Walker County Jane Doe: The Murder of Sherri Jarvis

On November 1, 1980, the body of a young girl was discovered by a truck driver, near the Sam Houston National Forest. The girl’s body was estimated to be about 14–18 years old. She was found naked, lying face-down on the grass, about 20 feet from the Interstate Highway 45 (which was two miles north of Huntsville). The truck driver called the police at 9:20 AM, to report the girl’s body. Authorities estimated that the girl’s body had only been there for about six hours. This meant that she’d died around three in the morning.

She had been wearing a rectangular brown pendant, with blue and brown glass-coloured stone, on a thin gold chain. She had pierced ears, but no earrings were found on the body. She was wearing red leather high-heeled sandals, with light brown straps. Witnesses had seen the young girl carrying these sandals shortly before her death. The rest of the young girl’s clothing was unaccounted for.

An autopsy was performed on the young girl, and it was determined that she was 5’6”, and about 105–120 pounds. She’d had hazel eyes, and her light brown hair was about ten inches long, with a slight reddish tint. There was no evidence to suggest that the girl had ever dyed her hair. She’d had a vertical scar about 1.5 inches in length on the edge of her right eyebrow, and her right nipple was inverted. She’d had bare fingernails, but her toenails were painted pink.

The Harris County Medical Examiner had described the young victim as being ‘well-nourished’ at the time…