After finally identifying a “Jane Doe” murder victim in Florida from 52 years ago earlier this year, police have now identified the person most likely responsible for the killing.
Authorities last week said during a press conference that Jerry Lee Fletcher, who died in prison in 2014, is the individual responsible for the death of his ex-wife Peggy Joyce Shelton in Hillsborough County.
Joyce was originally discovered wrapped in a blanket in a wooden area of Brooksville. While Shelton and Fletcher were married, it took more than 50 years to identify Shelton largely because she had no criminal record and was never reported missing.
Police eventually did discover the pair were married with no divorce records reported.
"It’s bittersweet. We can’t bring their loved one back,” Major Case/Cold Case Detective George Loydgren said in a statement. “That's never going to change. I just try to hold the bad guys accountable and if we can get them into prison that’s great because that’s where they belong.”
However, Fletcher moved to Illinois for work in 1973 and married Sophia Huges and only listed one previous divorce to an individual named Gloria Espinosa in 1965 on his record. Both women when interviewed by police indicated that Fletcher was abusive and they both ultimately believed he would kill them If they didn't leave the marriage.
Prior to marrying Shelton, Fletcher was living in a motel in Tampa Bay owned by his family.
However, police discovered the blanket that Shelton was wrapped in matched the blankets of a twin sized bed from the motel.
Fletcher also had a run-in with the law before the murder. He was arrested and charged on February 18, 1972, for the abduction and rape of a 16- year old female from Tampa Bay.
He was ultimately found not guilty later that year.
In 1973, Fletcher allegedly raped and strangled to death another woman who was found in a blanket in a cemetery.
In addition, investigators in 2011 zeroed in on another murder from the 1970s Fletcher was a suspect in another murder and rape of a 14-year-old named Gina Justi.
Justi was found wrapped in a blanket in an orange grove in Palm Harbor. The DNA found in the Justi case matched Fletcher.
While serving time in prison in 2011, investigators began to interview Fletcher where he admitted to other murders. However, he refused to give any other details because authorities would not agree to take the death penalty off the table.
Ultimately, officials believe Fletcher is responsible for several Florida murders.
"We never give up and these things take time. We don’t want them to take 52 years, but we’ve got to play the hand we’re dealt,” Hernando CountySheriff Al Nienhuis said during the press conference. “In 1972, when we found a body in the woods wrapped in a blanket, that was a very difficult case to solve in the 1970s. It’s a little bit easier to solve today, but it’s still very, very difficult and the faster we can get those leads the easier it is to solve them."