Lee Selwyn Murder - What Happened After the Unsolved Mysteries Episode?

By: Shane Lambert
Original time of writing: July 15th, 2024

Episode 13 of Season 1 of the hit TV show Unsolved Mysteries from the 1980s and 1990s featured a lead story about the murder of Lee Selwyn, a man who was a disc jockey in the LA area. The show originally aired on January 15th, 1989 with Robert Stack as the host.

As depicted in the episode, Selwyn was out riding his motorcycle as part of a quartet of friends. One of the friends confronted a dangerous driver in a truck and an altercation ensued. When one of Selwyn's friends damaged the driver's truck, he, the driver, responded by attempting to run down the motorcyclists. The driver ran Selwyn off the road at high speed, leading to his loss of life when he hit a phone pole. If you are wondering what happened after the 1989 episode that featured this murder, then this article is for you.

Lee Selwyn's photo from his Findagrave memorial page.

Update in 1993: Prisoner Named as a Suspect

Selwyn was 26 years old when the murder took place on October 8th, 1988. There was an update in 1993. An inmate in the Georgia prison system was identified as a suspect in the murder. His name was Franklin Legrand (or LeGrand) Perkins, a man who was 36 years old in 1993. The clipped article below comes from the LA Times on July 30th, 1993.

This led to the conviction of Perkins according to a December 11th, 1994 article in the LA Times.

Selwyn's memorial page at Findagrave contains the following statements: "In March of 1993, Lee's case was re-aired; as a result, an anonymous tipster contacted the telecenter. She identified Lee's killer as Franklin Legrand Perkins. The tipster had remembered a story her ex-boyfriend had told her of Perkins boasting about how he killed a biker in Los Angeles. Lee's friends were shown a photo line-up and identified Perkins as the assailant. He was arrested in Moultrie, Georgia on July 30, just a few days before he was scheduled to be paroled from prison. At the time, he was serving a five-year sentence for possession of a firearm by a felon. He was returned to Los Angeles to face charges. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison."

The newspaper clipping says he was convicted of second-degree murder. Second-degree murder is the kind that comes without planning and would seem to fit the situation as depicted in the episode.

Fosters, Alabama Jane Doe -- Unidentified Since 1982

Unidentified Person: Fosters Jane Doe April 1982; Mrs. X

Date Body Found: April 18th, 1982

Estimated Date of Death: About April 14th, 1982

Where body found: Near Fosters, Alabama near Slaughter Creek where it feeds into the Black Warrior River at the Old Robinson Ben Landing

Link to Government Source: #UP61157

NamUs description: "White female was found on banks of Black Warrior River. She had been beaten severely about the head and body, and sexually assaulted. Despite extensive investigation at the time she was never identified and a suspect was never developed, leading to belief she was not from area."

Find-a-grave: She has an online grave memorial but the photograph might be of a different Jane Doe (spelled "Jayne Doe") as the date of February 18th, 1982 on the gravemarker would not match this person. She goes by the name Mrs. X at find-a-grave.

DoeNetwork: for circumstances of discovery, I recommend the DoeNetwork page for this individual.

Ethnicity/Race: White

Sex: Female
Estimated Age: 30 to 40 years old; once source estimates 35 years of age
Hair: Brown or black, shoulder-lengthed
Eye color: Brown
Estimated height and weight: 5'4" and 110 pounds

Dental: Upper teeth were dentures, she was missing some teeth
Clothing: 

• light blue button up long sleeve shirt "Preppy" brand
• Blue knit pants
• Gray tennis shoes size 7

Tue, Apr 20, 1982 – 17 · The Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama) · Newspapers.com

This Jane Doe, who was found by three fishermen, was thought to have been dead for about four days prior to her discovery on April 18th, 1982. That would make April 14th, 1982 the likely day of her death. She is thought to be a murder victim and a victim of an assault that was sexual in nature. She was thought to have been beaten and strangled.

She was buried on December 9th, 1982 as a Jane Doe. A refined age estimate that was offered at about that time gave a range of 34 years old to 38 years old. It was then thought that the body had been "in the river" for "two to four days." Her fingerprints were checked against FBI files, however, this did not lead to her identification.

Thu, Dec 9, 1982 – Page 35 · The Anniston Star (Anniston, Alabama) · Newspapers.com

I find some forum-chat evidence that this Jane Doe may have been exhumed in 2013. The following link is dead but you can still read the URL. There seems to be a reason to believe that this woman had a stuck vehicle with a man she was traveling with a couple days prior to the discovery of her remains.

Author: Shane Lambert (Facebook profile)

Facebook Group: Missing Person Commentary

Twitter: @UncoolNegated (Twitter)

Pinterest: Missing Person Board
Original Time of Writing: February 17th, 2021

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

I am not a Private Investigator, however, I am currently studying to be one as of February 2021.

Website hashtag: #MPCSL