The identity of the ‘Jane Doe 1980’ cold case has been solved. In 1980, a woman was murdered in Daytona Beach, Florida, by a notorious serial killer, Gerald Stano. For more than 40 years, she was identified as Jane Doe, but now she has a name. Pamela Kay Wittman was a 25-year-old woman from Indiana who had her life taken from her far too soon. Her body was found on Interstate 95 by a roadway worker on November 5, 1980. Authorities had no way to identify her back then, and she did not have an ID on her person. Gerald Stano was convicted of multiple murders during the 1980s in the Daytona Area.
Cold Case Victim
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said, “The serial killer who confessed to killing 41 people at one point in time said he dumped the body off of I-95.” Cold case victim Pamela Wittman supposedly left her home in Indiana to begin a new life in Florida. Unfortunately, she came across Stano during her travels.
The community placed a memorial on the side of Interstate 95 where the roadway worker found her body. “She had the voice of an angel” was engraved on the memorial. She was able to be identified through genetic genealogy after decades of being labeled ‘Jane Doe 1980.’ Genealogy For Justice funded FHD Forensics to conduct testing on her remains. Genealogy For Justice is a nonprofit organization that offers grants for genetic testing to assist in solving cold cases with unidentified human remains.
Daytona Beach Serial Killer
Gerald Stano was an American serial killer who confessed to the murders of over 40 women and girls. However, authorities were only able to confirm 23 of them. They believe there to be far more. Pamela Wittman was one of his many victims but was never able to be identified back then. Police finally arrested him on April 1, 1980, after he stabbed a woman thirty times. Stano made several different claims to the police about when he began murdering women. He claimed to have committed his first murders in the 1970s; however, he also claimed to have begun in the 1960s. Stano is suspected to have murdered women in several states, including Florida, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Many serial killers have similar childhoods, which involve some sort of abuse, whether that be physical, sexual, or mental. Gerald Stano is no different. In his early years, he was supposedly neglected. Stano, along with all his other siblings, were given up for adoption at a young age due to the neglect of their mother. At six months old, he was adopted by a young woman who gave him a good life. However, he experienced behavioral issues throughout his childhood. The trauma he experienced from such a young age stuck with him. He went on to live a distasteful life. He was a delinquent who pulled fire alarms, stole from people, and lied frequently.
Final Thoughts
The cold case of the 1980 murder has come to a close. Pamela Wittman’s family finally has closure. Wittman’s younger sister traveled to Florida to gather her sister’s remains and speak with the authorities. She was also able to confirm Wittman’s whereabouts in 1980. Sheriff Mike Chitwood told the media, “Finally, this family can answer the question of what happened to their loved one.” He continued, “While this isn’t the news any family hopes to hear, I’m grateful for everyone who worked so hard to make sure we found the truth and gave Pamela a proper memorial.”
Gerald Stano became a convicted serial killer when he was found guilty of nine counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to death plus eight life sentences in 1984. After 14 years of sitting on death row, he was executed through electrocution on March 23, 1998.
