Changes: Wanda Kirkum

Revision as of 06:55, 14 September 2021

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Wanda Deann Kirkum, previously known as "Valentine Doe", was a young woman found murdered in Florida in 1991. She was identified in June 2020, and her case is now considered closed.

Disappearance

Wanda ran away from home when she was 16, the exact date of which is unknown. Her parents, who are suspected to have abused her, never reported her missing. Many relatives knew she was likely being abused but did not report it. Both of Wanda's parents are now deceased.

Case

Wanda was found dead in a heavily wooded area off of mile marker 35 of US 1. She was completely naked, but clothing was found nearby. Wanda was sexually assaulted and beaten, and she was strangled to death with a bikini top.

Her clothing and absence of tan lines suggested she was not from Key West. A day before her discovery, she was seen walking northbound while hitchhiking on US 1 at about 6:30 PM. There were signs that she did try to fight back from her attacker meaning she was trying to defend herself.

Wanda was identified in June 2020 using DNA comparison. Her killer is suspected to be 31 year old Robert Lynn Bradley, who was living in Miami, Florida at the time of her murder. His semen and blood matched the samples found on Wanda. Bradley was discovered murdered in a ditch in Tarrant County, Texas in April, 1992 with gunshot wounds to his head. At this time, Bradley's motive to kill Wanda and what Wanda was doing in the Florida Keys is unknown.

Wanda's cousin is currently raising money for Wanda to have a proper burial; she is reportedly the only relative who claimed her remains.

Characteristics

Brown hair.
Greenish-brown eyes.
She is believed to be white, yet examiners are unsure if she could be of a different ethnicity.
She may have had a child at one point in life.
She had ovarian and Fallopian tube cysts, which may have caused her pain.
She suffered from salpingitis.
She had a cross tattoo on the skin between her index finger and thumb on her left hand.
She had the word "love" tattooed on her left shoulder inside of a heart.
At some point during life, two of her teeth had been removed.
Each of her ears was pierced four times.
Her dental records were taken meaning she was very well cared for.

Gallery

Sources

Wanda Kirkum at the Doe Network^{POSTMORTEM WARNING}
Fear the Artist
FL Keys News
Evening Tribune
Orlando Sentinel
The Daily Beast
The Daily News

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Graphic notice}}{{Identified_Infobox|title1=Wanda Kirkum {{Featured case}}|image1=Wanda Kirkum.jpg|caption1=Photo from 1989|name=Wanda Deann Kirkum|sex={{F}}|age=18|missing_from=Hornell, New York|disappeared=|discovered=February 15, 1991|location=Big Coppitt Key, Florida|identified=June 2020|span=29 years|cod={{Strang}}}}'''Wanda Deann Kirkum''', previously known as '''"Valentine Doe"''', was a young woman found murdered in Florida in 1991. She was identified in June 2020, and her case is now considered closed.
-{{Identified notice}}
-{{Identified|name = Wanda Kirkum {{Featured case}}|image = [[File:Wanda Kirkum.jpg|200px]]|realname = Wanda Deann Kirkum|sex = {{F}}|found = February 15, 1991|location = Big Coppitt Key, Florida|missing from = Hornell, New York|age = 18|cause of death = {{Strang}}|race = {{White}}|postmortem interval = 24 hours|age approximation = 14 - 25|height approximation = 5'5 - 5'7|weight approximation = 130 - 145 pounds|body condition = {{rf}}|span = {{age|1991|2|15}}|identified = June 2020|timespan = 29 years}}
-{{Graphic}}
+== Disappearance ==
-'''Wanda Deann Kirkum, '''previously known as '''"Valentine Doe",''' was a young woman found murdered in Florida in 1991. She was identified in June 2020, and her case is now considered closed.
+Wanda ran away from home when she was 16, the exact date of which is unknown. Her parents, who are suspected to have abused her, never reported her missing. Many relatives knew she was likely being abused but did not report it. Both of Wanda's parents are now deceased.
 == Case ==
-Wanda was found dead in a heavily wooded area off of mile marker 35 of US 1. She was completely naked, but clothing was found nearby. Wanda was sexually assaulted and beaten, but she was strangled to death with a bikini top.
+Wanda was found dead in a heavily wooded area off of mile marker 35 of US 1. She was completely naked, but clothing was found nearby. Wanda was sexually assaulted and beaten, and she was strangled to death with a bikini top.
-Her clothing and absence of tan lines indicated she was not from Key West. A day before her discovery, she was seen walking northbound while hitchhiking on US 1 at about 6:30 PM. There was a sign that she did try to fight back from her attacker meaning she was trying to defend herself.
+Her clothing and absence of tan lines suggested she was not from Key West. A day before her discovery, she was seen walking northbound while hitchhiking on US 1 at about 6:30 PM. There were signs that she did try to fight back from her attacker meaning she was trying to defend herself.
-She was identified in June 2020 using DNA comparison. She was never reported missing and her parents are now deceased. Her killer is suspected to be 31 year old Robert Lynn Bradley, who was living in Miami, Florida at the time of her murder. His semen and blood matches the samples found on Wanda. Bradley was murdered in Texas in April, 1992. What his motive was to kill her and what Wanda was doing in Florida Keys is unknown at this time.
+Wanda was identified in June 2020 using DNA comparison. Her killer is suspected to be 31 year old Robert Lynn Bradley, who was living in Miami, Florida at the time of her murder. His semen and blood matched the samples found on Wanda. Bradley was discovered murdered in a ditch in Tarrant County, Texas in April, 1992 with gunshot wounds to his head. At this time, Bradley's motive to kill Wanda and what Wanda was doing in the Florida Keys is unknown.
+Wanda's cousin is currently raising money for Wanda to have a proper burial; she is reportedly the only relative who claimed her remains.
 == Characteristics ==
@@ Line 40: / Line 41: @@
 Valentine Doe crime scene.jpg|Crime scene
 Valentine Doe crime scene2.jpg|Crime scene
-</gallery>
+</gallery><br />
 ==Sources==
-*{{Doe Network|49uffl.html|{{PAGENAME}}}}
+*{{Doe Network|49uffl.html|{{PAGENAME}}}}{{PM}}
 *[http://feartheartist.org/unidentified/ Fear the Artist]
 *''[https://www.flkeysnews.com/news/local/article243552692.html FL Keys News]''
 *''[https://www.eveningtribune.com/news/20200615/hornell-native-identified-as-victim-of-lsquovalentine-jane-doe-homicidersquo Evening Tribune]''
 *''[https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/florida/os-ne-florida-keys-rape-murder-cold-case-solved-dna-technology-20200615-cscvcegv7rhylfx5igyuaqvfby-story.html Orlando Sentinel]''
+*''[https://www.thedailybeast.com/valentine-jane-doe-1991-murder-victim-identified-as-wanda-deann-kirkum The Daily Beast]''
+*[https://www.thedailynewsonline.com/top_story/she-deserved-a-name-and-now-she-deserves-a-proper-burial/article_3affbc16-686f-5dd0-8ef3-701d7fab4a8f.html The Daily News]
+{{DEFAULTSORT: Kirkum, Wanda}}
 [[Category:Raped]]
 [[Category:Recognizable faces]]
@@ Line 66: / Line 70: @@
 [[Category:Formerly missing people from New York]]
 [[Category:Unreported missing]]
-[[Category:Solved cases]]
+[[Category:Runaways]]
+[[Category:White]]