True Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Part VII

Murder of Sherri Jarvis

Sherri Ann Jarvis (March 9, 1966 – November 1, 1980) was an American murder victim from Forest Lake, Minnesota whose body was discovered in Huntsville, Texas on November 1, 1980. Her body was discovered within hours of her sexual assault and murder and remained unidentified for 41 years before investigators announced her identification via forensic genealogy in November 2021.

Despite initial efforts to discover both her identity and that of her murderer(s), the investigation into Jarvis's murder gradually became a cold case. Numerous efforts were made to determine her identity, including several forensic facial reconstructions of how she may have appeared in life. The investigation into her murder is ongoing.

Prior to her identification, Jarvis was known as the Walker County Jane Doe in reference to the county in which her body was discovered and where she was later buried in a donated casket.

Discovery

On November 1, 1980, the nude body of a girl estimated to be between the ages of 14 and 18 was discovered by a truck driver who had been driving past the Sam Houston National Forest. She was lying face-down in an area of grass approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) from the shoulder of Interstate Highway 45, and two miles north of Huntsville. This motorist called the police at 9:20 a.m. to report his discovery.

The victim had been deceased for approximately six hours, thus placing her time of death around 3:20 a.m. A rectangular brown pendant containing a smoky blue or brown glass-colored stone on a thin gold chain necklace was found around her neck. Her ears were pierced, but no earrings were found in her ears or at the crime scene. High-heeled red leather sandals with light brown straps, which investigators would subsequently discover the girl had been seen carrying while alive, were also recovered from the scene. The remainder of her clothing was missing.

Autopsy

The decedent was approximately five feet six inches (1.68 m) in height, weighed between 105 and 120 pounds (48 and 54 kg), and was described by the Harris County Medical Examiner as being a "well-nourished" individual. Her eyes were hazel, and her hair was approximately 10 inches in length and light brown in color, with what has been described as a possible reddish tint, although her hair bore no evidence of having received color treatment. The decedent's fingernails were bare, and her toenails had been painted pink. Distinctive features upon her body were a vertical scar measuring one-and-a-half inches at the edge of her right eyebrow and the fact that her right nipple was inverted. Due to the general condition of the decedent's body, including her overall health, nutrition and the excellent dental care she had received in life, she was believed to have come from a middle-class household.

The cause of death was certified by the coroner to be asphyxia due to ligature strangulation, possibly inflicted via pantyhose, fragments of which—along with the decedent's underwear—were found inside the victim's vaginal cavity. The pantyhose and underwear had likely been placed inside the girl's vaginal cavity in an attempt to prevent her body from bleeding as she was transported to the site of her discovery. She had been sexually assaulted prior to her death with a large blunt instrument both vaginally and anally. It is unknown if the girl had been conventionally raped, as no biological evidence attesting to this form of sexual assault was discovered either at the crime scene or in the coroner's subsequent examination of her body. The girl had also been severely beaten prior to her death as many bruises were evident across her body, with her lips and right eyelid, in particular, being extensively swollen. In addition, her right shoulder bore a deep and visible bite mark.

Investigation

The likely movements of Jarvis prior to her murder and the location of her body. The black dotted line indicates a likely route taken based on eyewitness accounts; the red dotted line indicates the direction to Ellis Prison farm.