Kelly (surname withheld), formerly known as El Dorado Jane Doe (1968 - July 10, 1991), was a young woman who used several aliases, including the combination of her first name with the last name Karr (or Carr) and Shannon/Sharon Wiley.
A former lover (and alleged pimp) named James McAlphin was convicted of her murder after pleading guilty on a plea deal. McAlphin claimed to know her identity but failed to reveal any credible details to authorities.
56 women were ruled out as the victim, who was identified in May 2022. Limited details were released for her family's privacy.
Background
Before her death, Kelly had lived in Dallas, Shreveport, Louisiana and Little Rock. She may have originally been a runaway from Florida and told several stories about her past to different people. She claimed to have had two children or a daughter in some of these stories. She also made claims that she was in a witness protection program as her father was in the Mafia and that she was wanted for robberies on the East Coast. However, these stories could not be confirmed.
Over the years, she used multiple aliases, including Cheryl Wick, her real first name - Kelly - accompanied by Carr, Sharon Wiley and Mercedes. She is known to have been arrested multiple times for charges such as sex work, public lewdness and writing bad checks.
Kelly moved from Dallas to El Dorado, where she lived at the time of her death in early 1991. She had been a sex worker while in Dallas and used the name Kelly Carr/Karr. While in Dallas, she also met and began a relationship with a man called James McAlphin. She would frequently end up receiving treatment in the ER after being beaten, allegedly by McAlphin. Kelly left McAlphin in June 1991 and moved in with a friend, although he would continue to send her threatening messages.
Case
Initial investigation
On July 10, 1991, Kelly was found deceased in the Whitehall Motel in El Dorado, Arkansas. She had suffered a broken neck and had been shot postmortem by her ex-boyfriend, James McAlphin, who was charged with first-degree murder and second-degree battery concerning her death. However, he denied shooting Kelly and insisted that her death was a suicide. He also claimed to know her identity but has refused to disclose it unless he is promised money in return. Over the following three decades, no information from McAlphin revealed the victim’s identity.
Kelly had an Arkansas identification card claiming her name was Cheryl Ann Wick in her possession when she was found, but it was later determined that this was not her true identity after contacting Wick's parents and discovering that she was alive. Wick told authorities that she did not know Kelly's identity. This is believed to have resulted from a case of identity theft.
A Bible with several names in it was also found in her possession. The names belonged to the Stroud family, who lived in Irving, Texas, and who Kelly may have lived with for some time. At first, this was dismissed as evidence as the Stroud family was black, but Kelly was white.
2019 developments and identification
Relatives of the victim were identified through forensic genealogy. The match was made when a second cousin was discovered from Alabama who did not recognize Kelly but acknowledged a "family resemblance."
It would take until May 2022 for her identification to be announced. Surviving family members chose to withhold her surname and various other details for privacy.
Characteristics
- Naturally brown hair, which she had dyed blonde at her death.
- Blue eyes.
- Freckles.
- Two piercings in her left ear.
- Three piercings in her right ear.
Gallery
Sources
- Kelly at the Doe Network
- Kelly on Wikipedia
- THV11
- Medium
- Huffington Post
- Article #1 (3/15/16)
- Article #2 (1/23/19)