Credit: Pierce County Sheriff's Office
On Aug. 28, 2019, an unidentified woman’s remains were found in a sealed yard debris container on 9th Street East near Lake Tapps, WA in Pierce County. An excavator operator working in the area noticed the container, thought it was suspicious, and alerted authorities by calling 911. Investigators with the Pierce County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene and began an investigation.
The woman wore blue cloth pants, a navy blue pullover sweatshirt with an American Flag logo, and a tank-top/camisole. Her body had been wrapped in a blanket with duct tape and placed into the container. The woman's death was classified as a homicide. Despite investigative efforts, the woman could not be identified and she became known as Pierce County Jane Doe. Details of the case were entered into NamUs as UP72248.
With the woman’s identity a mystery, investigators teamed with Othram to leverage identity inference, a process that enables investigators to identify individuals from DNA evidence, even when there is no known reference sample to initially compare against. Officials with Pierce County Sheriff's Office submitted forensic evidence to Othram's laboratory headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.
At Othram, scientists reviewed details of the case, determining that advanced DNA testing could help to identify the woman. Othram scientists worked to develop a DNA extract from the provided skeletal remains, using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to build a comprehensive SNP profile for the woman. This SNP profile powered a forensic search led by Othram's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team, resulting in new investigative leads about the woman's identity.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the woman. This investigation led to the positive identification of the woman, who is now known to be Linda Lee Schock, born Feb. 14, 1966.
An investigation in Schock’s murder is ongoing. Individuals with information are urged to submit all tips and information through Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). This is the 46th publicly announced case in the State of Washington where officials leveraged Othram’s identity inference pipeline. Explore other cases on Othram’s website.
Republished courtesy of DNASolves