Caledonia Jane Doe: The Story of Tammy Jo Alexander

Tammy Jo Alexander’s yearbook photo. She had been known as ‘Caledonia Jane Doe’ for decades. She was finally identified in 2015. Photo courtesy of the Genesee Sun.

On November 10, 1979, the body of a teenaged girl was found in a field, in Caledonia, New York. This was off U.S Route 20, near the Genesee River (37 KM, or 23 miles, from Rochester). The farmer had originally thought he’d discovered a trespassing hunter in his corn field, after catching a glimpse of red clothing. However, as he approached, the farmer discovered that it was actually the body of a dead teenager wearing a red bright red jacket. The farmer quickly called the police.

The girl was fully clothed, with no evidence of sexual assault. The young woman had been shot twice (one bullet had struck her in the back, and the other shot above her right eye). Investigators believed that the victim had not turned or flinched, and that she had likely been taken by surprise. Her cause of death was determined to be severe hemorrhage from the two gunshot wounds. The victim’s pockets had been turned inside out, and she had no ID, or wallet on her. The authorities nicknamed the unknown girl ‘Caledonia Jane Doe’, or ‘Cali Doe’ for short.

During the autopsy, the medical examiner determined that the young woman had been shot in the head while she stood at the edge of the cornfield near the road. There was some blood found on the ground where she’d been shot. Then, the girl had then been dragged into the cornfield, and shot in the back. The…