There are a few things that can get me mad fast. One is people saying “I cannot think of them as a victim.”
I am talking about victims of crime who are not regarded as “completely innocent” by the public. As a result, their cases get less attention as the victims are blamed for their fate. They called it upon themselves as they were a prostitute, crossed the border illegally, were addicted to drugs or alcohol, carried fake ID, and so on.
It pains me to see how callous some can treat other people’s lives. With utter disregard for the families left, they minimize the urgency in these cases giving others (more deserving people) priority. We have seen it before. People have pointed to the E-Pana project a.k.a. the Highway of Tears where the victims are predominantly native. Gary Vincent Murphy‘s case would have been treated differently if he had not been a biker, if he did not have a felony conviction and, if he had not used drugs. And then there’s El Dorado’s Jane Doe.
This morning I came across her case again. There too it is suggested that her failed relationships and work as a prostitute have given her case a lower profile. In her case, we have the killer and her DNA but we still do not know who she really was. She carried fake ID cards, told people half-truths, and was clearly hiding her past. Why? We do not know. Maybe she was protecting someone or a child. Maybe she had run away from an abusive relationship. We do not know. But does that mean she doesn’t deserve to have her case solved?
The Huffington Post has an article about her case. It is detailed and shows the twists and turns in her story. It explains who killed her, who was sentenced for her murder, and why this person just might talk if we pay him the right sum of money.
I’d like to encourage you to share her case online. Someone must know her, recognize her, or suspect something. We need to reach the right person’s news feed.
Case Details from NamUs:
- Age: between 20-30 years old
- Height: 70″
- Weight: 162 lbs
- Hair: Blond/Strawberry, head hair measured 9 inches, frosted blonde with pony tail and 2 hair clips
- Eyes: blue
- Birthmarks: there was a small birthmark or scar beneath her left breast. She had freckles, 3 piercings in her right ear, and 2 in her left ear.
- Clothes: acid washed blue jeans and a white t-shirt with a black belt. She wore white ankle socks with white tennis shoes.
- Jewelry: one gold-colored chain bracelet on her right arm.
- Dental records available
- Fingerprints and DNA available
- NamUs Case File: UP #2813
- She was a.k.a. Cheryl Ann Wick, Shannon Wiley, Kelly Carr, and Mercedes.
Don’t blame her for choices she made. You do not know her reasons. She was murdered. Help her!