ELLERY, NY (WKBW) — There are some new clues in a nearly 40-year-old case of an unidentified woman found murdered in Chautauqua County.
The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office newly formed Unsolved Crimes Unit has made impressive strides in this case and invited our 7 News Senior Reporter Eileen Buckley to meet with them to learn how new forensics is changing the path to finding out who is Ellery Jane Doe.
It was December of 1983 when the woman identified as Ellery Jane Doe’s body was found off Route 17 in the Town of Ellery.
Now investigators have a brand new sketch of what she might have looked like before she was murdered.
“You see a person who wasn’t terrified. You see what she looked like every day,” remarked Tom Di Zinno, a senior investigator with the Unsolved Crimes Unit. “It’s hard to imagine how much trauma changes a face.”
A new forensic sketch is giving Chautauqua County investigators renewed hope that someone might be able to identify this woman.
39 years ago her body was found by a trucker in an area along Route 17 heading toward Jamestown. She had been sexually assaulted, shot, and beaten with no identification on her, and no one ever claimed her body.
With new forensic technology, Di Zinno tells me they now have two new clues: The sketch is much different from previous sketches.
“She had a tracheotomy scar on her neck for a relatively young woman and she had a scare behind her left ear that maybe is the result of a medical procedure or are they connected,” explained Di Zinno.
Di Zinno says they believe the woman was about 35 years old.
The second new clue, the ‘investigative genealogy profile’ — was developed by the FBI.
“Our Ellery Jane Doe has a strong concentration from the Netherlands, Belgium, and western Germany,” described Di Zinno.
This allows investigators to search DNA databases and work with law enforcement in those countries.
They’ve also been able to identify the clothing on her body. Investigators say it was expensive and from Europe.
“The blouse — the camisole from Italy. The skirt from Italy or Germany and the jacket are definitely from German, and they’re not cheap — they’re really good lasting clothes,” Di Zinno said.
Investigators also continue to investigate a note that was recovered written on paper from the Blue Boy Motor Motel. They said the information refers to airlines and Canadian telephone numbers.
“There’s some identification that might lead from western Canada to Ellery, New York that seems to have a match with the numbers in a zip code basis,” noted Di Zinno.
Thanks to forensics, investigators also learned the woman had at least one child who today would be in their 40s or 50s.
“I think when you’re working on these types of cases — you feel for the individual — the victim to being left on the road —unceremoniously — beaten and shot,” reflected Di Zinno.
Investigators tell me they hope with all this new information, it will spark international publicity to help finally solve this case.
