It’s a mystery that took more than 47 years to solve: The true identity of a woman known as Jane Seneca Doe.
One mystery remains: Who killed JoAnn ‘Vickie' Smith?
On October 2, 1976, the body of a young woman was found murdered and tossed in a ditch along Highway 6 in an unincorporated area of Grundy County, Illinois, near the village of Seneca. She had died from a single gunshot to the back of her head.
Grundy County Deputy Chief Coroner Brandon Johnson told Dateline in 2021 that the original investigators did all they could, but were unable to identify the woman. After nearly two months of unsuccessful attempts to identify the Jane Doe, she was buried in an unmarked grave at a cemetery in Braceville, Illinois, where she remained until 2018.
“When I began working on this case, I quickly realized that the only way to identify this victim was to obtain DNA,” Johnson said during a 2024 press conference.
In June 2018, Johnson connected with the DNA Doe Project — an organization that uses genetic genealogy to assist in identifying Jane and John Does. Investigators had Jane Seneca Doe’s body exhumed and her DNA was extracted. Eventually, her DNA was uploaded to GEDmatch and the genealogical research began.
“Within months, a DNA profile was established and entered into CODIS — a national DNA database,” Johnson said at the 2024 press conference. “Unfortunately, these efforts yielded negative results.”
But those negative results did not slow them down.
“Distant matches were starting to be located and soon had proved that the case would not be easy due to a difficult family tree,” Johnson said.
Margaret Press, who founded the DNA Doe Project in 2017, said Jane Seneca Doe was at the top of her list of cases she wanted to see identified.
Now, that desire has been fulfilled.
According to a press release on the Grundy County website, Jane Seneca Doe was identified on June 27, 2024, as a woman named JoAnn 'Vickie' Smith. “It would take four and a half years of dedicated work to narrow the search to the right branch of Vickie Smith’s tree and find her name,” the release stated.
The press release listed some of the difficulties faced in this case, including the challenges with African American Jane and John Does due to underrepresentation in public databases, as well as the fact that Vickie had been adopted.
“Her DNA profile matched to a number of her distant biological relatives, but most people in her birth family didn’t know she existed,” the release stated. “Her name was finally found after the team located a branch of her tree with three sisters, one of whom was her birth mother.”
From there, investigators located Vickie’s original birth certificate and adoption records.
It was a team effort, with more than 20 expert genetic genealogists from the DNA Doe Project working on the case. In the press release, the Executive Director of Media and Communications, Pam Lauritzen, said, “It is an honor for all of us to say her name — Vickie Smith — and to know she’s on her way home.”
“I am honored and privileged to stand here today and announce that this victim has finally been identified after 47 years,” coroner Johnson said at the 2024 press conference. He then detailed some of the facts they were then able to learn about Vickie’s life. She was born in February 1956 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was later adopted by a family with many adopted children.
She graduated from high school and had been attending Southern Ohio College prior to her disappearance. Vickie was a housekeeper at a Marriott hotel and sang in the choir at her local church.
“Sometime on the evening of June 14, 1976, Vickie left the family residence and was never seen again,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, the rest remains a mystery.”
The coroner said making the announcement that Jane Seneca Doe finally had her name back was one of the most rewarding days of his life. “Vickie’s loving family has spent almost the last five decades missing her and wondering about her whereabouts,” Johnson said at the press conference.
“While I would love to see justice served for this heinous crime,” he continued, “I find comfort in the ability to return Vickie’s name to her and provide her family with long-awaited closure.”
The coroner and Vickie’s family expressed their gratitude to all involved in making the identification.
Vickie’s brother, Ronnie Smith, also spoke at the press conference. “This has really been very hard on our family over the years — of not knowing what happened,” he said.
And while there are still many questions as to what happened to Vickie, her brother is just thankful to know where she is.
“Now she can be laid to rest with her rightful name: JoAnn ‘Vickie’ Smith,” he said.
If you have any additional information, please contact Deputy Chief Coroner Brandon Johnson of the Grundy County Coroner’s Office at 815-941-3359 or [email protected].