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Tina Farmer

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Tina Marie McKenney Farmer (March 7, 1963 - c. December 29, 1984) was a woman discovered in early January 1985.

She was identified in September 2018. As of December 2019, her murder case is now considered closed.

Case[]

Disappearance[]

21-year-old Farmer was last seen alive in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Thanksgiving Day in 1984. She was reportedly with a truck driver heading toward Kentucky. Her family filed a missing person report, but the search was unsuccessful. She left behind a daughter, who died in 2017.

Discovery and investigation[]

On January 1, 1985, a young woman's body was discovered bound and wrapped in a blanket down an embankment off of southbound Interstate 75 near Jellico, Tennessee. An autopsy revealed that she died from strangulation approximately 72 hours before discovery. Investigators were unable to identify her and her body was kept at the University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Center. Authorities considered her a possible victim of the "Redhead Murders," a series of killings involving red-haired women whose bodies were found near highways in Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

Investigators believe the victims may have been red-haired women involved in high-risk lifestyles. The murders believed to be related have occurred in states including Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

Identification[]

On September 6, 2018, the Shelby County Sheriff's Office announced that Campbell County Jane Doe was Tina Marie McKenney Farmer.

In 2019, former truck driver Jerry Leon Johns was identified as her killer after his DNA matched evidence from the crime scene. Johns had been convicted of kidnapping and assaulting Linda Schacke, a red-haired woman he left for dead in a storm drain in 1985. He died in prison in 2015. Authorities consider Johns a key suspect in the Redhead Murders.

Characteristics[]

  • Curly, shoulder-length red hair.
  • Green eyes.
  • Possibly had plastic surgery.
  • Freckles throughout body.
  • Various scars and burn marks on both of arms and legs.
  • Small scar on forehead.
  • Ten to twelve weeks pregnant.
  • Gave birth previously.
  • Partial upper denture holding two false teeth.
  • Double piercings in both ears.
  • Possibly had a laparoscopy.

Clothing[]

  • New men Levi brand blue jeans.
  • Tan/white/beige velour long-sleeved sports shirt or blouse with a wide band at the bottom.

Gallery[]

Sources[]

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