On Oct. 7, 1998, the decomposed remains of a woman were discovered in a wooded area behind the Petro Truck Stop in Weatherford, Texas. She was found wearing a blue and white track suit, and had a large blue shoulder bag with expensive prescription beige glasses, a long brown wig and a bottle of mineral water inside. Investigators determined she was between 35- and 55-years-old and had $30,000-$35,000 worth of dental work, including gold foil fillings with porcelain veneers.
A firearm was found next to the woman in a position suggesting she died by suicide, and after a thorough autopsy and investigation, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the cause of death. The office was not, however, able to confirm the woman’s name.
Her DNA was entered into CODIS, but there were no hits. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office even gave Jane Doe’s skull to a forensic artist in the hopes a clay facial reconstruction would help identify her.
“We had the wig and the glasses, so we put those on. We tried to recreate the color, and the type of jogging suit that she was wearing. Those facial reconstruction images were then given to the media,” said Dana Austin, then-forensic anthropologist with the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The facial reconstruction yielded no leads, and the case eventually went cold. It was revisited over the years, but each effort led to another dead end—until September 2023. That month, retired Deputy Chief Greg Lance asked Lieutenant Johnny Qualls to have the Cold Case team take “one more look.”
The Weatherford Police Cold Case Team turned to Othram in hopes forensic genetic genealogy could help. They sent Othram some of the woman’s teeth from evidence that remained intact.
In December 2023, Othram was able to develop a profile—and the name of Jane Doe’s possible son.
On Christmas weekend 2023, Qualls called David Gillespie, a man who had spent more than 25 years wondering what had happened to his mother, Nellie. David had reported her missing all those years ago, but until now, he had never received the answers he so desperately sought. As he described her—a woman who wore glasses and a wig—Qualls knew it: Nellie was the real name of Jane Doe. A subsequent DNA test provided by David confirmed Jane Doe to be Nellie.
“This was one of those cases that was very satisfying to be able to offer some closure to a family,” said Qualls. “We review cold cases often and just a very small percentage of those cases ever get solved, so to play a small role in being able to bring closure to a family and fill in some blank spot, it’s very satisfying.”
The original responding medical investigator, Judge Kelly Green, helped locate Nellie’s original burial site, ensuring her remains could be reunited with her loved ones at last.
“After 25 years, Nellie is no longer a mystery. She has a name. She has a story. And most importantly, she is finally home,” said Qualls.