Post by LadyBlue on Jun 13, 2012 11:21:09 GMT -5
Family knew for weeks missing Tucson woman's remains ID'd
Linda Watson’s family has known for several weeks that the missing woman’s remains had been identified and her death declared a homicide.
Although the Pima County Sheriff’s Department didn’t release this new information to the public until Monday, officials have known since at least Feb. 1, the identity of the woman labeled “Jane Doe #34” in a medical examiners autopsy report.
Watson, who disappeared from her home in August 2000, was identified through DNA testing. Comparison samples had been submitted by family members.
Much of the information in the autopsy report — including the dates DNA tests were run and examinations performed — was redacted by sheriff’s officials.
Investigators will not yet say where Watson’s remains were found or when, though family members said they were found in the desert in Pima County.
Watson, 35, disappeared after her mother drove her home from a Sunday night church service. After Watson failed to pick up her daughter from the home of her ex-husband the next day, sheriff’s detectives investigated. They discovered the door to Watson’s home, in the 2600 block of West Curtis Road, was unlocked. Inside they found spilled coffee and a shattered mug as well as traces of Watson’s blood. Left behind were her car, pager, Bible and purse.
After Watson’s disappearance, her mother, Marilyn Cox, 63, took her former son-in-law to court and won the right to unsupervised visitation with her young granddaughter. However, two months after Cox — as well as the young girl’s paternal grandmother — were granted unsupervised visitation with the then 6-year-old, Cox was gunned down in the driveway of her daughter’s home where she had been living. Also killed in the shooting was her neighbor, RéNee Farnsworth, 53. The homicides remain unsolved.
azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/family-knew-for-weeks-missing-tucson-woman-s-remains-id/article_26c2b1f6-b4e5-11e1-b531-0019bb2963f4.html
Linda Watson’s family has known for several weeks that the missing woman’s remains had been identified and her death declared a homicide.
Although the Pima County Sheriff’s Department didn’t release this new information to the public until Monday, officials have known since at least Feb. 1, the identity of the woman labeled “Jane Doe #34” in a medical examiners autopsy report.
Watson, who disappeared from her home in August 2000, was identified through DNA testing. Comparison samples had been submitted by family members.
Much of the information in the autopsy report — including the dates DNA tests were run and examinations performed — was redacted by sheriff’s officials.
Investigators will not yet say where Watson’s remains were found or when, though family members said they were found in the desert in Pima County.
Watson, 35, disappeared after her mother drove her home from a Sunday night church service. After Watson failed to pick up her daughter from the home of her ex-husband the next day, sheriff’s detectives investigated. They discovered the door to Watson’s home, in the 2600 block of West Curtis Road, was unlocked. Inside they found spilled coffee and a shattered mug as well as traces of Watson’s blood. Left behind were her car, pager, Bible and purse.
After Watson’s disappearance, her mother, Marilyn Cox, 63, took her former son-in-law to court and won the right to unsupervised visitation with her young granddaughter. However, two months after Cox — as well as the young girl’s paternal grandmother — were granted unsupervised visitation with the then 6-year-old, Cox was gunned down in the driveway of her daughter’s home where she had been living. Also killed in the shooting was her neighbor, RéNee Farnsworth, 53. The homicides remain unsolved.
azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/family-knew-for-weeks-missing-tucson-woman-s-remains-id/article_26c2b1f6-b4e5-11e1-b531-0019bb2963f4.html