WASHINGTON — Howard County Police have identified a Jane Doe victim from a 1971 homicide, the department's oldest cold case.

In July 1971, a woman was found unconscious in a Woodstock field after being assaulted. She was taken to an area hospital, where she remained unconscious for two months. On Sept. 7, 1971, the woman died from her injuries.

In October 2024, Howard County Police submitted histology slides using DNA that they collected 50 years ago and had been preserved for forensic analysis by a private company. Earlier this year, police identified the victim as Sadie Belle Murray, born Sept. 7, 1924, in Pennsylvania. At the time of her death, she went by Sarah Belle Sharkey.

When asked about the name change, police believe that she used Sadie and Sarah interchangeably as a nickname

See Full Page