Jean Marie "Annie" McLeod Tahan (May 1, 1965 - November 1989) was a young woman found murdered in South Carolina in 1989. Her boyfriend was later convicted of her murder and later paroled in 2013.
Case[]
Tahan disappeared from her residence in Goose Creek, South Carolina, after calling an out-of-state friend, claiming she needed money and feared for her safety. Tahan had been living with a an abusive boyfriend, who was the father of her newborn daughter.
She was later discovered in Jasper County, South Carolina, in a burning green duffle bag. A nightgown bearing a unicorn design was the only article of clothing that survived the fire.
Investigation[]
The victim had suffered extensive damage to the skull and she had been stabbed. At least 32 strikes from a blunt object were recorded. The skull had been shattered into approximately 122 fragments.
From what could be determined about the victim during her autopsy, the victim’s race was believed to be white, and it was noted she had dark brown hair and was around 25 when she was killed. Based on additional characteristics, it was discovered the woman had recently gone through childbirth. Details about the victim and the circumstances of her death were then entered into the NCIC database. No known, locally missing females appeared to be consistent with the Jane Doe.
In order to create a facial reconstruction, the skull was glued back together by hand, having sticks and some clay used for additional means of restoration. The process reportedly took eight days, being preformed by a professor at the University of South Carolina’s anthropology department. Resulting from the fragility of the remains, two-dimensional reconstructions, showing the frontal and profile angles, were favored over a clay rendering.
Identification[]
After nearly six years, Tahan was identified as the victim. Her boyfriend's estranged wife, who witnessed the murder, aided police by providing details about her death. Blood spatter found inside a television and on the floor aided with determining his responsibility.
Despite receiving a thirty-year sentence in 1996, her killer was released from prison in 2013 for "good behavior."
Gallery[]
Media[]
- Tahan's case was detailed on the episode "The Missing and the Dead" on the first season of Cold Case Files in 1999.
- The New Detectives included the case on the season 7 episode titled “Military Justice” in 2001.
- The Investigators detailed the case.
- The case was also covered by 48 Hours: NCIS in 2017.
Sources[]
- The State
- CBS News POSTMORTEM WARNING
- The Beaufort Gazette
- The New Detectives POSTMORTEM WARNING
- Annie Tahan at Find a Grave
- "The Missing and the Dead." Cold Case Files. Season 1, Episode 20. 14 May 1999.