Salem Murder Solved After 38 Years
Janie Landers was an 18 year old patient at Fairview Training Center, located in Salem, Oregon. On March 9, 1979 Landers went missing from Fairview Training Center, which was a state run facility for individuals with developmental disabilities. The facility was eventually closed in 2000, and the property sold to the city of Salem.
According to authorities Landers had the mental capacity of an 8 year old, and was known to be quite strong for her sizes. Janie Landers stood at 5'1" and weighed 105 pounds.
Originally, it was assumed that Landers voluntarily walked away from the facility. However, law enforcement did open a case and started investigating her disappearance immediately. A composite sketch was created of an unknown man who had been spotted numerous times in the area.
Five days after her disappearance, Lander’s body was found in Silver Falls, Oregon. Investigators had determined that her body had been dumped, after she was brutally beaten and murdered. The cause of her death, was determined to be blunt force trauma to her head.
Investigators did extensive interviews of people who had known Landers. Due to a lack of physical evidence and no solid leads to the case, Lander’s case went cold. Over the years Lander’s case was reopened by different detectives, but no new leads or theories developed.
Lander’s sister Joyce, was 13 at the time of her sister murder. Through the years Joyce was the advocate and voice for her sister. She constantly urged detectives to revisit her sister case. Finally, in 2015 Janie Lander’s case took a new turn.
Oregon State Police Detective Steve Hinkle, reopened Lander’s cold case. He reviewed all the evidence and leads. Hinkle, also made contact with witnesses who were still available.
According to the DA Lander’s attacker had used a knife that did not have a hilt. This increased the possibility that the attacker was injured, and possibly left DNA evidence. Hinkle worked with forensic scientist to isolate blood samples that were left on Lander’s shirt, in the hope that the blood was left by the attacker.
In April 2016, the forensic scientist had results for the blood on Lander’s shirt. They had successfully isolated the killer’s blood, and were able to find DNA results. The results came back to Gerald Kenneth Dunlap. Dunlap, was never previously a suspect in Janie Lander’s murder.
Dunlap, had worked in the laundry department at Fairview Training Center, and was no stranger to crime. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1961 for raping a women during an armed robbery in Tennessee. In 1973, Dunlap was granted parole and he moved out to California. He fled California to Salem, to avoid having to register as a sex offended in the state. He got married and settled down in Salem, where he went to work for the Fairview Training Center. He worked at Fairview up until 1983, when he was fired for acting inappropriately towards a woman..
Gerald Kenneth Dunlap was convicted of sexual offense against a girl in 1996. This prison sentence required that his DNA be taken and put into the national database. Dunlap, died in prison in 2002.
It is speculated that Janie willingly went with Dunlap, due to her mental state. Authorities belief that Dunlap was planning to sexually assault Janie, but that her strength surprised him, and in a panic he murdered her and left her body.
The original investigation did not render Dunlap as a suspect. Records showed that he was at work during the time of Janie’s disappearance. Comparisons of the sketch done of the suspect and a picture of Dunlap taken in 1972, show a strong resemblance. Detective Hinkle, showed Dunlap’s picture to witnesses of the strange man on the Fairview grounds, and they all stated that, that is who they saw the day Lander’s went missing.
October 30, 2017 brought a new chapter to Lander’s sister Joyce. Upon the closing of Lander’s case Detective Hinkle was able to return Janie’s few belonging back to her sister, these items included an earring and two small hair ties. This was Detective Hinkle’s first cold cast and he had this to say “We’re grateful we could do this for Janie. We are hopeful her family can find some closure to this horrific chapter in their lives.” Joyce finds comfort in knowing Janie can finally be at peace, because her case is solved.
