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Janice HartmanFeatured case
JHartman
Name Janice Hartman
Sex Female
Found April 1980
Location Morocco, Indiana
Missing from Doylestown, Ohio
November 1974
Identified 2000
Span 20 years
Age 19
Cause of death Presumed homicide

Janice Hartman was a go-go dancer who disappeared in 1974 after marital problems with her husband, John Smith.

Case

Hartman was murdered by her ex-husband and placed in a makeshift coffin, which was stored at Smith's house until his relatives opened it and discovered her body. The remains were then dumped at a roadside in Indiana. The remains were discovered in 1980. She remained unidentified and was dubbed "Lady in the Box" until a DNA comparison in 2000.

Related cases

John Smith is believed to have murdered his estranged wife Fran Smith in 1991, whose remains have yet to be discovered. Photographs of two previously unidentified women were discovered in a suitcase of Smith's but both were found to be alive. An additional unidentified subject was discovered in one his storage units in Ohio, consisting of skull fragments and teeth.

Media appearences

  • Hartman's case was detailed on Forensic Files as well as Cold Case Files.
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