Charles County cold case victim identified 25 years later

Makea Luzader
·2 min read

CHARLES COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — Detectives identified a woman who was killed in Charles County over 25 years ago.

In a news release Friday, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) said that detectives identified a woman who had been known only as “Jane Doe” since she was found dead in 1998. Her family came forward and helped detectives learn her true identity — LaQuanda Denise “Neicey” Williams, who was only 31 years old when her body was found.

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CCSO said that her body was found in a field near Irving Road and Route 301 in Bel Alton on June 18, 1998.

“She was the apparent victim of a homicide. The traditional ways of attempting to identify her led nowhere. Detectives worked with numerous law enforcement agencies and local and regional news covered the story, yet Jane Doe remained a mystery,” CCSO said in the release.

Each year on the anniversary of her body’s discovery, CCSO would promote the story to try to identify her. Detectives got tips, but DNA testing eliminated any potential match.

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June 18, 2023, was the 25th anniversary of her body’s discovery. CCSO said that it got a tip from a potential family member who had just finished watching the story on the news and believed that the “Jane Doe” was a relative.

That person sent investigators photos of their relative, and detectives managed to identify possible siblings. One of the siblings provided a DNA sample; and on Oct. 12, 2023, a DNA analysis report from Bode Technology confirmed that the two were related.

Detectives met with the victim’s family on Oct. 25, 2023, and learned that Williams’ last residence was in Southeast in Washington, D.C. CCSO was continuing to investigate the homicide and said that detectives were following leads.

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