List of unidentified murder victims in Texas

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Facial reconstructions and clothing

Boots

A white or Hispanic male between 15 and 18 years old was found buried in a Harris County boat shed in August 1973.[2]

This youth is the only still-unidentified victim of serial killer Dean Corll, who, together with two teenage accomplices, killed at least 28 boys and young men between 1970 and 1973.[3][4][5] This decedent was between 5 feet 2 and 5 feet 7 inches tall, had brown hair, and is believed to have worn striped swim trunks, boots, and a shirt displaying a peace symbol. These items were found near his body.[6]

He had received good dental care, and had never received any teeth fillings in his lifetime. It is known that he suffered from a mild form of spina bifida.[7] DNA testing conducted in 2008 did not match any missing person report.[8]

A forensic examination of the boy's remains, in addition to the circumstantial fact that he was buried between two identified victims of Dean Corll (killed in August 1971 and July 1972), indicated that he was most likely murdered in either 1971 or 1972.

A teenage female whose body was discovered approximately six hours after she died on October 31 or November 1, 1980. Henry Lee Lucas has been named as a potential suspect in this case,[9] although a bite mark found upon the decedent's shoulder was inconsistent with Lucas's dentistry.[10]

She was estimated to be between the ages of 14 and 18 years old with brown hair and brown or hazel eyes. She had claimed to a waitress that she was 19 but the waitress did not believe her. She was described as wearing a yellow pullover sweater and red heeled sandals. She was also wearing a square or rectangular pendent necklace with a smokey blue or brown stone. The necklace was found on the body and the shoes were nearby but none of her clothing was located.

When her body was found it was determined she had only been dead for several hours. She had been viciously sexually assaulted with a large foreign object. A truck driver had seen her body on the north bound side of highway 45 about a mile north of The Hitchin Post truck stop.

The waitress who spoke to her claimed the girl told her she was from the Aransas Pass/Rockport area but no missing persons were reported in that area around the time of her death.

A young man and woman who were found in January 1981. They were killed approximately two months earlier and left in Houston.[11]

The Harris County Jane Doe, found in 1985, had a tattoo of the letter "V" on her arm

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Sketch

Jewelry

On August 12, 1985, the body of a Hispanic female aged between 16 and 35 was found inside a vacant store. Her body was discovered alongside that of a man who was identified as Thomas Rodriguez, and her death had occurred hours prior to her discovery. She was between five feet and five feet two inches, and weighed approximately 120 to 140 pounds. Other distinctive details regarding this decedent include two sets of distinctive earrings she had worn which contained beads and shells, a tattoo of the letter 'V' on her upper left arm, and a scar resulting from her gallbladder being removed. A necklace with an arrowhead and turquoise stone design was also found on the girl's neck. It is unknown how both victims were placed at the scene.[12]

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3D reconstruction of 1986 victim

On March 26, 1986, a black woman was shot multiple times and left near a railroad. She was between 18 and 25, standing 5 feet, 11 inches tall. The body had gone undiscovered for approximately three weeks to three months. The motive for the murder was apparently an argument. Ángel Maturino Reséndiz, a serial killer, confessed to her murder, claiming he had also killed the woman's boyfriend, whose remains are yet to be found. The woman wore a white gold ring, a striped blue short skirt, and a flannel jacket, which was also striped. She was believed to have been native to Florida, her first name reported to possibly be Norma. The woman, along with her boyfriend and another victim, has never been identified. Reséndiz apparently killed seventeen others.[13]

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Sketch reconstruction

A black subject, 20 to 30 years old, who was likely a trans woman or a drag queen, was pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital when found unresponsive on July 10, 1986, in Live Oak, Harris County, Texas. The cause of death was strangulation, which may have been done with pantyhose. The subject was dressed in pink pants, a gray shirt, and a black belt with spikes. A pair of socks was under the shirt, likely used to mimic breasts. A heart tattoo containing a scroll was on one arm, and the victim's fingernails had been painted gold at one point. Four earrings were found in each ear; a ring with a clear stone, a ring without a stone, a silver chain, and two gold-colored necklaces were also found. The victim may have had a drug history, as needle marks were visible on the arms.[14][15] The DNA Doe Project was asked to assist with identifying the body in January, 2020.[16]

The skeletal remains of a male between the ages of 27 and 38 were found on October 3, 1988, in Georgetown, Williamson County, Texas, near a caravan park. He died between a month and a year before, as a result of homicidal violence. He was white with possible Native American or Hispanic ancestry. His hair was dark brown with some gray visible. He had a healed injury to his nose and he was likely of muscular build, with a height between 5'2" and 5'5". Although there was no clothing on the body, a pair of underwear and a hat were nearby. He was given the nickname "Rebel Ray" after the wording on the hat. Investigators suspect he may have resided in the nearby caravan park or was possibly employed as a handyman.[17][18][19] The DNA Doe Project was asked to assist with identifying the body in May, 2019.[20]

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  Reconstruction of "Rebel Ray" by Natalie Murry
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Digital reconstruction

Tattoo

Belt buckle

A Hispanic male between 15 and 25 was found stabbed to death on December 15, 1988, in Collin County, Texas. He had died a day before his body was found abandoned in a culvert. He wore a motorcyclist's jacket and a white and gray striped shirt, along with corduroy jeans, loafers, and a belt with a multi-colored buckle. He had a tattoo on his arm of the letters "RYA" inside a heart with an arrow through it, possibly representing a significant other or a family member. He was found wearing a watch, a bracelet, and two rubber rings. He was relatively short for a male, being five feet to five feet one inch tall. In his pockets, chap stick, a package of cigarettes, and a disposable lighter were found.[21][22]

1989 Harris County Jane Doe

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NCMEC reconstruction

2D reconstruction

Approximately eight to ten hours after her death, a Hispanic female was located on Westheimer Street, in Houston, Harris County, Texas on December 29, 1989.[23] She was five feet four inches and weighed 161 pounds; she was between nineteen and twenty-five, although she could have been up to thirty-five.[24] The victim wore black pants, socks and shoes as well as a white bra, panties and a pullover. Her hair was black and curly, approximately twenty inches long. Her eyes were also brown.[25] A piece of paper was found at the scene that was written by hand containing some sort of schedule.[26] The woman had been shot at close range in the head. After her body remained unidentified, she was buried in an unmarked grave in a potter's field.[27]

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Sketch

A female between 17 and 26 was discovered in Kendall County, Texas, on March 6, 2010. The victim's race was either Hispanic or Caucasian, possibly being a mix of both. Examination revealed that she had had a large amount of dental work as well as a previous open heart surgery. Deformities were also present on the feet. She had died between one year and a decade prior to the discovery.[28][29]

Reconstruction of the South Padre Island Jane Doe

The decomposed remains of a Hispanic woman were found on a beach, scavenged by coyotes, on October 10, 2012, in South Padre Island, Cameron County, Texas. The victim's body was likely exposed due to changes with water levels on the beach. The woman had been dead from one to several weeks before her remains were discovered.[30] The sand above the body had been "covered with lime," possibly to speed decomposition or plant growth, likely as a way to prevent the body from being found or identified. Her height was estimated to be four feet ten to five feet two inches tall and her weight at about 95 to 120 pounds. She was middle-aged, approximately forty-two to fifty-five, at the time of death.[31] One or more of the female's limbs were not found with the body, as they were likely carried away by animals. A distinctive feature about this female was that she had her make-up permanently tattooed on her eyebrows, eyelids and lips. Her ears had also been pierced.[32] She was clothed, wearing a dark top, multicolored shorts with star decorations and bikini underwear, along with a sanitary pad. The woman's death is considered to be due to foul play and a "suspicious" white-colored "powder" was found on the face region.[33] Since her discovery, a three-dimensional reconstruction and a sketch have been created of the victim.[31][34]

• List of unidentified murder victims in the United States

Wikimedia Commons has media related to unidentified murder victims.

• The Doe Network
• National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• National Missing and Unidentified Persons System