Her remains were found in Black Creek Township, about 30 miles southwest of Wilkes-Barre, in 1973. Local lore has it her spirit haunts the stretch of highway where she was found.
Artist’s rendering of “I-80 Jane Doe” source: https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/UP8924
It’s August 9, 1973, and a tourist decides to pull off Interstate 80 near Sugarloaf in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, for a walk in the woods. But instead of enjoying a peaceful stroll, they stumble upon something horrifying — just 100 feet from the highway, wrapped in a blanket, is the body of a woman.
This woman, later known as I-80 Jane Doe, wasn’t just left there. The body had been doused in sulfuric acid, a highly corrosive chemical that causes third-degree burns on contact – a move clearly meant to prevent identification.
And for more than 50 years, that’s exactly what it did.
“Body of Woman Found at Tank” Standard-Speaker, August 10, 1973, Page 15. via Newspapers.com
Discovery and Early Investigation
When Jane Doe was found, investigators were baffled. Luzerne County Coroner Dr. George Hudock conducted the autopsy at Wyoming Valley Hospital. Here’s what he could gather: Jane Doe was African American, between 21 and 30 years old, around 5 feet tall, and weighed about 100 pounds.
There were no signs of injury or trauma to her body. X-rays and fingerprinting turned up nothing. Hudock ran toxicology tests to look for drugs or poison in her system, but if he found anything, it was never released to the public.
The initial investigation revealed that the body was carried to the site, in other words, she wasn’t killed there, and the young woman died 48 to 72 hours before she was found.
Luzerne County Detective James Grace told the Standard-Speaker that they were checking with schools for a missing girl, just in case she was younger than the estimate, and her description was being circulated to police departments in an eight-state area.
But, it seems there were never any leads.
Six days after she was found, Jane Doe was quietly buried at Maple Hill Cemetery in Hanover Township. Rev. W.J. Atterbeary, pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Wilkes-Barre, officiated at her graveside.
And just three months later, the investigation was closed.
“Autopsy Fails to Determine Death Cause,” The Times Leader, August 10, 1973, Page 21. via Newspapers.com
A Second Look: The 2016 Exhumation
Fast forward to 2016. After more than four decades, investigators decided to exhume I-80 Jane Doe’s body. DNA technology had come a long way, and there was renewed hope that they could finally identify her. Dr. Erin Kimmerle from the University of South Florida led the forensic examination. They collected DNA samples, hoping for a match in national databases.
But despite the advancements in forensic science, it hit a dead end. No viable DNA profile could be developed. I-80 Jane Doe’s body was reburied in Maple Hill Cemetery.
2024: A New Hope
Now, nearly eight years later, investigators are taking another shot. In July 2024, Luzerne County District Attorney Samuel M. Sanguedolce and Assistant District Attorney Carl Frank filed a petition to exhume I-80 Jane Doe’s body once again. President Judge Michael T. Vough signed off on it.
Dr. Kimmerle is back on the case, leading another forensic examination. But this time, it’s more comprehensive —medicolegal autopsy, skeletal analysis, forensic dental work, X-rays, an MRI scan.
And, of course, they’re going to try for more DNA samples. The hope is that, with today’s advanced technology, they can get a usable profile and enter it into a national database.
That could lead to relatives, and relatives could lead to her name.
Who Was I-80 Jane Doe?
Who was I-80 Jane Doe? From what we know, she was a young Black woman, probably between 20 and 30 years old (certainly younger than 40), 4’10” to 5’2” tall, and weighed around 100 pounds.
She had dark brown or black hair tied in a short ponytail, and brown eyes. When she was found, she was wearing blue-green shorts, a pink blouse with white lace, and floral slippers. Wrapped in a yellow and green blanket, with the legs pinned. She had an upper dental bridge with six teeth.
The slippers/shoes found with the remains of I-80 Jane Doe. Source: The Doe Network
Besides her identity, what we also don’t know is who caused her death. Who left her by the highway? Who covered her with sulfuric acid? What did they want to hide?
What were this young woman’s dreams?
Who was waiting for her to come home that day in 1973?
What’s Next?
With this second exhumation, officials are hopeful they’ll get enough DNA to finally identify I-80 Jane Doe. If they can match her profile to any relatives, we might finally learn her name. And once we have that, maybe the truth about what happened to her will follow.
For now, all we can do is wait. If 2024 is the year we identify I-80 Jane Doe, it could bring closure to a case that’s haunted Pennsylvania for far too long. Some even say the ghost of I-80 Jane Doe haunts the highway where her body was found. Will this be the year her name is finally revealed and she can find some peace?
Hopefully, time, and science, will tell us very soon.
HOMICIDE Juanita Marie Todd 13 Academy Street Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Luzerne County 22 years old September 28, 1972
This post is an overview of the Juanita Todd case, and the first in a series about 1970s NEPA true-crime mysteries. Future posts will go into more detail about this tragic unsolved murder.
Case Overview
One of the most disturbing unsolved homicides in Northeastern Pennsylvania is the 1972 murder of Juanita Marie Todd. Not only was the crime itself horrific, but there are indications the original police investigation may have been mishandled. Even worse, there’s a long-held suspicion this case was intentionally allowed to go cold.
“Some people in this city still believe police had enough evidence to charge a suspect with the murder, but — for whatever the reason — chose not to make an arrest.”
— Steve Corbett, “A Fading Cry for Justice,” The Times Leader, Sept 30, 1993
In September 1972, 22-year-old Juanita Todd was the mother of two daughters, aged 18 months and 5 months. Born in Tallahassee, Juanita moved to Wilkes-Barre with her family when she was 11. She attended G.A.R. High School and later worked for Bell Telephone.
In the time leading up to her death, the young mother had distanced herself from her children’s father and moved into her own apartment on Academy Street in Wilkes-Barre.
1934 Sanbourne Fire Map showing 13 Academy Street
A Mysterious Phone Call
Around 3 a.m. on Thursday, September 28, Sgt. Philip Gabriel answered a phone call at the Wilkes-Barre police station. According to the Times Leader, an anonymous man informed Sgt. Gabriel that a homicide had been committed in the 2nd-floor apartment at 13 Academy Street. After sharing that alarming information, the unknown man disconnected the call.
In response, two patrol cars arrived at the predawn Academy Street scene, one after the other. With assistance from the young couple who lived on the first floor, police gained entry to Juanita’s apartment from the rear of the building.
At approximately 3:15 a.m., officers discovered a horrific scene.
The Discovery
In the front bedroom of her apartment, Juanita Todd lay motionless on the floor. She was resting on her side in a thick pool of blood, with multiple stab wounds to her head and body. A white piece of what appeared to be bedsheet was knotted around her neck, and contusions marred the left side of her face and scalp and other parts of her body.
She was unclothed, but there were no obvious signs of sexual assault. The horrifying scene was made even worse by the sight of a knife embedded in her abdomen. A large floor-model fan blew a steady breeze over the young mother, whose life was cruelly cut short.
“Babies Are Only Witnesses“
Juanita’s 18-month-old daughter, Odetta, was found sitting by her mother’s head in the pool of blood. Her 5-month-old daughter, Tamu, was awake in a crib nearby.
Newspaper reports said there were no signs of a struggle in the apartment, but blood was splattered all around the bedroom “reflecting the intensity of the assailant wielding the [sharp] instrument.”
Juanita’s daughters were taken to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital for examination, and in a miracle amidst tragedy, they were found to be healthy and physically unharmed.
“Home Where Murder Victim Lived,” The Times Leader (Sept. 28, 1972) Wilkes-Barre, PA.
Time of Death
Luzerne County Deputy Coroner Walter W. Lisman pronounced Juanita Marie Todd dead at the scene at 4:30 a.m. He reported that at 8:30 a.m., more than five hours after Juanita was found, the temperature outdoors was 50 F.
Juanita was last seen on Tuesday night, September 26. The pathologist estimated that she died at least 15 hours before her 3:15 a.m. discovery on the 28th. Based on that timeline, her death would have occurred on or before noon, Wednesday, September 27. This suggests that both infants remained with their mother’s lifeless body for over 15 hours.
A news article from January 1973 expanded the potential timeframe, indicating Juanita could have passed between 15 to 24 hours before her discovery at 3:15 a.m. It’s unknown what that estimation was based on.
Questions about the time of death
Death investigation experts say it’s impossible to pinpoint an exact time of death without an attending physician on the scene when the death occurs.
However, an unofficial source close to the case suggests that Juanita was likely murdered six to eight hours before she was discovered at 3 a.m.
They base this estimate on techniques that consider factors such as body temperature and the onset of rigor mortis. This could mean Juanita was killed between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday, rather than before 12 p.m. that day, marking a considerable shift in the timeline.
Also, some suspect the fan blowing on her body was placed there to try to throw off the time-of-death estimate.
Autopsy Report
The autopsy was performed at the Wyoming Valley Hospital morgue by Dr. William Kashatus, who determined the primary cause of death was a fatal stab wound to the heart. Penetrating punctures around the right side of the chest also contributed to her demise.
In addition to “22 puncture wounds of the head and all over the body,” there were two superficial lacerations: one on her hand, and another marking her face. The hyoid bone, located in the middle front of the neck, was broken — an indication of manual strangulation.
“My mom was tortured and tormented to death.”
— Odetta Todd, as told to Steve Corbett, “Who Killed Juanita Todd, Part 1,” www.theoutloawcorbett.com
Motives and Suspects
“Robbery, jealousy, and vengeance are the three motives responsible for nearly all murders.”
Dr. George Burgeas Magrath, professor of Legal Medicine, medical examiner of Suffolk County,NY.
Juanita’s daughter Odetta shared with journalist Steve Corbett that only three days before her murder, Juanita had arranged a meeting with Magistrate Michael Collins to secure a restraining order against three particular ex-friends. Why she was asking for that restraining order is not known to this writer.
A 1978 news article stated that the murder was possibly drug-related. Or perhaps it was something personal, maybe involving Juanita’s common-law husband. Robbery does not appear to have been a motive. Some of the possible suspects:
The babies’ father: The man listed on the girls’ birth certificates, who was not involved in raising them, took a lie detector test and passed. Based on that and his interviews with police, he was ruled out as a suspect.
The Bodyguard: A male friend of Juanita’s, who described himself as her bodyguard, left town the night before he was due to take a police lie detector test. He has long been considered the primary suspect, but information that came to light later casts doubt on his guilt.
A member or members of a local drug ring: It is rumored that Juanita, who didn’t want drugs in her home, found a valuable quantity of drugs and flushed them. Perhaps her murder was retribution for that.
A stranger: Police have surmised that Juanita’s killer could have been one of many people from out of town who were in Wilkes-Barre to help with the Agnes flood cleanup.
The police may have other suspects and persons of interest that we just don’t know about.
“We…have not been able to forget the case of the Todd girl who hated drugs and was about to blow the whistle on some limelight person when she was murdered mysteriously, with the murderers being paid off to leave town and never being brought to justice. [T]he Todd girl held life too dear to have hers snuffed out.” — A Black Resident
From an anonymous Letter to the Editor (Citizen’s Voice, Nov 11, 1978). While the suggestions that Juanita was about to “blow the whistle” and “murderers[were] paid off” are considered rumors, this Letter to the Editor shows what people thought about this case, particularly members of Wilkes-Barre’s Black community.
Initial Investigation
The newspaper stated that police were investigating this murder around the clock. This is a summary of the information shared with the media following the murder:
No one reported seeing an individual entering or leaving Juanita’s apartment at the time of the murder. The downstairs neighbors said they hadn’t heard anything amiss from upstairs.
The officer first on the scene, Thomas Bird, told journalist Steve Corbett it appeared someone had washed Juanita’s face after her death. He also said it appeared the babies had been fed and diapers changed.
Det. Bird also told Corbett he found an open loaf of bread on the counter. He said he reached in to touch the bread, and it was still soft and fresh, even though the woman had been dead for at least 15 hours. (Times Leader, Oct. 10, 1993) It seems the murderer either stayed on the scene for a long time after or possibly left and returned to check on the children later.
Police told the family that a hair was found at the scene that didn’t belong to Juanita. (Times Leader, April 30, 2000)
The anonymous call to police was said to have been traced to a phone booth at the nearby Penn Plaza Shopping Center. That was announced three days after the crime.
Then-Captain of Detectives John Lowe, photo taken during a probe into possible police mishandling of the Juanita Todd case and others, 1979
1973: A Times Leader article published one year after the murder reported that the case was being investigated mainly by Detective Captain John W. Lowe, Detective Bernard Banas, and Detective John Bilecki.
Det. Capt. Lowe told the TL that Wilkes-Barre police were working closely with the State Police Crime Laboratory at the Wyoming Barracks, adding that Trooper William Koscinski was assigned to the case.
Lowe stated that over the year following the murder, four people, including one woman, voluntarily took lie detector tests administered by a Montoursville State Police specialist, and they passed (TL, Jan. 7, 1973). One person refused the test. Nearly 80 people were interviewed.
When asked if he had a suspect or suspects, Lowe answered, “Yes,” but refused to say more.
1974: After a brief mention in the Times Leader in 1974, local news outlets pretty much fell silent about the Juanita Todd case.
That is, until 1978, when a probe was launched into the Wilkes-Barre City Police Department (more about that to come in future posts).
In 2002, Odetta Todd, Juanita’s daughter, was conducting her own investigation into her mother’s murder. She spoke with former Capt. of Detectives John Lowe, who told her a tire iron was found in the sink at Juanita’s apartment. He also said three sets of fingerprints were identified, contrary to news reports that the place had been wiped clean.
What About DNA?
The great news is we’ve heard Wilkes-Barre police are currently reinvestigating this case. As far as is known, this case was last formally looked at in 1994. The hope is that W-B police will revisit all the evidence and send it out for modern DNA testing. They have not disclosed what evidence they have in their possession, citing the confidentiality required in an ongoing murder investigation, but they could have the following:
The knife
The piece of bedsheet that was tied around the victim’s neck
The tire iron found in the sink
The foreign hair
Fibers removed from beneath the victim’s fingernails
They should also have fingerprint evidence, interview notes, and polygraph results.
Information Needed
• If you have any information you think might help solve this case, please contact the Wilkes-Barre Police Department at (570) 208-4200. • You can also send anonymous tips through PA Crime Stoppers (online) or by calling the PA Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-4PA-TIPS. You’ll receive a $5,000 reward if your tip leads to an arrest.
The Juanita Todd Case in the News
Print/Web:
Who Killed Juanita Todd? Journalist and novelist Steve Corbett’s 14-part online series on the Juanita Todd unsolved murder
•”Break Seen in Death of Juanita Todd,” The Times Leader, October 1, 1972 • “City Woman, 22, Found Murdered,” The Times Leader, Sept. 28, 1972 • Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Wilkes Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Sanborn Map Company, Vol. 2, 1934 • “Wilkes-Barre Police Still Investigate Year-Old Murder,” The Times Leader, September 23, 1973 • Steve Corbett, “A Fading Cry for Justice,” The Times Leader, 30 Sept. 1993. • Steve Corbett, “A Search That Must Not End,” The Times Leader, 10 Oct. 1993. • Steve Corbett, “Somebody, Do Something, ” The Times Leader, 06 Feb 1994. • Steve Corbett, “New Evidence in Case Worth a Look,” The Times Leader, 30 Apr 2000. • TheOutlawCorbett.com/news • Juanita Todd: Dateline Cold Case Spotlight by Nicolás Viñuela.
