I write a blog and feature a story each week. I did a story on the I-71 killer or otherwise known as Dr No. The curious thing is that many of the murders that occurred during the late 70's and 80's were women with red hair. There have been named suspects but none seemed to pan out. The route from the maps posted here seem to follow the route that travels through Ohio's I-71. The MO also seems to match some of the victims in Ohio. I was just curious if there was a connection or if they have been ruled out.

Hi everybody,

I'm a visual artist and working on an art piece about serial killers. Therefore, I'm looking for criminal profiles/offender profiles. Does anybody know if there was ever a criminal profile (a list of characteristics of the so called Red Head murderer) made by police or the FBI? I figured it would be made and easy to find since the Red Head murders are quite well known, but unfortunately I wasn't able to find it. If so, could you please share the criminal profile it in the comments? It would be of great help!

Kind regards,

J. from Amsterdam

Hi,

I wonder, if someone could make the profile these great students developed public in its entirety?

Anyway thank you for all your work!

I've seen several media reports (and of course online sources) promoting lists or linked cases.

I've only done a crude media search so far, but the only credibly sourced official listing/reporting I've seen was in 1985 when the FBI and several states convened regarding these cases. They've mentioned some commonalities, but as we all know there tend to be inclusion/exclusion criteria that are not necessarily made public (sometimes based on info not available to the public). The ones I've been able to determine:

--red or strawberry blond hair, natural or dyed/highlighted

--cause of death tends to be, but does not seem exclusive to, strangling or asphyxiation

--bodies dumped near interstates/highways

--years 1978-1985 (at the time, now I see up to 1992--?)

--most seem to be hitchhikers, some possibly sex workers

--certain states in the Bible Belt, centered around Tennessee

Q1. Can anyone confirm these parameters/criteria? Am I missing any?

Old reports mentioned a vic in Pennsylvania*, but this seems to now be excluded. At this time it appears that the most likely cases are in Tennessee*, Arkansas*, and Mississippi*; likely Georgia; possibly Kentucky*; somewhat possibly in West Virginia; and others suggested in North Carolina, Ohio, and Missouri.

[Note the * indicates what the 1985 task force mentioned; Georgia (Rising Fawn) happened after that. The "most likely" "likely" "possibly" "somewhat possibly" and "others" probability estimations are just my opinion.]

Q2. Are there any other suspected locations I'm missing or specific reasons to expect bodies outside of the Bible Belt (except, of course, people go places, esp. if it's a trucker)?

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I'm trying to refine some parameters for searching, so any thoughts are welcome.

First, I want to thank the people involved in creating/moderating this thread and everyone who is posting things.

I've been lurking on several TC forums but am just starting to foray into a more participatory role. As a n00bsleuth, I'm not really sure what to do to help (especially since I don't live anywhere near where the murders took place). I don't work well with really broad tasks like "go find stuff," but I have no problems grinding on something more specific, so "hey you, go look up X about Y on Z" is helpful. And efficiency is good...no need to duplicate anyone else's efforts.

So, I started brainstorming things that may be useful. Some are obvious (like a timeline)-- others I'm not sure if they're stupid ideas, things someone else has already done, violating some unwritten rule about websleuthing, etc.

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Organization/info sharing

--Create a timeline/something else organized chronologically with all significant dates related to case (maybe there already is one?)

--Create spreadsheet of relevant resources & links (e.g., local LE pages about case, if family have created website/blog/FB group, if anyone has a blog or other independent investigation about the case)

--Assemble a list of local media outlets, their relevance (e.g., hometown newspaper of a victim; local newspapers near dump sites; newspapers that covered cases)

Information retrieval/Research

--Online research--based on local media identified above, figure out if there are online archives for newspapers, gather relevant articles by searching around relevant dates & victims' names

--Local research--if there are people in the vicinity, may have to check libraries or local archives

--Scraping government databases, crime databases (is there a convenient list of relevant resources somewhere--like NAMUS, Doe Network, murderdata.org, etc.?)

Outreach -- as so many recent cases have proven, simply raising awareness or getting things back out into the public's attention can make a huge difference with cold cases...

--Contact relevant podcasters to request episodes/coverage of the case or of a particular victim

--Create visuals, infographics, or other engaging ways of conveying information about the case in a more easy-to-process way than long, dense text-based info (not at all my skill set, unfortunately, but IMHO this is something direly missing in a lot of situations where people are trying to get public attention about a case)

--Contact local journalists/send letters to the editor/etc. before significant dates related to crimes (general tone being--do you know it's been 10 years since Jane Doe was found and we still don't know what happened to her) or when there are updates to the case. These are more effective if sent by locals.

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Feedback, other ideas, etc. welcome.

So digging through articles trying to find missing dates and work out death dates to form a timeline I came across something. Tina Farmer and Elizabeth Lamotte went missing on the exact same day in two seperate states which are about 1000 miles and 15 hrs away from each other. Thoughts on this ? If it was the same person, he would have had to be in possession of both girls at the same time.

https://goo.gl/maps/52BHQcYnMgD2

I am working on an interactive map with the alleged victims. So far I only have the body locations, photos of the victim found at said location, and a link to their wiki article. If anyone wants to take a look and shoot me some more ideas or possible people to add feel free ! I will add a grouping for possible new victims to keep them separated.

https://maphub.net/Rixende/redhead-murders

Elizabeth "Liz" Lamotte

Missing from Manchester NH

Officially identified in November, 2018

Her nude body was found 4-14-1985 in Greene Co., TN near the southbound Jearoldstown exit I-81 by a teen fishing. She was approximately 58 feet off the ramp. Her cause of death was severe blunt-force trauma & possible stab wounds 3-6 wks before. The fatal blow was one to the head. She was in an advanced state of decomposition. However, eventually they were able to obtain fingerprints, DNA and dental information. It was also found that she had been 6-8 weeks pregnant before she died but had recently miscarried. She was 17 years old, between 5'4" and 5'6" and weighed approximately 130-140 pounds. Elizabeth had a slight overbite and dental fillings. Her fingernails were painted pink.

Although it was not noted by the ME, apparently Elizabeth had a tattoo on her left arm which read,

"Hell, Death."

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https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-unsolved-case-file-elizabeth-lamotte/25242402

She was not officially reported missing until 2017, when officials got a tip after a press conferece on the Allenstown unidentified persons cases. They were trying to ascertain if she was Elizabeth Evans.

Elizabeth was suspected to be "Elizabeth Evans," who had been listed as the spouse of murder suspect Bob Evans (real name Terry Peder Rasmussen), This information was incorrect but it did lead to the identification of Elizabeth Lamotte by retrieving DNA samples from two of her brothers.

Elizabeth disappeared in 1984 (discrepancies as to the exact date, either April 6th or November 22), when she left the Youth Development Center on a furlough to Gill Stadium. They discharged her case on July 27, 1985, on what would have been her 18th birthday even though she had never returned to the facility.

TN sent a sample of her remains to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification in 2006. They were able to develop a DNA profile, which was entered into Codis.

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https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/djjs/institutional/index.htm

(A brief description about the YDC now known as the NH Department of Health and Human Services)

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is the largest agency in New Hampshire state government, responsible for the health, safety and well-being of the citizens of New Hampshire. DHHS provides services for individuals, children, families and seniors, and administers programs and services such as mental health, developmental disability, substance abuse, and public health. This is accomplished through partnerships with families, community groups, private providers, other state and local government entities, and many citizens throughout the State who help make New Hampshire a special place in which to live.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redhead_murders

Cause of death - strangulation

Identified Publicly September 6, 2018 by fingerprinting.

21 yrs. old at time of death.

Last seen in Indianapolis with a trucker headed to Kentucky.

One daughter prior to disappearance in 1984

Reported missing by family (not entered in national databases due there being no state law requiring it)

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January 1, 1985 - her bound body was found close to Jellico, Campbell Co., TN, alongside I-75. Murder likely occurred about three days prior ( approx. December 30, 1984), but her body was already in advanced decomposition

Description of Body

White, with short curly red hair.

Likely 17-25 years of age

Found clothed in a tan pullover, shirt and jeans.

Green or hazel eyes (due to decomp. this couldn't be positively confirmed)

Freckles, scars and burn marks on body

2 1/2 - 5 mo. pregnant at time of death

Partial denture holding two false teeth on her upper jaw

Between 5'1" - 5'4"

Approximately 110 - 115 lbs.

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https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/crime/2018/09/06/redhead-murder-victim-campbell-county-identified/1214514002/

TBI agents found that Farmer's disappearance was featured on a blog publicizing missing person and that her description matched that of an unidentified Jane Doe found January 1, 1985, near Jellico, TN.

Comparison of prints revealed a match.

Autopsy had determined she was a homicide victim.

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https://undergroundmysteries.wordpress.com/2017/11/12/tina-marie-mckenney-farmer-missing-since-the-1980s/

Went missing from Marion Co., IN

She had been married to Richard Farmer, now deceased.

DOB: March 8, 1964 (or March 7, 1963)

Hair: Red

Eyes: Hazel

Weight: 120 lbs.

Features: Missing front tooth

Name: Nickname, "May"

Circumstances: She became estranged from family when she married Richard in 1984. Tina's sister last heard from her in 1984, on Thanksgiving Day.

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http://www.lauthmissingpersons.com/33-year-old-murder-investigation-tied-to-indiana-missing-woman/

Independent private investigators think that the killer was/is a truck driver based out of Knoxville, TN. He may have moved locations and maybe changed his modus operandi which enabled him to go undetected

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It is thought that most of the victims who are unidentified is due to being estranged from families because of "high risk" lifestyles and may not be native to the state their remains were found in.

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https://news.utk.edu/2018/09/13/body-farm-helps-solve-30-year-old-case-of-missing-indiana-woman/

When her body was found investigators recorded her fingerprints and several physical features, including eye and hair color. When they couldn't identify her they took her to UT's Anthropology Research Facility, aka the Body Farm. There they were able to help estimate her approximate age.

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Info about missing and unidentified people is usually recorder in nationally managed systems such as National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, NamUs, the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), and the Combined DNA Index System.

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Sometimes, these systems require updates for cases to stay labelled active. These updates are very time and resource-consuming and cannot always be performed on time.

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To date the Body Farm has been able to identify 20 unidentified people. They work closely with the TBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Childred on at least five cases.

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The Body Farm is working on forensics research in many areas, including the field of stable isotopes. This technique analyzes the chemical composition of various tissue samples to reveal details of a deceased person’s geographical context, providing clues about where they came from and where they last lived.

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https://lex18.com/news/covering-kentucky/2018/10/02/red-headed-jane-doe-identified-33-years-later/

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Elizabeth Pilgrim had long believed that the Gray, Knox Co., KY, unknown Jane Doe was her mother. After submitting her DNA, investigators were able to positively identify the Kentucky Jane Doe as Espy Regina Black Pilgrim.

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Edit: Title should read 'Daughter of Espy Pilgrim Gains Some Closure'

Hey everyone,

I'll make this short but, it's a doozy. When I was 15 my mom told me a man posed (aka tricked her into thinking he was actually) as her boyfriend, took her on a weekend trip and drugged her. Him and his friends gang r*ped her for hours and taped it and left her for dead. She didn't die, woke up in the woods and went home. I haven't had the courage to ask her about it since. She was a red head and this was in the 80's.

She said she knew there were others and that they died because whole they drugged her she could hear/feel everything but not move & they gloated about this.

It was in PA/CT?

Sorry for the graphic details guys. Anyone have any ideas? I've been searching for info on this for 11 years And have found no cases that resemble it, this being the first one with a little in common.

Sorry if I missed this being addressed.

It says that the girls were all red heads with freckles.

Were they natural red heads? Or were any of them freckled with dyed hair?