Janet Lee Lucas (October 18, 1959 - Summer 1983) was a woman whose skeleton was found in Missoula, Montana in 1985. She is believed to have been a victim of serial killer Wayne Nance. While unidentified, she was nicknamed “Christy Crystal Creek” because of the location where she was found.
She was identified with assistance from Othram Inc. in May 2021.
Case[]
The victim was found by a bear hunter, scattered across a hillside. There were little clues as to the circumstances of her death. The murder weapon was a .32-caliber firearm and the bullets were Winchester/Western Silver Tip, solid nose or fully jacketed: Six land and grooves, right-hand twist, .051"/.055" land impression, which could have been fired from any of the following gun makes: Ceska, Walther, Llama, Star, Savage or Astra. The gun was not found at the scene, but two .32-caliber bullets recovered from skull.
Serial killer Wayne Nance, who may be responsible for up to six murders between 1974 and 1985, is the prime suspect in her death. Nance was never tried or convicted for any of the murders because he was killed on September 6, 1986 in a botched murder. She was the last unidentified victim of Nance; two of Nance's alleged victims, Devonna Nelson and Marci Bachmann were unidentified until 1985 and 2006, respectively.
She was long believed to be of Asian ancestry with a possible Caucasian admixture, and dental work similar to what was practiced in the eastern part of the world appeared to corroborate this anthropologic finding. However, it was eventually determined that Lucas was not of Asian descent, and she was not foreign to the United States as previously speculated.
Lucas was last seen by family during the summer of 1983. She later began hitchhiking across the United States with her then-boyfriend, The pair had a falling out, and it is unclear how she became acquainted with Nance. One theory has been suggested that she may have entered a nightclub where the suspect worked as a bouncer, and upon showing identification, he may have started a conversation based on the coincidence of sharing a birthday with her.
Characteristics[]
- Most likely Asian and of Japanese ethnicity, yet she may have had Caucasian heritage; based on earlier anthropological examination.
- Dental work thought to be unique to Asia, which was "extensive" and of good quality.
- Thin, wavy, and treated black to light brown hair.
- Prominent cheekbones.
- Likely right-handed.
- Well cared teeth.
- The ones on the right side of her mouth had visible stains.
- Smoker.
Gallery[]
Media[]
- The 1992 book To Kill and Kill Again: The Terrifying True Story of Montana's Baby-Faced Serial Sex Murderer documented the crimes of Nance, prior to the identifications of Bachman and Lucas.
- The case was documented on the ninth episode of season two of Bloodline Detectives.
Sources[]
- Janet Lucas at the Doe Network
- DNASolves
- ViCAP
- Wayne Nance on Wikipedia
- Bloodline Detectives POSTMORTEM WARNING
- Missing Children Help Center (archived)