Murder of Tammy Terrell

On December 2, 2021, the Henderson Police Department announced that the Arroyo Grande Jane Doe had been identified as 17-year-old Tammy Corrine Terrell from Roswell, New Mexico. She was identified through forensic genealogy in an effort supervised by Barbara Rae-Venter, a genetic genealogist who also took part in the identification of the Golden State Killer in 2018. DNA samples from her two sisters were used to positively identify her.

The former coroner for Clark County when the victim's body was found has worked with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to help with the case. In a video released in October 2015, he said "someone is missing their little girl – someone knows who she is – someone needs to come forward and help us", saying that he hoped the reconstructions created of the victim would trigger recognition. He said this victim's case was an impetus for the local department to develop a "cold case unit" for its unsolved cases. "She is the case that started it all for us," he said. The officer who found the body described similar feelings about the case.

In June 2015, the case was officially reopened by investigators. The new image replaced a version that the organization had created.

The body has been exhumed at least four times for further investigations – in 2002, 2003, 2009, and 2016. In 2003, her body was exhumed after authorities followed clues to a missing girl from California, who was eventually ruled out by DNA analysis. Twenty missing people were excluded as potential identities for the victim.

At approximately 9:20 p.m. on October 5, 1980, the nude body of a white adolescent or young woman between 13 and 25 years old (most likely 17–18 years old) was found with blunt force trauma including multiple wounds to the back of the head (believed to be from a roofing hammer or framing hammer), signs of injury to the face, and seven puncture-type stab wounds on the upper left area of her back. One of her lower teeth had been knocked out in the attack. There was evidence of sexual assault.

Terrell was last seen on September 28, 1980, when she was dropped off at the Roswell State Fair. Later that night, she was seen at a restaurant in Roswell with a white man and a woman, possibly planning to head for California. The investigation into her murder is ongoing.

Tammy Corrine Terrell (July 4, 1963 – c. October 4, 1980) was an American murder victim from Roswell, New Mexico. Her body was discovered on October 5, 1980, in Henderson, Nevada, and remained unidentified until December 2021. Her case has been the subject of extensive efforts by investigators and has been highlighted as inspiring other work to solve cold cases of unidentified murder victims.