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

[christyleigh333]

My dad was at the holiday unit... So I'm not sure. I don't know if he would know how they did things. The holiday unit is called holiday unit because it is a diagnostic unit... Inmates don't stay there long, just long enough to be assigned to a unit or because they have very short sentences... Hence the name HOLIDAY unit. I don't think a working woman would've killed this girl. I don't think WCJD was trying to take their business or stand in their spot... I agree the inmate may have just kept his mouth shut.... Out of fear or whatever. I don't think my dad knows much about the Ellis unit particularly just how the prison system was ran. Best bet would be to find a lifer still incarcerated today that's been in a very long time and ask them. not sure I'm willing to go that far.

It’s named after a man who was influential in the TDCJ system and his last name is Holliday. The Byrd Unit is the diagnostic unit now.

I worked at Ellis and there are a few inmates still housed there that were originally on death row but converted to life during the temporary nationwide moratorium on the death penalty during the 60-70s. Death row was housed at Ellis until the ‘99 escape and it was moved to Livingston. The unit they were being transferred to was originally the Terrell unit but the man it was named after didn’t feel comfortable having his name forever associated with death row and so it was changed to Polunsky and the name Terrell was moved to another unit. Also back in the day, the Estelle Unit (the medical unit literally located across the field from Ellis) was once upon a time called Ellis 2! Each unit has a call letter that is referred to and used when on the main radio frequency....E1 which is still used today is Ellis 1 and E2 is Ellis 2 (now Estelle which was renamed after the huge lawsuit Ruiz v. Estelle - Ruiz was an inmate who filed this case for inmate rights...they won and the rights that inmates are blessed with today are thanks to the case)!

 

[christyleigh333]

Is there a way the prison can put her picture out again. Maybe make sure to hit any that was there in in 1980. Maybe ho ever she was visiting wasn't in Ellis anymore. Maybe her death wasn't taken as seriously by guards or whoever was in charge of talking to inmates. It's possible they thought she was using the prison to sound tough and maybe assumed she was going to be claimed by her family quickly. Since that hasn't happened, why not start at the beginning?

Hi! I just tagged and shared the post with a few people that I’m friends with that were officers on the Ellis Unit at that time. One of them was actually the major over the Ellis training academy while I was there but was a CO for death row while housed at Ellis. I asked him basically if they did spread the story around like stated and what were visitation rules for the unit at that time. The night that she was trying to get directions was a Saturday so maybe she was actually planning to go to Ellis in the morning for visitation hours?!? I’m assuming that since she was just walking around that she had someone to stay with that night and a prepared ride for the next...if she was planning on walking to Ellis from where she was it would probably take her a good 12 hours

 

[weegee]

Hi! I just tagged and shared the post with a few people that I’m friends with that were officers on the Ellis Unit at that time. One of them was actually the major over the Ellis training academy while I was there but was a CO for death row while housed at Ellis. I asked him basically if they did spread the story around like stated and what were visitation rules for the unit at that time. The night that she was trying to get directions was a Saturday so maybe she was actually planning to go to Ellis in the morning for visitation hours?!? I’m assuming that since she was just walking around that she had someone to stay with that night and a prepared ride for the next...if she was planning on walking to Ellis from where she was it would probably take her a good 12 hours

Great insight into the Ellis unit, there is a lot of speculation about it on the boards so it’s good to hear from someone who knows first hand. I also believe the prison was her destination, either that or she was meeting someone who lived near or worked there. Ellis and the surrounding area hold the key, but it’s perhaps harder now nearly 40 years later as people have moved on/passes away.

 

[cyberbunnie]

Hi! I actually worked at Ellis from 2005-2010 and you learn a lot about it’s history! While the death row inmates were executed at the Walls or Huntsville Unit (right next to the college and middle of town) the Ellis Unit is where they were HOUSED until 2000 following the ‘99 escape of Gurule. So, that means there were not just regular maximum security and trustees housed there at that time but also condemned inmates.

I don’t feel that she actually made it to the unit however since it’s in a rather remote location & is not easily seen or provides access like the Goree, Huntsville, Byrd or Wynne units. She also had to actually KNOW the unit name in order for her to just let it roll off her tongue naturally or think quickly enough to say it...I also agree that she’s a Texan because the towns also just seem to have naturally came out (I would’ve said something like Austin or Dallas first & the prison unit that I probably would’ve said was Huntsville...if you know nothing about TDCJ she probably would’ve just said the prison).

There’s no way that an 18 wheeler would’ve made it to the unit anyway unless it was a skilled TDCJ driver. I worked there 30 years later and the FM road is long, winding and DARK! Also, unless someone was going specifically that route and knew exactly where it’s located I find it very hard to believe that she was picked up hitchhiking UNLESS she was picked up specifically by a predator that sees her vulnerability.

This case is all around baffling! If she truly knew someone incarcerated there and was corresponding with them then she would’ve known that you just can’t show up anytime to visit any inmate! The visitation policies and the requirements were probably different back then BUT Ellis was considered the most high secure due to the level of offenders that it housed! Also if she was going with the expectation of her pen pal, friend or boyfriend being released into her arms well then she was going to the wrong unit...inmates being released are brought to the Huntsville unit for final release (you’re either released from that unit when your time is done or after execution)!

Idk what was going through her mind but maybe it was her dad, stepdad or a brother being housed at Ellis? From the answer she gives to the waitress about if her parents knew where she was...I think that something tragic happened to her family and they’re either dead or at Ellis!

One more thing to add...my name is Christy Booth and the way that I was introduced to this case was through someone making a suggestion for comparison...obviously there’s a Kristy Booth (sp) missing from west Texas and I just thought it was all too weird knowing my connection to Ellis with my name

Great insight! Also, loving the color.

This is just my personal theory, but I think someone at Ellis knew who she was. I think when all of the inmates and staff were asked if they knew her, someone lied about not knowing her.

I also think that she wasn't killed by an inmate/staff; she probably just accepted a ride from the wrong person. The inmate/staff lied because it would immediately make them a suspect if they claimed to know her, I think.

 

[MissTressNine]

Hi, I’m new here but I’ve been reading and studying up on WCJD for a while now. Forgive me if what I say seems stupid, or silly, or has already been discussed.

Even though Rachael Garden was from New Hampshire, could WCJD be her? Both had dental work, pierced ears, hazel eyes, brown hair. Rachael was also 15 years old and went missing in March of 1980.

She was also known to talk to random men.

But back to WCJD, does anyone know if the police looked into the shoes, like where she could have possibly purchased them? Or even the necklace?

 

[cyberbunnie]

Hi, I’m new here but I’ve been reading and studying up on WCJD for a while now. Forgive me if what I say seems stupid, or silly, or has already been discussed.

Even though Rachael Garden was from New Hampshire, could WCJD be her? Both had dental work, pierced ears, hazel eyes, brown hair. Rachael was also 15 years old and went missing in March of 1980.

She was also known to talk to random men.

But back to WCJD, does anyone know if the police looked into the shoes, like where she could have possibly purchased them? Or even the necklace?

I think Rachael was ruled out?

And oddly enough, the shoes and necklace were lost and we have no photographs of them. I believe the police lost them?

 

[MissTressNine]

Wow, they lost the shoes too? In any case, someone earlier in the forum mentioned the brand possibly being Candies, a popular brand. I wasn’t born until the 80’s but I do remember that brand. It might be a long shot but was there any specific shoe store in the area that sold that brand?

I’m starting to think she isn’t a missing person. Like a lot of others think, she’s probably from a foster home. She looks 14, and maybe a troublemaker. Maybe her fosters didn’t care that she left.

A dumb question but the wings hairstyle... did that take some upkeep? A comb and hairspray probably. Either she had these things on her in the mysterious bag, or she was borrowing things from someone. Or maybe she lived nearby but unless she was rolling around in the dirt, doesn’t explain her dirty shirt.

My boyfriend is a trucker, so I’ll ask other trucker wives/girlfriends if they recognize her or know anything.

 

[rainwaterstill]

"A dumb question but the wings hairstyle... did that take some upkeep? A comb and hairspray probably."

No question is dumb. With the wings hairstyle, the wings could be curled back, which required lots of time with a curling iron, as well as hairspray, a comb, and a round hairbrush. The intent was to try to get the hair to circle your head like a large halo. Here's an example from google images, I have no idea who this person is. I simply picked her because her hairstyle exemplifies the curled back look. I imagine that WCJD would have curled her hair in a similar fashion as the picture.

Candies was THE hot shoe brand to own if you were a teen girl back then. The heels and base were hard solid plastic. They came in many different colors and styles. They were sold in just about every shoe store and department store at the local mall, nationwide. The shoes were advertised heavily in the teen fashion magazine; back then the major teen fashion magazines were Seventeen and Teen. Teen Vogue did not exist.

 

[mcluver23]

There were variations on that hairstyle. Most of the girls in my area had straight hair parted down the middle. The bangs were cut into wings. The rest of the hair was one length and lightly curled under at the ends. The pic above reminds me of the Farrah Fawcett cut.

 

[perpetualmay]

Hi! Just joined right now. I am currently living in Houston and I might make a trip up to Huntsville to visit our girl. I am asking around too as I have some friends with parents who grew up in the baytown/rockport/corpus christi area. I've been following this case for years. If I get any info from my friends I will post on here and let y'all know! Thank you!

 

[runningon3mpty]

Hi! Just joined right now. I am currently living in Houston and I might make a trip up to Huntsville to visit our girl. I am asking around too as I have some friends with parents who grew up in the baytown/rockport/corpus christi area. I've been following this case for years. If I get any info from my friends I will post on here and let y'all know! Thank you!

I couldn't find anything through records while in Rockport, but next time I go back I plan to try doing more research. Weather was awful while I was there, so I didn't get to research in the area as much as I wanted. When you say going to visit our girl, do you mean visiting her grave? If you need help locating her grave, I'll gladly help you find her a bit faster. I just visited her grave 2 weeks ago and left her a seashell I brought back from Rockport. Can't wait to hear about any info you can get for this case!

 

[Sweetluv]

I believe she was on the younger side, so IF she was never reported missing and the autopsy revealed she was well nourished, one could assume she lived in a group type home...or chronically ran away so this time was no different. Asking for directions, this was her first time there...maybe the only family she had was dad or brother and they were recently sentenced there?

 

[turbo_sloth]

Was this posted here? Looks like Vice Media did a YouTube segment on Carl Koppelman the graphic designer who does image reconstructions of John/Jane Does. They mention web sleuths and Walker County Jane Doe. The intro includes a color image of WCJD that I'd never seen before.:

 

[SisterGrimm]

Was this posted here? Looks like Vice Media did a YouTube segment on Carl Koppelman the graphic designer who does image reconstructions of John/Jane Does. They mention web sleuths and Walker County Jane Doe. The intro includes a color image of WCJD that I'd never seen before.:

Not yet but I just saw this the other day!

 

[Tabirey]

Was this posted here? Looks like Vice Media did a YouTube segment on Carl Koppelman the graphic designer who does image reconstructions of John/Jane Does. They mention web sleuths and Walker County Jane Doe. The intro includes a color image of WCJD that I'd never seen before.:

Carl is amazing!!

 

[perpetualmay]

I couldn't find anything through records while in Rockport, but next time I go back I plan to try doing more research. Weather was awful while I was there, so I didn't get to research in the area as much as I wanted. When you say going to visit our girl, do you mean visiting her grave? If you need help locating her grave, I'll gladly help you find her a bit faster. I just visited her grave 2 weeks ago and left her a seashell I brought back from Rockport. Can't wait to hear about any info you can get for this case!

yes! her grave. I'd greatly appreciate that thank you!

 

[Ibiz]

Here's a better side by side image of Nina and the unidentified girl in the motel:

Their noses are completely different.

 

[cyberbunnie]

Gosh, I can’t believe it’s been just about 39 years since our girl was murdered. I’ve spent most of today wondering what she would have been doing, not knowing how her young life would come to an unfair and brutal end just hours later. She would have said goodbye to someone she cared about. Someone out there is looking for their old friend, family member, classmate - someone is looking for her.

It’s kind of emotional.

 

[Ibiz]

Why dont they just create a profile with her dna in GED match and find out who her relatives are?

 

[detective24-7]

Have been thinking about her all day I wish her fate could have been so much different 39 years ago