Investigators in Vero Beach are diving back into a 34-year-old cold case in hopes of finally closing the investigation for good. WPTV reports authorities in Florida have exhumed a body they buried more than three decades ago. The news station was on the scene and captured video of the exhumation of the vault.
The unknown woman was discovered in 1982 lying in a canal off State Road 60, the report adds. The victim was murdered – shot four times. It is believed she may have been dead in the water for up to three days.
There wasn’t much known about her at the time with the exception that she had brown hair, brown eyes and was wearing a short sleeved pullover terry-cloth blouse with gold fringe on the bottom. She was also wearing jeans, the report notes.
At the time of her death, the woman was most likely between the ages of 21-35, investigators said.
The hope in exhuming her body is to utilize new facial reconstruction to help put together a better composite. WPTV said, according to investigators, a full 3-D scan of her skull will be done. That information will the go to a forensic artist and the person putting together the photo will create a full profile.
Sheriff Deryl Loar of the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office spoke to the local news station and said, “We hope to give closure in this case. Somebody out there is missing a mother, a wife, a family member. We want to identify this woman and bring her killer to justice after all these years.”
The report also said the victim wore a gold and silver wedding band on her left hand and a turquoise ring on her right hand.
WPTV reports that this technology has been successful in the past. In fact, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office was able to identify another victim, Tina Beebe, because of the profile enhancements, the report said. The hope is the same will be done for this victim — and hopefully her killer will be brought to justice.
Read more: WPTV
Photo: WPTV