In November 1993, the Elko County Sheriff’s Office (Nevada) initiated a homicide investigation after responding to the Shafter Exit on Interstate 80. On the north side of Interstate 80, deputies and detectives found a nude female with limited evidence of the crime. After an autopsy was completed, detectives learned the deceased female was shot twice by a small caliber firearm. One wound track entered from the back of the torso toward the front of the body, and the second wound track entered from front of the torso and went upward toward the back of the body.
Due to the condition of the body at autopsy, investigators could only secure one right thumbprint for identification purposes. For 32 years, there were many attempts to identify the unknown female through latent fingerprint identification databases, with no luck.
In an effort to entice a suspect response, detectives announced a funeral for the unknown female who was given the name “Shafter Jane.” The funeral ceremony for Shafter Jane produced no leads.
Detectives attempted several alternative investigative methods to identify Shafter Jane, including national broadcasts, dental records, stable isotope ratio analysis, forensic facial reconstruction, media releases and more However, each avenue produced no viable leads nor an identity for Shafter Jane.
The homicide investigation went cold, and detectives were unable to identify Shafter Jane or any potential suspects.
April 2019: Reprocessing of evidence
With the advancement in DNA and genetic genealogy, the Elko County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the Washoe County Crime Lab in reprocessing the evidence secured at autopsy. During the reprocessing of the evidence, male semen was found on a vaginal swab. After further testing and analysis, the male semen yielded a full male DNA profile. It was run through CODIS but there were no matches. Shafter Jane’s DNA profile was run through genetic DNA databases with no matches.
The Elko County Sheriff’s Office then contracted with Identifinders International to create a forensic genetic genealogy analysis for both Shafter Jane and the unknown male contributor.
In January 2022, the Elko County Sheriff’s Office received a report from Identifinders International that identified Roger Lee Durkee, born in 1947, as the proposed suspect and potential foreign male DNA contributor. Subsequent records searches indicated Roger Lee Durkee possibly lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
With the help of the Milwaukee FBI Field Office, surveillance units observed Roger Lee Durkee throw numerous items of garbage into a dumpster located outside of an apartment building. The garbage from the dumpster was collected and subsequently sent to the Washoe County Crime Lab for DNA comparison.
A Washoe County Crime Lab report indicated Roger Lee Durkee’s DNA could not be excluded from the foreign unknown male DNA profile determined from the vaginal swab that was collected during autopsy.
August 2024: Suspect contact and arrest
In August 2024, with the assistance of the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, Elko County Sheriff’s Office detectives and an FBI agent made contact with Durkee. Durkee was arrested on Wisconsin charges for being in possession of firearms by a prohibited person.
Subsequent interviews with Durkee revealed information that led detectives to believe he had searched his digital devices for information on Shater Jane’s investigation, and that he possessed certain details specific to the investigation that were not commonly known to the public. Durkee claimed he liked to watch crime shows and was well versed in criminal investigations because he found it fascinating. Detectives believed Durkee was monitoring information on the Shafter Jane’s investigation so that he could avoid law enforcement contact and arrest.
Durkee admitted to possibly knowing the identity of the female from the 1993 homicide. He provided two names: Mary Alexander and Mary Washington. Durke indicated he knew the information because he remembered having intimate relations with a female with that name around the same time of an unidentified female homicide victim being found. Durkee told detectives the last time he saw Mary, he dropped her off at the blue residence and never saw her again. Detectives thought it was beyond coincidental that Durkee, while living in Salt Lake City, had knowledge of a female that was killed along Interstate 80 in Elko County Nevada and remembered a name 30+ years later.
Detectives served search warrants on Durkee’s residence and seized all Durkee’s digital devices. With the help of the Rocky Mountain Information Network, an analysis report indicated Durkee had searched the internet and specific websites for the name Shafter Jane, portions of the name and Elko County news. These internet searches for Shafter Jane located on Durkee’s computers started in 2020.
Additionally, after Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office detectives interviewed Durkee in June 2024 about an unrelated missing female in Milwaukee, Durkee spontaneously began searching the internet for specific information on Shafter Jane.
Digital data further indicated that Durkee was not the crime buff he claimed: he searched for information on only one specific case, Shafter Jane. The digital data was a vital link between Durkee and Shafter Jane and confirmed suspicions that Durkee was monitoring information on Shafter Jane’s investigation.
As detectives began to dig deeper into Durkee’s background, they learned Durkee had moved several times during the 1990s and early 2000s using several aliases. When detectives interviewed Durkee in August 2024, he admitted to using aliases over the years, which included Carol T. Hiel and James W. Kennedy. Detectives had also discovered that he used an alias of James Fenimore.
October 2025: Shafter Jane Identification
In October 2025, after digitally enhancing the deteriorated single right thumbprint taken in 1993, the Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office officially identified Shafter Jane as Marion Hertha Alexander through FBI latent fingerprint comparisons.
Detectives were able to locate Marion’s mother and met with her in January 2026. They learned Marion left her California residence when she was approximately 18 or 19 years old. Marion was known to be a free-spirited individual who became estranged from her family. Her family questioned where Marion may have gone or was living, but never reported her missing to law enforcement.
Armed with significant new information and evidence that linked Durkee to Marion, detectives believed there was enough evidence to charge Durkee for homicide and issue an arrest warrant. They felt it would be best if they were able to interview Durkee and see if he would confess to Marion’s murder. While planning the trip to Wisconsin, detectives learned Durkee died Nov. 13, 2025.
Republished courtesy of Elko County Sheriff’s Office