Woman found dead in a Florida canal has been identified after nearly 42 years
A county sheriff in Florida announced Tuesday a major break in one of the oldest murder mysteries in Indian River County.
Officials have finally identified the victim more than four decades after she was killed.
On Sept. 1, 1982, the woman’s body was found in a canal near SR 60.
She had been shot and killed.
“For 42 years, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office has referred to her as Jane Doe,” said Sheriff Eric Flowers. “Folks, we gave her her name back. We did it. Her name isn’t Jane Doe anymore.”
Flowers said the victim has been identified as Evelyn Horne Townsend.
She was 43 when she was killed.
Evelyn's daughter, Debra Townsend Dubois, had just turned 18. Debra turns 60 this year.
“Shocked and stunned is an understatement for myself and my family,” said Debra Townsend Dubois said.
“It’s a shock to me,” said Levon Horne, Evelyn’s brother. “I’m still absorbing this.”
Flowers said his cold case committee teamed up with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and a company called Parabon to do genetic testing on their unknown victim.
That technology helped identify a half-sibling.
That led them to making an identification and letting her family know what happened to Evelyn.
“At least now I know,” Dubois said. “It’s better than not knowing whatever happened to her.”
Detectives will now try to figure out who killed her.
Knowing who she is, is an enormous first step.
“We have new people, persons of interest, that we’ve identified,” Flowers said. “Unfortunately, they are deceased. But that doesn’t mean we’re going to stop trying to find out what happened to her and how she ended up there.”
“I’ve always been glued to the TV. I’ve always been glued to detective shows,” Dubois said. “One day, is one of these bodies going to be my mother? I now no longer have to do that. It’s been a long road.”
