Illinois and Local News

Woman's Murder Near Troy Remains

Unsolved 30 Years Later

By Laurel Sexton-Juenger

Laurel stands near where the body was found.

   (TROY, Ill.) - 7/27/2020 - The slight granite tombstone sits alone and isolated from the family of other stones in the St. Jerome Catholic Cemetery on Troy O’Fallon Road near Troy, Ill.; just a few yards away from a field of beans. It was the same type of bean field, and just down the same Troy- O’Fallon Road that 30 years ago, on July 20 1990, that the mutilated body of a young woman was found dumped and left to decompose in the sweltering Mid-west July sun.

   The name on the polished grey stone is JANE DOE as the body was never identified and the murder never solved. The white female was, 25 to 40 years old, 5’4” to 5’6” and weighed 120 to 130 pounds.The victim was stabbed and cut about the neck and torso which was believed to be her cause of death. Authorities estimated at the time that the body was left two or three days prior to the discovery 1/10th of a mile west of Troy O’Fallon Road and 40 feet north of Lebanon Road. The only article found with the body that is mentioned in published reports is a heart shaped turquoise ring.

A marker at the location.

   A notice on the Illinois State Police website encourages anyone with information regarding the identification of the unidentified victim is urged to contact Madison County Sheriff’s Department at 618-692-0871 or call Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS(8477)

   One wonders in this age of DNA identification if this nameless victim can one day be identified.

Reprinted with permission

Photos by Laurel Sexton-Juenger