Appalachian Unsolved: KY Jane Doe found in refrigerator still nameless after 32 years

[Hall] I don't know of another single case that's happened in this county where there was unknown and never identified. So it means a lot to us. [Robin] Buried without a name. It was the fate of a young woman found dead on the side of a Kentucky road. 32 years later, it is a mystery that isn't forgotten by that town. [Aaron] Authorities discovered her body inside a fridge with no clue about who she was. In tonight's Appalachian Unsolved, Leslie Ackerson takes us to Knox County, Kentucky. [music] [cars passing] [Leslie] On this busy road, you might not look twice. [cars passing] [Hall] I probably passed this site three times, four times a week. [Leslie] But J.M. Hall does. [Hall] Since 1985, every time I come through here, I always have a habit of looking, and I always think about, "That's where they  found the redhead in the refrigerator." [Leslie] The weeds have taken over but the memory of a murder in the woods still there. [Hall] Right here, right past this log is where the refrigerator sat. [Leslie] April 1, 1985, two people found the body of a young woman inside a discarded fridge on Highway 25 East in Kentucky. A vivid crime scene for Hall who was studying to be a coroner. [Hall] I was young then. I was 21 years old. I hadn't been around any murder cases at that time. [Leslie] An autopsy showed the woman died from asphyxiation. [Hall] Autopsy report showed that there wasn't any strangulation marks. She could have just been closed up in that refrigerator. [Leslie] A mysterious death and a mysterious victim. [Hall] She was never identified. To this day, she's buried in an unknown grave here in Barbourville. [microfiche whirring] [Leslie] The Jane Doe carried a number of clues. [Hall] She had two gold chains separate. One of them had a gold eagle pendant and the other one was a gold heart. [Leslie] It was one trait, her red hair, that stuck out. [Hall] At that time, there was known to have been several red-headed people that may have been missing or murdered along the I-75 corridor. [Leslie] That piqued a serial killer theory that was never proven. [Hall] We may be living amongst a serial killer. We may be living...it may not have been a serial killer. It may have been someone that was actually here that lives here in this county today. [phone ringing] [Donna] Judge Hall's office... [Leslie] It's a story the town of nearby Barbourville knows well. [Donna] It was just a fear. A lot of husbands transported the wives to work until they could find out what was happening. [Leslie] And with the caution came compassion for the unknown woman. [Donna] We're a close-knit county. Everybody knows each other, cares for each other. [Leslie] The community came together. [Hall] Some local singers came and sung at the funeral home. They had the pallbearers from local people, local businessmen. They wanted her to have a funeral like anyone else. [Leslie] Donating a casket and a peaceful place of rest. [Hall] She's buried in the back corner back here. You can see it says, "Unknown April the 1st, 1985." [Leslie] 32 years later, they want to give her back her identity. [Hall] So it means a lot to us, and I know there's probably some family out there that would like to know if they had a mother or sister or a daughter who had passed away that they've never found. [Leslie] No name but this community hasn't forgotten. [Hall] The community still talks about it to this day, the redhead in the refrigerator. [Leslie] In Knox County, Kentucky, Leslie Ackerson 10News [music] [Aaron] Hall is hopeful today's DNA technology could link this Jane Doe back to her family. Old articles show she had indications that she had given birth. [Robin] If there was someone who thought they might be family, a court order could call for the body to be exhumed for new DNA testing. If you know anything about this cold case, you can contact the Kentucky State Police. That's at 606-573-3131.

Channel: WBIR Channel 10

Views: 49,625

Keywords: appalachian unsolved, murder, cold case, jane doe, kentucky, wbir, true crime, crime, investigations, knox county, redhead murders, unsolved, jane doe mystery, unsolved mystery, unsolved murders, appalachian unsolved mysteries, true crime stories, unsolved mysteries, unsolved murder, appalachian unsolved podcast, appalachian unsolved wbir, east tennessee, redhead murders victims

Id: zKq1kxaI6Q8

Length: 3min 45sec (225 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 12 2017