Law enforcement officials in Ohio are trying to identify the victim of a serial killer. She may be from Texas or one of the other Gulf Coast states.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DWine said convicted serial killer Shaun Grate confessed to killing the woman in Marion County between 2004 and 2005. He told authorities she may have been a magazine saleswoman.
Her remains were found in 2007 but only recently linked to Grate. He was sentenced to death last week for murdering 29-year-old Elizabeth Griffith and 43-year-old Stacey Stanley. He's also accused of kidnapping, raping and murdering other women.
"This victim is believed to have died at the hands of a cold-blooded killer who later went on to kill others, and the fact that she has been unidentified all this time makes her case even more tragic," DeWine said.
Ohio’s attorney general said the woman’s bones were sent to the University of South Florida for analysis. Forensic experts determined she was likely born in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama or Florida.
Testing also suggests she spent the last five years of her life in Texas, Florida or the Caribbean.
She was believed to be between 15 and 30 years old, had brown hair, weighed about 100 to 150 pounds and was likely between 5 feet 3 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall.
Forensic artists created a facial reconstruction to show what she might have looked like.
Members of the public are also urged to spread the word about this case. We want as many people as possible to see this facial reconstruction because this young woman was someone's daughter, she was someone's friend, and someone out there knows her name,” said Marion County Sheriff Tim Bailey.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations at 740-845-2406.