young woman in that time period maybe remember if they would likely be? I agree that I would not walk barefoot in panty hose, but I also think that anyone whose feet hurt enough/frustrated enough by the situation as a whole to be walking barefoot on a road and in a truck stop might also no longer care about ruining the panty hose.

I have seen some suggest that the killer might be female or impotent since she was raped with a blunt object. As far as I know, there is nothing to say she was not more traditionally assaulted, and then the other done before or after. I don't know if it's known or been released if there's any DNA evidence to that effect.

I agree with others that she looks incredibly young in most of the pictures. I could see her being a junior high/middle school student, if people are still trying to locate or go through yearbooks.

 

[carbuff]

It was common to wear pantyhose under jeans for the slimming effect. They made hose with sandal toes to wear with open toed shoes.

Sent from my SM-T560NU using Tapatalk

 

[Peppered_peach]

So I stumbled upon the Wikipedia for WCJD, and it mentioned JD having an inverted nipple. I've never heard that anywhere else. I know Wikipedia is able to be edited by users, so is that just false info someone posted or did I miss this info somewhere? It probably doesn't matter, but I just don't want to read into false info. Even if she was reported missing, (I don't think she was) I don't believe it would be a piece of info mentioned.