Unidentified Person

Unidentified person — Marbury (1986-03-30)

An unidentified woman’s skeletal remains were found by children in a Marbury root cellar on March 29, 1986. NamUs lists the case as open and unresolved; a 2020 news report said the Autauga County Sheriff’s Office was trying to identify her and investigate her reported shooting death.

Incident date: March 29, 1986
Location: Marbury, Autauga County
Independent sources: 3

The record

An unidentified woman whose skeletal remains were discovered in Marbury in March 1986 remains the subject of an open NamUs record.1

Children attending a birthday party found the remains in a root cellar or storm-shelter-type structure at a residence on March 29, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s NamUs database.1 The Montgomery Advertiser likewise reported that children found the remains during a birthday party and that the Autauga County Sheriff’s Office later renewed its investigation.2

The newspaper reported in 2020 that authorities classified the woman’s death as a homicide after determining that she had sustained three gunshot wounds to the head from a small-caliber firearm.2 The initial investigation recovered three bullets and a spent shell casing, according to the same report.2

Autopsy records cited by the Advertiser estimated that the woman was 30 to 35 years old and between 5 feet 3 inches and 5 feet 5 inches tall. She had slightly curly, light-brown hair and extensive dental work, including a partial denture plate. A rhinestone-decorated halter top was the only clothing reportedly recovered with her remains.2

The Advertiser reported that an Autauga County Sheriff’s Office investigator believed the remains had been in the cellar for five or six years before their discovery. That estimate does not appear in the supplied NamUs record.2

A facial reconstruction was made, but the woman’s remains could not be located at the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences when the Advertiser reported on the case in 2020. Investigators hoped the skull might still be stored separately and explored whether DNA could be recovered from the bullets without destroying potential evidence.2

NamUs lists case UP51903 as open and unresolved.1 The supplied Doe Network page describes the organization’s work on missing- and unidentified-person cases but contains no case-specific information about this woman.3

Timeline

Approximately 1980–1981Reported
An investigator later estimated that the remains had been in the cellar for five or six years before discovery.
March 29, 1986Confirmed
Children attending a birthday party at a Marbury residence discovered skeletal remains in a root cellar or storm shelter.
February 13, 2020Reported
The Montgomery Advertiser reported that the Autauga County Sheriff's Office had renewed efforts to identify the woman and examine possible DNA evidence.
Date not statedConfirmed
NamUs case UP51903 is listed as open and unresolved.

Documented claims

The unidentified-remains case is listed by NamUs as UP51903 and is open and unresolved.
Confirmed
Source: U.S. Department of Justice NamUs · Single-source claim.
Children attending a birthday party at a Marbury residence discovered skeletal remains in a root cellar or storm-shelter-type structure on March 29, 1986.
Confirmed
Source: U.S. Department of Justice NamUs · Corroborated by 1 additional source: https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/crime/2020/02/13/in-autauga-county-a-34-year-old-cold-case-killing-has-not-been-forgotten/4724245002/
The remains were those of a woman who had never been identified as of the Montgomery Advertiser's 2020 report.
Reported
Source: Montgomery Advertiser · Single-source claim.
The Autauga County Sheriff's Office treated the death as a homicide involving three gunshot wounds to the head from a small-caliber firearm.
Reported
Source: Montgomery Advertiser · Single-source claim.
The initial investigation recovered three bullets and a spent shell casing.
Reported
Source: Montgomery Advertiser · Single-source claim.
Autopsy reports estimated that the woman was 30 to 35 years old and between 5 feet 3 inches and 5 feet 5 inches tall.
Reported
Source: Montgomery Advertiser · Single-source claim.
The woman reportedly had slightly curly, light-brown hair and extensive dental work, including a partial denture plate.
Reported
Source: Montgomery Advertiser · Single-source claim.
A rhinestone-decorated halter top was the only clothing reportedly recovered with the remains.
Reported
Source: Montgomery Advertiser · Single-source claim.
An Autauga County Sheriff's Office investigator believed the remains had been in the cellar for five or six years before their discovery.
Reported
Source: Montgomery Advertiser · Single-source claim.
A facial reconstruction was created.
Reported
Source: Montgomery Advertiser · Single-source claim.
The remains could not be located at the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences during the renewed investigation described in 2020.
Reported
Source: Montgomery Advertiser · Single-source claim.
Investigators explored whether DNA could be recovered from the bullets without destroying potential evidence and hoped the skull might still be in storage.
Reported
Source: Montgomery Advertiser · Single-source claim.
The supplied Doe Network document describes the nonprofit's general mission but provides no case-specific facts about the Marbury woman.
Reported
Source: Doe Network · Single-source claim.

Sources

NamUs case UP51903 — U.S. Department of Justice NamUsOpen
‘The Lady deserves a name’: In Autauga, a 34-year-old cold case killing has not been forgotten — Montgomery AdvertiserOpen
Doe Network case page 1562UFAL — Doe NetworkOpen