Beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled with her own bikini top on Valentine’s Day 1991, the identity of “Valentine Jane Doe” has finally been revealed thanks to genetic genealogy not available 30 years ago. Working with the Florida Division of Law Enforcement, the Monroe County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office utilized the databases of GEDmatch and Family Tree DNA to identify 18-year-old Wanda Deann Kirkum.
Genetic databases in addition to modern DNA analysis efforts also identified Kirkum’s alleged killer—Robert Lynn Bradley, who himself died as the victim of a homicide in Texas just a year after the murder of Kirkum.
According to the Monroe County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office, Bradley’s DNA was obtained from the 1991 crime scene in the Florida Keys. That DNA, as well as DNA from his own homicide scene, was recently compared at the Florida Division of Law Enforcement crime lab and determined to be a match. The Texas investigation offered evidence that suggested Bradley had resided in Miami, Florida in late November 1990.
On Valentine’s Day in 1991, Kirkum was seen hitchhiking out of Key West, Florida. She was last seen at approximately 6:30 p.m. that night, before her body was found by windsurfers the next morning around 8 a.m. off a dirt road. Kirkum was found face down and nude, with the exception of the bikini top around her neck. Law enforcement found her cloths nearby. A subsequent forensic examination confirmed she has been sexually assaulted and beaten, before being strangled to death.
“I'm so happy that my DNA was a small part of giving [Kirkum’s] identity back to her,” Dorla Allen, who identifies herself as a relative of Kirkum, said in a Facebook post responding to the sheriff’s announcement. “I'm thrilled that investigators decided to think outside the box and use the wonderful tools of GEDmatch and FTDNA to identify her and her killer. There are many Wanda's all across this country and I hope that people who are involved in genetic genealogy will upload their DNA to these sites and opt in to sharing with law enforcement. I did, and I turned out to be [Kirkum’s] highest match on both sites, and [through law enforcement’s] skill and hard work, they were able to solve this after 29 years. You never know when your DNA will be the voice for someone who can no longer speak.”
After nearly 30 years, the Monroe County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office has over 4,000 pages of investigative documentation related to the Valentine Jane Doe Homicide. Numerous law enforcement officers and experts from partner agencies have helped over the decades, but the office is now formally considering the case resolved and closed.
“I would like to personally thank Major Crimes Unit Detective Vince Weiner and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for their efforts in solving this very serious and tragic crime,” said Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay in a statement. “This case is a testament and shining example of this agency’s commitment to solving crime, no matter how old the case and no matter the challenges.”
Photo: Wanda Deann Kirkum (left) and Robert Lynn Bradley (right). Credit: MCSO.