Jane Doe identified in 29-year-old cold case through new DNA technology

By JT Moodee Lockman, Janay Reece

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    BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A woman at the center of a 29-year-old cold case in Baltimore County has been identified, police said Thursday.

Through a partnership with a DNA lab, police learned that Leoria Smith was last seen 12 years before her body was discovered in a wooded area in 1996.

Smith was 20 years old when she disappeared, though her disappearance was never reported to authorities. She had an infant daughter at the time, police said.

“My kids never got to experience a grandmother, so it is a lot of mixed emotions,” said Tierra Ashby, Smith’s daughter. “But I am happy she can get put to rest.”

In March 1996, police became involved when Smith’s remains were found by workers in a wooded area in the 17800 block of Falls Road.

She was found wearing blue jeans, a light colored blouse with dark pinstripes and pearl buttons, a leather jacket, and high-top shoes, according to police. Two gold hoop earrings were also found on the scene.

Police determined that her body had been in the woods for at least five years. Her cause of death has not been identified.

Investigators were unable to identify Smith at the time, and she became known as “Falls Road Jane Doe.”

Smith’s granddaughter and daughter say they want justice for a grandmother they never got to meet, and a mother who never got to see her child grow up.

Kierra Merton learned only a month ago that her grandmother was a woman who was found dead nearly 30 years ago.

“It would’ve been nice to know who she is, it would’ve been nice to have a grandmother to call,” Merton said.

Before being able to identify Smith, police created a facial reconstruction of her based on the skeletal remains that were found in 1996.

A forensic artist created a model using the skull that was found, and computer-enhanced images were developed to provide more details.

Based on the facial reconstruction, police described Smith as a 5-foot-1 Black woman. The reconstruction identified a small blemish on the right side of her skull, which, at the time, police said could have been hereditary or caused by surgery or an accident.

In April 2021, Baltimore County Police partnered with DNA Labs International (DLI) to use the latest forensic technology on this case.

DLI used the newest Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG) technology for challenging forensic samples. The test allowed a DNA profile to be developed, police said.

DLI genealogists then used the DNA profile to generate new leads for police. Based on the new leads, police conducted interviews and found additional samples.

The collaboration allowed police to identify “Falls Road Jane Doe.”

“With DNA Labs International, the deceased woman was identified earlier this month as 20-year-old Leoria Smith,” said Cpl. Dona Carter, of the Cold Case and Missing Persons Squad.

Police also revealed that Smith attended Gwynns Falls Park Junior High School in the late 1970s to 1980. Just before her death, police said Smith went to the club “Underground,” which was in the 2100 block of Edmondson Avenue in Baltimore City.

Detectives received a tip that Smith was possibly last seen at the club celebrating her birthday in November 1984.

“Detectives learned she went out to celebrate her birthday at the 12 Underground Club in November of 1984, that was in Baltimore City at that time,” Carter said.

Anyone with information on Smith is asked to call Baltimore County detectives at 410-887-3943 or share a tip online.

“All I have is my mother, and to watch her go through that and wonder what happened,” Merton said. “If anybody can find anything or know anything, please come forward and help us put our grandmother to rest.”

In early March, Howard County police closed a 50-year-old cold case involving a woman who was last seen outside of a bar in downtown Baltimore in 1975.

The body of 20-year-old Roseann Sturtz was found in a wooded area of Columbia, Maryland, near what is now Oakland Ridge Industrial Park off Route 108.

In 2022, a new detective took over the case and began poring over every piece of evidence. The search revealed a recording from 1981 in which a suspect, Charles William Davis Jr., acknowledges Sturtz’s death while being interviewed for another murder.

The detective also found a letter from 1981 in which the Howard County State’s Attorney offered Davis blanket immunity from prosecution for information on Sturtz’s death.

The detective brought Davis in for an interview after finding the letter and recording. At that time, Davis confessed to being responsible for Strutz’s death, saying he wanted to give the family closure.

Davis was already a convicted killer and is serving a life sentence in a Maryland prison.

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