On May 24, 1995, the partially nude body of an unidentified woman was found by a highway worker in a drainage ditch on Cottonhall Road in Yemassee, South Carolina. Authorities believed that the woman, who was Hispanic, had been strangled to death. Police didn't have much to go on, but they scoured missing persons cases across SC and nearby states looking for a victim who might fit the description of their Jane Doe, but they could not find one. They theorized that she had been driven quite some distance before her remains were discarded. With no leads to go on her case went cold. In 2020, officials turned to the victim's DNA for help, and began the process of identifying her through genealogy. They hit pay dirt in 2022. The Yemassee Jane Doe was actually Maria Telles-Gonzalez, a 36 yr old woman who vanished from Kissimmee, Florida in May, 1995

The brutal, bloody murder of single mom Cathy Sue Swartz in her own home rocked the community of Three Rivers, Michigan. Cathy had been chased down and slain by her killer as her baby lay in her crib in the next room. Investigators had ample evidence to help them identify Cathy’s killer: a fingerprint, a footprint, and a possible eyewitness. Over 1000 people provided finger and footprints to police in this case…and yet the killer eluded them.  It took the powers of forensic genealogy to identify him, and when they did, police were astonished to learn who he was.  But they did not get all the answers they sought – Cathy’s killer had the last laugh.

In November, 1980, a road crew doing work along I-95 in Volusia County, Florida, discovered human remains. A medical examiner concluded that the victim was a young woman, but she carried no ID. The strongest clue was a shirt she was wearing with the caption 'Do it in the dirt' on the shirt. Because local police had no missing persons cases that might be a match for the remains, her case went cold, and she was known locally as 'Jane Doe 1980' Police had little to go on but they caught a break when a serial killer named Gerald Stano was caught, and began to share details of his victims. Stano was thought to have dozens of victims in Florida, and other states. He gave details that left little doubt in the mind of investigators that he had killed this Volusia County Jane Doe. Even knowing who had murdered her, they didn't know who she was. Eventually DNA & genealogy came together once again to give this Jane Doe her name back. She was Pam Wittman. Pam from Martinsville, Indiana, had lost touch with her family after moving to Florida and taking a job as an exotic dancer, and sex worker.  For years, her family wondered what happened to her. Now they know she died at the hands of a brutal serial killer who is sure to have many more victims. Stano was put to death in Florida's electric chair. After four decades, this Jane Doe has her name back; it's Pam Wittman, and this is her story.