245UFVA - Unidentified Female



Artistic rendering of the victim; Victim's personal effects and Christmas tree





Date of Discovery: December 18, 1996

Location of Discovery: Annandale, Fairfax County, Virginia

Estimated Date of Death: Hours prior

State of Remains: Recognizable face

Cause of Death: Suicide

Physical Description

Estimated Age: 50-70 years old

Race: White

Gender: Female

Height: 5'0"

Weight: 157 lbs.

Hair Color: Auburn or red, almost a copper color, curly.

Eye Color: Unknown

Distinguishing Marks/Features: She had an 8-inch scar on her abdomen, probably from a C-section. Her fingernails were painted red.

Identifiers

Dentals: Available.

Fingerprints: Available.

DNA: Samples submitted - Tests not complete.

Clothing & Personal Items

Clothing: Teal all-weather Eddie Baur hooded jacket (size M), navy blue Classiques Entier sweater (size L), red Classiques Entier sweater (size XL), red Classiques Entier sleeveless silk shirt (size Petite L), navy blue Classiques Entier knit wool pants (size L), knee-high stockings, white support bra, white Fruit of the Loom underpants (size 6), and black loafers (size 7M). Her clothes may have come from an upscale store such as Saks Fifth Avenue.

Jewelry: Two clip-on earrings, a small gold women's Guess watch with a mesh band, a 14-karat gold ring with four jade stones, and a metal bead chain with a medic alert "NO CODE, DNR, No Penicillin."

Additional Personal Items: Bifocals with translucent frames. A green knapsack that held Jeff Foxworthy's You Might Be A Redneck cassette, a tape of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, two empty juice bottles, and a new roll of masking.



Circumstances of Discovery

A groundskeeper at the Pleasant Valley Memorial Park Cemetery discovered the decedent's body near the section of the cemetery where infants are buried, but not near any particular grave.There was a clear plastic sheet on the ground with an 8-inch Christmas tree adorned with gold balls and red ribbons. She had a portable tape player with headphones, which were on her ears. A recording of comedians Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner doing their 2000 Year Old Man routine was in the player.She had committed suicide by drinking brandy (she had a 0.14 blood-alcohol level), swallowing Valium, and placing a plastic bag over her head and tying it off with tape, suffocating herself.She left two fifty dollar bills; one for the coroner,and one for the cemetery, both with the same typed note: Deceased by own hand...prefer no autopsy. Please order cremation with funds provided. Thank you, Jane Doe.She had no receipts in her pockets for investigators to trace her movements. Most of the headstones nearby where she was found were fairly recent. The site would probably not be known to a drifter.

Investigating Agency(s)

Agency Name: Northern District Medical Examiner's Office

Agency Contact Person: N/A

Agency Phone Number: 703-530-2600

Agency Case Number: N1996-41257



Agency Name: Fairfax County Police Department

Agency Contact Person: N/A

Agency Phone Number: 800-673-2777

Agency Case Number: 96353000549



Agency Name: Fairfax County Crime Solvers

Agency Contact Person: N/A

Agency Phone Number: 800-411-TIPS or 703-691-8888



NCIC Case Number: U989549567

NamUs Case Number: UP #6279

Information Source(s)

NamUs

National Center for Missing Adults



Admin Notes

Added: Prior to 2004; Last Updated: 3/21/2019