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 More than 50 years after a woman's remains were discovered on a cliff in Northern California, DNA tests have finally unraveled the secret of her identity.


 On 18 December 1966, Dorothy Jean Williams’s remains were found on a cliff in Tiburon, close to San Francisco, by an individual hunting who then alerted the officials.


 They couldn't pinpoint Williams' identity, despite estimating her age at the time of death to be somewhere between 45 and 60 years old. This information comes from Othram, the forensic genetic genealogy firm claiming their techniques cracked this long-standing mystery.


 Described as sporting a red dress and an off-white trench coat with red hair, Williams stood approximately 157cm tall and had a weight of around 47kg at the time her remains were found.


 Even though they couldn’t verify her identity back then, officials discovered that a woman fitting Williams’s profile had been spotted at a fire station roughly three months prior to when her remains were located, as stated in an earlier report by a regional newspaper.


 It is said that she informed the employees she was stuck with no funds for transportation and asked if she could stay at the station overnight. Upon their refusal, she departed.


 The autopsy estimated her time of death to be approximately three months before the discovery of her remains, described as "severely decomposed" when found, as mentioned in the archived news article provided by Othram.

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 Unknown for years simply as the "Marin County Jane Doe," she has now been identified after genetic testing shed light on her identity. It turns out that Williams, who went by the married name Dorothy Jean Vaillancourt, hailed originally from Tasmania, Australia.


 "The family of this woman likely believed they would never discover what happened to her after she vanished. However, nearly six decades later, thanks to Othram’s efforts, they finally know the truth," stated Kristen Mittelman, who holds the position of Chief Development Officer at Othram.


 The age of a case or its previous hopelessness does not matter; we have access to advanced technologies nowadays that can provide solutions for many families, just as seen in this instance.


 Multiple failed efforts were made to locate Williams, and her case was uploaded onto the National Missing and UnidentifiedPersons System (NamUs), listed as UP12018, stated the genetic analysis firm.


 The investigation concluded after the Marin County Sheriff’s Office collaborated with the California Department of Justice and sent evidence to Othram's laboratory. The team at this facility created a DNA profile that connected Williams to her family members.


 Euronews contacted the Marin County Sheriff’s Office seeking their input.


 Over the past few years, investigative genetic genealogy has emerged as a crucial method for cracking cold cases. By integrating advanced technologies with traditional family history research, this approach can uncover the identities of individuals linked to long-unsolved crimes, even ones dating back several decades.


 The technique made front-page news after it was employed to pinpoint Joseph DeAngelo as the Golden State Killer.
 resulting in his detention in 2018
 He was later found guilty and handed a sentence for 13 killings in 2020.

DNA Unlocks Identity of California's Elusive "Jane Doe" After Nearly 60 Years

Unknown crime, criminal cases, criminal justice, criminology, murder cases

More than 50 years after a woman's remains were discovered on a cliff in Northern California, DNA tests have finally unraveled the secret of her identity. On 18 December 1966, Dorothy Jean Williams…