– Illinois cold case victim identified
– Ohio woman identified 50 years later.
Accident – Death – Obituary News :
In a groundbreaking development, officials have finally identified a woman who was found murdered on the side of a rural road in Grundy County, Illinois, nearly 50 years ago. The victim, previously nameless, has now been identified as JoAnne “Vicki” Smith, who was just 20 years old at the time of her death.
According to detectives, the breakthrough in the case came when the woman’s DNA led them to surviving relatives. For decades, Smith’s family had been left wondering about her fate after she mysteriously vanished from their home in Ohio in 1976.
“The case went cold,” said John Callahan, the Grundy County coroner. However, in 2018, the coroner’s office decided to revisit the case, leading to the exhumation of the unidentified woman’s remains. This year, advancements in genetic profiling enabled investigators to trace the Smith family, who originally hailed from Ohio.
Recalling the day his sister went missing, Ronnie Smith, JoAnne’s brother, shared his memories. He described JoAnne as his older sister who disappeared from their family home in Cincinnati in 1976 and was never heard from again.
“That wasn’t something that was normal in our household,” Ronnie Smith remarked. “No one stayed out at night. That just didn’t happen, not at my mother’s home. I can’t imagine anything more devastating than being buried in an unmarked grave.”
While finding closure in knowing what happened to his sister, Ronnie Smith emphasized that his focus now is on seeking justice for the person responsible for JoAnne’s death.
“We will always believe, and we will believe, that whoever perpetrated this crime against her, if they’re alive, they will be brought to justice,” he asserted.
William Button, the Grundy County coroner in 1976, expressed his amazement at the identification of JoAnne “Vicki” Smith. He credited the power of DNA technology for the breakthrough in the case.
Investigators revealed that JoAnne “Vickie” Smith was adopted, and her name had been changed multiple times, adding complexity to the case and making it challenging to track down her loved ones. Her remains are set to be interred alongside her late parents in a future ceremony.
Conclusion
The identification of JoAnne “Vicki” Smith after nearly five decades brings a sense of closure to her family, who had long been plagued by uncertainty and grief. The resolution of this cold case serves as a testament to the persistence and dedication of law enforcement officials in seeking justice for victims of unsolved crimes.
As the Smith family prepares to lay JoAnne to rest with her parents, they hold onto the hope that the perpetrator behind her tragic death will ultimately be held accountable for their actions.
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Illinois cold case victim identified
Ohio woman 50 years later.
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