Image credit: DNA Doe Project
After 36 years—and five years of working the case—the DNA Doe Project has identified “Transgender Julie Doe” as Pamela Leigh Walton.
The identification of Walton’s body faced complications from beginning to end, starting with the fact that she was adopted—and adoption records are not accessible to genetic genealogists.
“The team faced just about every possible hurdle, from unknown parentage, matches who were adopted, to endogamy,” said team co-leader Eric Hendershott. “Even up to the end, when we suspected that she was adopted, the team was stuck.”
Additionally, when conducting a media outreach campaign to try to generate tips from the public, DNA Doe Project (DDP) ran into anti-trans sentiment on social media. In October 2024, Pam Lauritzen, executive director of media and communications at DDP, tried to run an ad on Facebook and “boost” the post’s visibility in Central Florida—where Julie Doe likely lived for several years—and four counties in Kentucky where DDP found clusters of DNA relative matches.
Although DDP used this exact strategy for many cases previously, this specific ad was rejected by Facebook’s parent company Meta 15 times in two weeks. Working with the Meta Pro Support team, Lauritzen says they eventually came to the same conclusion she did—the ad was rejected because it featured a transgender woman. The team recommended Lauritzen change the post to avoid mention of Julie being transgender, and boost the post into areas of the U.S. that are more trans-friendly.
“That is not acceptable, and I will not strip Julie of what’s left of her identity in order to placate people who don’t want to know she existed,” Lauritzen told Forensic when she was interviewed in October after the incident occurred. “Julie Doe was marginalized and eventually murdered—dying without her name. I will not give Meta a pass for their abhorrent behavior. No matter how many times the ad is rejected or thwarted, I will not stop advocating for Julie, and I will continue to push to get her story into the public view.”
Not only did DNA Doe Project continue to advocate for Walton in public and private, but they have now restored her rightful name.
Case background and key breakthroughs
On Sept. 25, 1988, a passerby looking for cypress wood to build lawn furniture discovered the body of a woman in a wooded area in the vicinity of Hwy 474 west of Orlando, Florida. Authorities at the time suspected she had been sexually assaulted and murdered.
Her initial autopsy in 1988 discovered she had healed fractures of her cheekbone and nose, along with a rib. She had breast implants that dated before 1985. This autopsy concluded that she was female, and had given birth to at least one child. Later DNA testing revealed that she had been born biologically male, with both X and Y chromosomes.
In 2019, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office reached out to the DNA Doe Project to try investigative genetic genealogy to find the woman’s identity. They connected with volunteers who were also part of an initiative called the Trans Doe Task Force, who began work on the case before leaving to focus on that group full time. It would take five years of diligence and persistence by a team of expert volunteers to correctly identify “Julie Doe” as Pamela Leigh Walton.
At some point, the DDP team suspected Walton was adopted, which posed additional challenges. Adoption presents a brick wall to investigators because the child is often removed from their community of birth and their name is changed. Walton had been adopted at the age of 5, which left a few breadcrumbs for researchers to follow.
“It was clear from the start that our Doe had strong family ties to Kentucky, but we didn't know for sure if she was born there or if she ever lived there,” said Lance Daly, investigative genetic genealogist. “While searching Fayette County records, we discovered the names of two key relatives who were crucial to unraveling the mystery.”
Walton had grown up with her adopted family in Kentucky, and had officially changed her name before she was in her mid-20s, likely around the time she underwent sex reassignment surgery and therapy.
“Pamela Walton’s identification is the result of over five years of work by nearly 50 volunteers,” said Emily Bill, investigative genetic genealogist. “Their efforts laid the foundation for a series of recent discoveries that finally led us to her name.”
“Pamela’s story includes many common themes that trans people face,” said Lauritzen. “From derogatory notations left in high school yearbooks about her to a headstone pre-carved with her former male name, it’s heartbreaking to know that the community was not willing to accept her and the identity she chose.”
That identity was Pamela Leigh Walton—and she now has it back.