A joint investigation conducted by the Northampton County Coroner’s Office, Northampton County District Attorney’s Office, and the Pennsylvania State Police Troop M has resulted in the identification of a woman found in 1987 along an eastern Pennsylvania highway.
Police say 37-year-old Donna Kay Griffin was the woman found by construction workers along Route 33 in October 1987, but they still don’t know how she ended up there.
Bode Technology recently conducted genealogical DNA analysis on the remains, which provided investigators with leads that enabled them to positively identify Griffin. The FBI Laboratory then conducted additional testing, confirming kinship with a child of the previously unidentified female.
Griffin was a native of the Dalton, Georgia area but she reportedly relocated to Philadelphia in the 1970’s. Griffin also used the last names of Shelby and Linton. Griffin had not previously been reported missing to any law enforcement authorities
District Attorney Terry Houck said investigators are still trying to figure out how Griffin wound up on the highway or where she had been prior to her death.
“We just have remains. We don’t know if it was foul play,” Houck said.
A county coroner ruled at the time that the victim had had a heart attack immediately before her death and ruled out foul play and drug involvement, but Houck indicated that authorities are reexamining the case to be certain.
The investigation continues regarding the circumstances surrounding Griffin’s death and identifying the actor(s) responsible for depositing her body at the aforementioned location. Any persons having information relative this incident or having had previous contact with Griffin are asked to contact the Pennsylvania State Police, Troop M Criminal Investigation Assessment Unit at 610-861-2026. Reference Incident Report # M06-0314230.
Republished courtesy of Pennsylvania State Police and the Associated Press. Photo: Griffin as a 14/15 year old. Credit: PSP.