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Killer Of 30-Year-Old Homicide Known, Victim’s Identity A Mystery

Posted: 11:57 am PDT May 1, 2008Updated: 5:59 pm PDT May 4, 2008

A homicide case more than 30 years old has been solved and the convicted murderer has served his prison sentence, but the victim of the homicide has yet to be identified.

The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office has released a sketch of Jane Doe in hopes of trying to solve a 30-year-old case.

In August 1977, the female’s decomposed body was discovered by blackberry pickers in the south Everett area off 112th Street Southwest and Fourth Avenue West, which was called Emander Road at that time.

According to police, Jane Doe was hitchhiking near Silver Lake, when David Roth, 20 years old at the time, picked her up on his way back from swimming. Police said they went to an area near where her body was later found and drank some beer. When she refused his sexual advances, he strangled her and then shot her.

Roth was convicted of the murder in 1979 and has since served his prison sentence and been released. Police said Roth was of little help since he did not know the victim or even her first name when he committed the murder.

Officials were not able to identify her and said she could be anywhere from 17 to 37 years old, since so little was known at the time of the crime.

In 1992, a facial reconstruction was created in hopes of identifying her, but she still remains a mystery. Police believe she may be from out of state since no one has come forward to identify her.

Police describe Jane Doe as a white female, most likely between the ages of 15 and 21. She was about 5 feet 10 inches tall and 155 pounds. She had short, light brown to brown hair, which did not have any hair color or treatment on it. She appeared to have a suntan and was wearing a tanktop with pastel stripes, cut-off jeans, and blue and white tennis shoes. She also had a Timex watch with a brown leather band on her left wrist. Her two upper front teeth had dental restorations.

Although the case of who killed her has been solved for nearly 30 years, detectives want to identify the young woman so they can return her remains to her family. Detectives ask if anyone reported a girl missing in the late 1970s who fits the description of this Jane Doe or is somewhat close to it, call the tip line at 425-388-3845. Police say you should provide the missing girl’s first name, middle initial, last name and date of birth.

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