Elizabeth Ann Roberts | |
|---|---|
 Photo of Elizabeth Ann Roberts, taken shortly before she ran away from home. | |
| Born | Elizabeth Ann Elder November 3, 1959 |
| Disappeared | July 25, 1977 Roseburg, Oregon, U.S. |
| Died | August 9, 1977 (aged 17) Everett, Washington, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Homicide (ligature strangulation) |
| Body discovered | August 14, 1977 |
| Resting place | Pine Grove Cemetery, Hood River, Hood River County |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Snohomish County Jane Doe, "Precious Jane Doe", "Lisa" |
| Known for | Unidentified victim of homicide for 43 years (identified June 2020) One of the first cold cases solved with DNA sequencing from hair |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) (approximate) |
| Relatives | Dolly Roberts (adoptive mother), Troy Roberts (adoptive father), Tonya Roberts (sister), Stanley Elder (biological father), Mary Guignard (biological mother) |
Elizabeth "Lisa" Ann Roberts (née Elder; November 3, 1959 – August 9, 1977), otherwise known as Precious Jane Doe, was an American homicide victim found near Everett, Washington on August 14, 1977, who was an unidentified decedent for 43 years until being identified on June 16, 2020. She had been picked up by a male driver while hitchhiking and killed after refusing sex. Her assailant had strangled her with a cord and then emptied his gun into her head, complicating identification.[1] Roberts was a teen runaway who left her Oregon home in July 1977, less than a month before her murder. She was given the nickname "Precious Jane Doe" by Detective Jim Scharf, who began investigating the case in 2008.[2] The detective was quoted as saying, "This young girl was precious to me because her moral decision from her proper upbringing cost her her life [...] I knew she had to be precious to her family too, so I had to find them. We needed to give her name back to her and return her remains to her family."[3][4] Roberts was 17 at the time of her murder, though initial police estimations of her age were much older.[5] Her body was found by blackberry pickers, and the medical examiner determined she had been dead for approximately 5 days before discovery. She was discovered fully clothed in a pastel tank top and denim cutoffs. As her identity remained unknown, Roberts' case was relegated as a cold case. In 2020, genetic testing via hair samples was used to locate her biological family, who led to her adoptive family.
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:4was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "'She's precious to me:' Snohomish cold case detective identifies Jane Doe murder victim after 40 years". www.q13fox.com. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
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