UP116037 - Woman Found in Palm Bay in January 1985

By: Shane Lambert

Time of original writing: January 10th, 2025

UP116037 is an unidentified Jane Doe whose body was found on January 17th, 1985 in Palm Bay, Florida. The details, as per her NamUs profile at the time of writing, were as follows:

• "Remains found wrapped in a blanket in a remote area of Palm Bay, FL."
• GPS opened to "28°02'04.1"N 80°35'19.2"W" (likely in the area of where she was found)
• Partial skeletal remains
• Female
• White/Caucasian
• Adult pre-30
• 24-28 years old
• Thought to have died in 1984
• Thought to have been dead for six months when discovered
• 62-64 inches tall (5'2" to 5'4") (estimated)
• 95-105 pounds (estimated)
• Clothing: bathrobe/housecoat found near the body

Lookin at the details above, it's the clothing that stands out. What does it mean for someone to be found dead with, presumably, her bathrobe/housecoat nearby. For me, that's someone who was abducted from her home by an intruder or someone who was killed by someone she lived with. 

The fact that only partial skeletal remains were found is significant, in my opinion. I did find some journalism on this Jane Doe. It said she may have been decapitated. 

This is important when it comes to the height of the individual. I would think it would be harder to estimate the height of a Jane Doe who had been decapitated, even if you had all the body parts. If you are working on this case, I think you should use a broad estimate for a height range.

Back in the first half of the 1980s, we were in the time frame before DNA became a powerful tool for identification. Back then, dental records were one of the ways to identify a Jane Doe. A Doe who was decapitated may have been altered in that way to separate her dentals from her body and thereby inhibit identification in a time where DNA wasn't yet fully developed. However, I found that this was probably not the case with this Jane Doe, a point I will return to.

March 7th, 1985. Florida Today.

The original journalism at about the time of discovery estimated her age to be between 30-47 years old. That is in counter to the current information at NamUs. Furthermore, I found an article that said that the body was found "four miles west of Interstate 95 and one mile south of Malabar Road" (January 22nd, 1985/Florida Today). A street named "Savery Street" was associated with the discovery location. On modern maps of the area, I could find only "Savery Road."

This woman's remains were thought to be related to two other discoveries in the area at about the same time. I clipped the entire article below, which was published on March 7th, 1985 in Florida Today (page 1B).

The remains appeared to have been interfered with by a dog. Furthermore, the woman who owned this dog discarded the skull for some reason. That would suggest that the murderer of this woman did not separate the skull from the body but rather this dog did.

Other details:

• The bones were found by a couple who were interested in real estate in the area.
• The bones were originally thought to belong to an elderly man.
• The bones were described as "scattered across the vacant lot" in one article (Jan. 19/1985 Florida Today; Page 21).
• Foul play seemed to be suspected from the start.
• The remains were found near some trees and bushes, which suggests to me that someone was trying to hide them to some extent.
• Several cigarette butts were found on the street in front of the body's location.
• A Websleuths.com member (username SimsGuy67) has suggested Sandra Thompson as a candidate for a rule out. At first glance, I could see how some details added up.