UNIDENTIFIED: September 20, 1927 Fredricksberg, Texas Jane Doe

 

On September 20, 1927, the body of a teenage girl was found in a shallow grave near Fredricksburg, Texas. The grave was 2ft long and 3 inches deep her body being crammed into the small pit. She was nude having been sexually assaulted and beaten to death. Items were burned nearby including her clothes.

There were reports that around 10 days before her body was discovered she may have been seen in town with two men in a small coupe. She may have stayed at a cabin with two men for a night and the next day the cabin was found bloodied. There had been reports that she had been seen with two soldiers. One Man stated that he saw the girl arguing with two soldiers on the side of the road.

A marksmanship scorecard found at the scene was believed to belong to one of the soldiers. A soldier matching the name was found and suspected. But the scorecard was found around 75 yards away from the girl and may not have anything to do with the crime. Three soldiers were arrested in suspicion of the crime. The two men who saw the girl with two men could not identify the scorecard owner or two other suspected soldiers as the two men. 

 There were also a lot of girls who were thought to have been her, but none of them panned out. No one was able to successfully identify the young girl

Jane Doe was a white female about 13-years-old. She had red hair that was bobbed. Tests were done to see if the hair was dyed, but it came back that it was natural. She was around 5'4". She wore a gold ring on her right pinky that was inset with a small red stone. Her clothes had been burned and only remained remnants of her undergarments. A black bag, a marksmanship scorecard, two handkerchiefs, and half a loaf of bread made in San Antonio was found near the body. A couple of miles toward Mason a bloody quilt was found it's unknown why they didn't burn this with other items. 

There was a black bag found near the scene, but it was later ruled out as having with the crime. A couple passing through the area had lost one of their pieces of luggage while going down the road several days before the girl's discovery.

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

Haunted Fredricksberg

McAllen Daily Press September 21, 1927

Corsicana Daily Sun September 21, 1927

The Austin American September 29, 1927