NamUs UP #17575 vs. Venika Williams (no NamUs profile)

By: Shane Lambert

Venika Williams, a missing person, has a Facebook group dedicated to her missing-person's case. Her disappearance was also covered in the news recently. Lastly, she had a NamUs page created in 2019.

The details that I gathered from those sources was that she was last seen on December 22nd, 2017 or the 23rd. She was 28 years old at that time. She is an African-American woman. Her approximate height is 5'3" and her approximate weight is 142 pounds according to a news source. The Facebook group affiliated with her disappearance offered these details:

"VENIKA WILLIAMS WAS LAST SEEN BETWEEN DEC 22-23 2017 . SHE IS FROM NEWARK NJ , FRIENDS SAY THEY BELIEVE SHE WAS IN JERSEY CITY LAST BEING HELD AGAINST HER WILL BY AN UNIDENTIFIED MALE, AS SHE SENT HER LAST TEXT STATING SO ! SHE IS 28 YRS OF AGE , 5’4 , ABOUT 130 LBS. VENIKA WAS LAST SEEN WEARING A BLACK LEATHER JACKET,RED HOODIED SWEATSHIRT AND BLUE JEANS.SHE IS THE MOTHER OF FOUR YOUNG CHILDREN !"

Additionally, according to New Jersey Missing Report there are these details:

"Venika’s last known whereabouts were around the 100 block of Dayton Street in Newark.  She was believed to be traveling from Essex County to Jersey City to do someone’s hair.  She was wearing blue jeans, a black, leather jacket, and red sneakers while carrying a red purse before she vanished."

Comparing Venika Williams to NamUs UP #17575

In my opinion, NamUs UP #17575 should be considered as a rule-out candidate for Venika Williams: that means I think there is enough in common for them to be examined as one and the same person. This is a deceased individual found on March 3rd, 2018 at 10:30am. The deceased individual has characteristics in common with Venika Williams.

Below are six points of comparison that would suggest that Venika and the Jane Doe may be one and the same person:

1. The decedent and Venika have skin color in common: they are both black.
2. The decedent and Venika have sex in common: they are both females.
3. The decedent is thought to have died in either 2017 or 2018. While Venika is not known to be dead, certainly her missing-date matches the death date of this unidentified person.
4. The decedent's weight is estimated to be 133 pounds, which is very close to the weight estimations for Venika.
5. The decedent's height is estimated to be 5'5" which is close to Venika's height of 5'4". Those that are familiar with missing-person's cases know that being one inch off is not relevant.
6. The deceased individual was found in Weequahic Park, which is extremely close to where Venika was last seen as per the news source above. Weequahic Park is adjacent to Dayton Street in Newark (in fact they could be viewed as the same location - see mapped screenshot below)

The green area is the park. The blue line is mostly Dayton Street.

There are certainly some "misses" with this case but they might only be slight. Below are some counterpoints that would suggest that the missing-person Venika Williams and the Jane Doe in Weequahic Park are not the same person.

1. The deceased has short hair while all photos I saw of Venika had long hair. 
2. The decedent had tattoos, none of which clearly match up to Venika.

Both points certainly carry some weight. However, hair length can be changed. I'm not sure if hair deteriorates in water, but the deceased was found in water. Nonetheless, hair length is not a rule-out criterion precisely because it is so easily alterable. Furthermore, I think Venika might have used wigs a lot or else she changed hair color a lot.

With regard to the tattoos, I don't know what to think. When it comes to looking at a deceased person's tattoos it can be hard to make them out. For instance, the Jane Doe that was found in Weequahic Park was in water maybe for several months. They did not take photographs of her tattoos and post them to NamUs, which is what they normally do. Instead, they used an artist's rendition of the tattoos. That tells me that the tattoos might have been hard to see.

The deceased had three stars tattooed on her neck. I couldn't find any clear photos of Venika that had such. However, Venika was into tattoos - this is clear from her photographs. Unfortunately, part of the reason I don't know what to think is that there's some inconsistent reporting regarding her tattoos. For example, one source says that Venika had a "Tanesha" tattoo on her right hand. Another source says the same tattoo was on her left hand. 

The deceased had a tattoo that may have read "Tiana." Some might say that's a different tattoo and it was stated to be in a different location than either hand. But whether the word was clearly legible on a body that is described as decomposed for months is debatable. Even so, the sad truth is that missing person's cases are so riddled with such sloppiness that I wouldn't be too deterred by a tattoo being present or not. Writing as someone that has submitted dozens of clerical-error corrects to NamUs, I won't rule-out someone on the basis of a tattoo.

The Jane Doe and Venika match up closely in other ways. In a way, the presence of tattoos unifies them. But there are the other six points to consider. The deceased is thought to have died at about the time when Venika went missing and in the exact same area. With height, weight, race, and sex aligning then certainly those that know Venika will want to be aware of NamUs #17575. 

Keep in mind that the sketch above was made from an individual deceased and decomposed for months. She was also found in a watery location. The photo to the right is of Venika. If she is wearing a wig, as I suspect she is, then her natural hair would be very short. Furthermore, I think I see the star tattoos in the neck area (see the video below for a closer look at the neck). However, one person that knew Venika said she didn't have such a tattoo.