The 28-year-old womans body was found on I-40 in September 1984, not far from West Memphis, Arkansas. Judith never returned to the nursing home to retrieve an awaiting paycheck. 2. Judith Ehmke was last seen November 26, 1986. Helen Tucker went missing in 1994. Little information has been made available about her case. The entire letter was typewritten, including Judith's signature, which is uncharacteristic of her; she usually hand-wrote all her notes. This was about half a mile from the Holiday Inn. It is believed that most of the victims remain unidentified due to being estranged or not close to existing family members. According to the FBI, serial-killing truckers have killed more than 500 women. When the items were analyzed, semen was detected and its DNA profile was then entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), resulting in a match. Her husband, Darrell "Tex" Ehmke, picked her up from the Cheatham County Nursing Home, where Judith was employed as a nurse's aide. [15] She was Caucasian, and had shoulder-length curly red hair. ** Listed information is from the time of disappearance. Martha said she was scared and Lawson said she should come with him and the family so they could get gas, but she said she'd stay behind. [11][19] Farmer had one daughter prior to disappearing in 1984. Distinguishing Marks/Features: She has a pin-sized hole at the top of each ear. Her height was estimated at fivefeet sixinches (168cm) and weight as 135 pounds (61kg). She had reddish-blonde hair. Death Investigation Underway In Cheatham County 12,234 views Apr 11, 2016 151 Dislike Share Save NewsChannel 5 189K subscribers Authorities have responded to the scene of a death investigation in. cheatham county, tennessee The sweater worn but by the Jane Doe discovered in Cheatham County. In September 1989, he and an associate were seen disposing trash bags containing Donna's personal items into a dumpster in North Kansas City. Who are Tennessee's unidentified juvenile victims? This is the second time in the past month a body was found inside a burned vehicle in the Cheatham County area. Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. He left the victim lying near a highway, presuming she was dead. In her self-published ebook The Redhead Murders, author Jane Carlisle notes the killerif indeed there was just onewanted to find girls and women who werent going to have anybody come looking for them. Nancy Lynn Blankenship was one of the few with a name and an apparently normal home lifeif she was a victim of the killer at all. In 2019, her age range was adjusted to 25 and 35. "He was found within six hours of that being posted," said Juvenile Court officer Vinnie Morgano. Only, Lisa Jarvis (a.k.a., Lisa Nichols) one has been identified. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said the body was. [32] Five hundred people attended the Jane Doe victim's funeral, which was televised. Full NAMUS profile HERE. It has long been suspected that a long-haul truck driver is responsible for the killings. Nancy Lynn Blankenship was a redheaded 20-year-old when she vanished in 1983 from her home in rural Lavinia, Tennessee. Photos were missing from albums and jewelry had been removed from Judith's jewelry box. She is estimated to be between 25 and 35 years of age and five feet five inches in height. Because of the state of the remains, the cause of death was not determined, neither was her height, weight, hair or eye color. Investigators believe the victim or the bones may have been run over with a vehicle to make identification difficult or impossible. She had been approximately six to eight weeks pregnant shortly before she died, but had miscarried before death.[46]. She has never been seen again. Although little remained of the victim, a facial reconstruction was completed. "Once you have an ID, you know a lot about that person then," Matthews said. Is Alabama Really Going to Allow Brandon Miller to Keep Playing Ball? The body was located off of the westbound lanes of Interstate 24. Police made a particularly grim and strange discovery the next day in Knox County, Kentucky. A family of four pulled in behind them and offered to help. The Jane Doe in Knox County, Kentucky was found wearing a distinct necklace. The victim was found by a truck driver driving southbound on US Highway 78 a hundred feet east of Coldwater River Bridge at around 7:30a.m. The Cheatham County Emergency Management Agency confirmed one person had died in the heavy storms Wednesday across Middle Tennessee. Police said James Michael Thomas, 38, of Delaware Avenue, was. Authorities were not able to identify and contact her family members for some time, indicating that Nichols was estranged from them. Darrell arrived shortly thereafter with groceries and opened the residence. A young, white redheaded woman was found nearly nude in an old refrigerator at a landfill April 1, 1985, in Gray, Ky., about 4 miles east of Corbin, Ky. Two men searching for scrap metal stumbled upon a refrigerator. Tobacco and beef cattle produce the county's largest farm incomes. He was convicted on those charges in 1987. It's free. No cause or manner of death was determined, and authorities have not specified the type of investigation is taking place surrounding her case. Then she was gone. Sex workers or transient women, just looking for a way to get by, a safe place to land. She was identified through fingerprints. Additionally, she had been wrapped in a blanket, which was later found to have seminal fluid on it. Select the images to display more information. And the victims with hair had some sort of red hair. He was incarcerated in Florida on rape charges after she went missing. Her cause of death has either not been released or properly determined. The body was the third redhead found strangled and dumped near an interstate in a two-year span. Name: Judith Ann Ehmke [35][36][37], On May 25, 1981, law enforcement recovered the decedent from a low water crossing on Highway MM near Dixon, Missouri. He provided the children a typewritten goodbye letter. Last Updated: 05-18-2022 - By: Htmlcnvtr, Questions or comments? She was wearing two distinct necklaces: a gold eagle and heart pendant. The sweater worn but by the Jane Doe discovered in Cheatham County. A skeletonized red-haired female was found March 31, 1985, in Pleasant View, Tennessee. [42], Desoto County Jane Doe is a woman found murdered on January 24, 1985 in Olive Branch, Mississippi. He may have been suffering from delusions and had a substantial amount of money on him. There was no sign of a struggle at the scene. The range of victims is wide because the causes of death and victim details are varied. This victim was well-groomed, likely not homeless. She had naturally brown hair that was dyed reddish. A pair of senior citizens reported the body, which they originally had thought was a display mannequin. Her fingernails were painted pink. "I'm really surprised that no one ever came forward," Huffine said in the interview. Updated 3 times since October 12, 2004. Tequila fanatic? There was a note placed in a typewriter in the Ehmkes' residence, stating that Judith was tired of her husband "controlling" her and had decided to leave him for another man. She had been dead about three weeks. Then in 1986, Thomas Lee Elkins from Pennsylvania was detained and questioned in relation to the murders. According to the 200O census, 35,912 people live in Cheatham County. An examination of her teeth showed that the victim had some evidence of crowding and overlapping in her mouth. Her death was by suffocation. Richard B McEntyre. She worked as a nurse's aide at a nursing home, was married and had three children. All were either hitchhikers or sex workers and were discovered close to major roadways. Sure there are similarities in many different cases, Abbitt told the AP, and we look at the similarities., But, Abbitt continued, we wont do that until we have something to solidly link it together.. The murders believed to be related have occurred in states including Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Call 1-800-543-5678 or email mpu@wsp.wa.gov to request assistance with a missing child case. She had a hysterectomy and a tracheotomy. A 53-year-old woman was swept away in the water over Pond Creek . [55] Lamotte's family was initially asked for a DNA profile to compare to the adult woman victim of the Bear Brook murders. If any of this is missing you will be asked to repost and that post will be deleted. Lawson left with the family to purchase fuel, leaving Martha alone in the car. Agency Contact Person: N/A They occurred over a discrete periodapproximately 12 yearsin the same general geographic region. Wise was also a stunt driver. Theyre frequently picked up at truck stops or service stations then sexually assaulted, murdered and their bodies dumped along the roadside. Additionally, she had an old gunshot wound to her third thoracic vertebrae with a bullet still lodged in her spine. PLEASANT VIEW, Tenn. (WKRN) Authorities have determined the identity of the man found in a Cheatham County cave over the weekend. As Bob Lewis wrote in the February 10, 1985 edition of the Jackson Sun, law enforcement in three statesArkansas, Mississippi, and Tennesseesaid the same killer could be responsible for strangling three red-haired women found in their states. And federal authorities, Lewis wrote, hoped these murders would provide leads in the disappearance of Nancy Blankenship. Judith was described as being between 5' 5" and 5' 9" tall and weighing an estimated 170 to 190 pounds with brown hair (some gray) and brown eyes. She planned on leaving her husband and taking her three children with her. They range in age from9 to 40 years old. She was approximately five feet two inches to five feet four inches tall, with a weight of 105 to 130 pounds (59 to 64kg). When her kids got home, her husband said Judith had taken off with another man. She was found on I-24. However, not long after Nancy disappeared, another possibility came to light: Perhaps shed fallen prey to a serial killer. In the announcement of theinitiative, the FBI said these case are particularly hard to solve because of the victims and the perpetrators. The man charged with killing a 6-year-old New York City boy in one of the nation's most notorious missing-child cases has a disturbing history of beating his wife, molesting a relative and drug use, prosecutors said in. We're just waiting and it'll be one day and it'll happen and we'll know the answer.". The second was found a short time later near Interstate 40 in Memphis. Dentals: Complete dentures All rights reserved. Your support ID is: 18110581828989113994. She may have been as young as 14and shed had a recent miscarriage. Sign up for InsideHook to get our best content delivered to your inbox every weekday. According to one of Judith's daughters, the neighbor was also viewed as a potential suspect in her mother's case. Investigators were seen processing the car for evidence. Found inside a refrigerator dumped on Route 25, this victim was found on April 1st, 1985, near Barbourville, Kentucky. "Robert Evans" was later revealed to be a serial killer Terry Peder Rasmussen. The victim's remains were discovered along the east side of northbound I-59 near Rising Fawn in Dade County, Georgia. Authorities had a suspect in Martha's disappearance, Robert McKinley Richards. Two weeks ago, a body. In November 2016, TBI Special Agent Brandon Elkins, who has been investigating the case for more than a decade, resubmitted Farmer's clothing, along with the blanket that was wrapped around her body, to the TBI Crime Lab for testing. On March 14, 1986, 32-year-old year old Betty Carol Thomas, of Lexington, Tenn., received a phone call at her residence by an unknown male who asked to meet her at Waugh's Pizza in Lexington. Possible redhead victim number three was found by I-75 not far from Jellico, Tennessee on New Years Day, 1985. She has never been seen again. She had a partial upper denture holding two false teeth. She also had a round birthmark above her left ankle. She was estimated to be between 35 and 50 years old and five feet or five feet eight inches in height. [12] A DNA match was made between her and her grown daughter, who said her mother disappeared when the girl was six weeks old. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Their house has since burned down. Many, if not most should be considered armed and dangerous. [16] Her eyes were green. The autopsy revealed she had been strangled with a rope but had not been sexually assaulted. Judith was last seen on November 26, 1986 at approximately 7:00 a.m. On June 30, 1992 the AP reported a nun named Vickie Sue Metzger had been found close to a rest stop on I-24. Instead, they found a skull still retaining some red hair. She managed to escape before more injury. They also may not have been native to the states in which they were found. With a lack of clues, investigators quickly exhausted leads and no one came forward to identify the body. It may be that law enforcement ultimately rejected the idea that one killer was involved. Chahorski was officially reported missing in January 1989, four months after she was last contacted. Case Info: A white Toyota Camry belonging to Jonghyon Won of Los Angeles, CA was found at Moran Point on the South Rim of Grand Canyon . According to the CCSO, Chandler Wilson was last seen. Bruton was sentenced to life in prison for drug-related offenses. QuickFacts provides statistics for all states and counties, and for cities and towns with a population of 5,000 or more. Her family had reported her missing the day after Thanksgiving 1985. He died in prison in 2008. Dyer County: Samantha Dial Hankins & Robert W. Williams. It is believed she had been placed at the location around the time she went missing a decade earlier, in 1975. A neighbor reported seeing a fire in the area in February 1990, but never went to investigate. New Hampshire investigators confirmed Lamotte was missing and entered DNA samples from her two brothers into NCIC, which led to her identification in Tennessee. In 2005, he was stripped of his medical license due to incompetence. A Caesarean scar was found on her abdomen, indicating she had had a child. Isotope testing later showed that the decedent had not lived in Missouri for more than a few years, and most likely spent most of her life in the southeastern region of the United States. Her case remains unsolved. It was suspected that the victim may have been a hitchhiker, prior to identification. A possible suspect emerged circa 1985, when a 37-year-old trucker, Jerry Leon Johns, attacked and attempted to strangle a woman with reddish hair. Another suspect was a 32-year-old trucker in Pennsylvania, who was questioned after kidnapping and raping a young woman in Indiana. He was also convicted of rape in 1993, but the conviction was later overturned. She was approximately five feet three inches tall. [8], On January 1, 1985, the bound body of a woman was found near Jellico, Tennessee, in Campbell County, down an embankment off the southbound side of Interstate 75. The first possible victim was discovered in February 1983 in Littleton, Wetzel County, W.Va. This victim is considered the third victim in the Redhead Murders She was in an advanced state of decomposition. Martha, circa 1987; Age-progression to age 40 (circa 2010); Monte Carlo similar to what Martha was lying in. West Virginia authorities are skeptical of whether this victim is related to other victims in the Redhead Murders. Investigators aren't even sure they are all connected. In the morning, she was picked up by her husband from her overnight job at a nursing home. We know who their family is. They believe she may have been a sex worker in Pittsburg or a member of a Hare Krishna commune, known as New Vrindaban, in Marshall County, W.Va. She was described as being between 35 and 45 years old, standing around 5'6" and weighing about 135 pounds. Michelle Willard. Tina Marie McKinney Farmer: Campbell County. She had a mole on the left side of her back and she also had breast implants. Updated: November 4, 2011 Biography ID: 60357209 A killer with a taste for red-haired women. He died in prison in 2015 at the age of 67. Schacke survived the attack, after she was bound, strangled, and dumped along I-40. What Exactly Is Rizz? They were partially clothed. Johns died in prison in 2015. 29, 1991 1247DMAL A. Davis . He failed to report her as a missing person until two weeks after she was last seen, after one of their daughters told a school counselor her mother was missing. But hundreds of families are still actively engaged in farming. Nichols was from West Virginia but police werent able to find her familya couple shed stayed with in Florida identified her in June 1985. She had three piercings in each ear and her fingernails were deeply bitten. This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter. The Doe Network is a 100% volunteer organization devoted to assisting investigating agencies in bringing closure to national . "When they opened the door, they found this lady," Knox County, Ky., Coroner Walter Hopper Jr. said in an article from The Advocate-Messenger in Danville, Ky. Eye Color: Brown This is the second time this week Sheriff Mike Breedlove has enlisted the help of "Team Cheatham" to bring a missing person home. It is believed she had been placed at the location around the time she went missing a decade earlier, in 1975. Marvin Alvin Clark (ca. She was a white woman between 14-20 years old, standing 5'4"-5'6", weighing around 130 pounds. Matthews believes that even though the killings took place more than 30 years ago, the victims can have justice. The last definitive victim was found by a fisherman April 14, 1985, near an exit ramp on Interstate 81 about 15 miles east of Greenville, Tenn. CHEATHAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) A Cheatham County deputy escaped serious injury after he was almost run over by domestic violence suspect. On September 27, 1986 she left work and was never seen again. Nichols may have been murdered after leaving a truck stop along the highway and may have attempted to hitchhike. According to the TBI, the remains belonged to James . The victims were white women ranging in age from 20 to 40 years old. Height: 5'8" The announcement of Dill's disappearance was posted on the Sheriff's Department Facebook page late Tuesdaynight, where it has been shared hundreds of times. More than two years after the remains of an unidentified woman was found along Route 250 near Littleton, W.Va., she was declared as a victim of the Redhead Murderer, however, some local police disagree. The victim may have been seen alive in Wheeling, West Virginia as an employee or customer at a bar. She has a scar on the right knee, a scar on the right finger and a scar on the left knee. It is believed that she was between five feet one and fivefeet fourinches (163cm) when she died and was approximately 110 to 115 pounds (50 to 52kg). 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Later near Interstate 40 in Memphis just waiting and it 'll happen and we 'll know the.! 20 to 40 years old they range in age from 20 to years... Five hundred people attended the Jane Doe victim 's remains were discovered along east! Call 1-800-543-5678 or email mpu @ wsp.wa.gov to request assistance with a for. Kentucky, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, who was questioned after kidnapping and a. Display mannequin to find her familya couple shed stayed with in Florida identified her in June 1985 was at... Six to eight weeks pregnant shortly before she died, but the conviction was revealed! January 1989, four months after she was estimated at fivefeet sixinches 168cm! Lynn Blankenship was a 32-year-old trucker in Pennsylvania, and dumped near an Interstate in two-year! A substantial amount of money on him ( WKRN ) authorities have not specified the of... 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County area discovered along the roadside may not have been seen alive in Wheeling, West Virginia as employee!, Tenn. ( WKRN ) authorities have not specified the type of Investigation is place.

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