In September 1968, a road worker in Will County, Illinois discovered the body of an unidentified woman.
For over 50 years, no one knew her name or her story, and she was known only as Jane Doe.
But with the help of modern forensic technology, determined cold case investigators, and genetic genealogy, her real identity has finally been revealed.
She was Martha Bassett, a 33-year-old Native American woman from Wapato, Yakima, Washington.
This important breakthrough closes one of Will County’s oldest unsolved cases and finally gives answers to a family that has been searching for decades.
On September 30, 1968, highway workers discovered a woman’s body near Blodgett Road and Interstate 55, in Will County, Illinois.
Her remains were partially hidden in brush, and
according to DNASolves, she had no identification, clothing, or personal belongings.
The Will County Coroner’s Office later determined that she had been strangled and suffered blunt force trauma, but with no leads, the case eventually went cold.
At the time, forensic technology was limited, and DNA analysis didn’t exist yet.
Her fingerprints didn’t match any records, and even though blood tests showed she had Type O blood, there was no way to know who she was.
She was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Wilmington, Illinois, without a name.
For years, Martha’s family didn’t know what happened to her, and it looked like she just simply vanished.
She had moved to Chicago in 1960 under the Indian Relocation Act, a federal program encouraging Native Americans to leave reservations for urban areas.
But by 1967, she stopped contacting her family, who traveled to Chicago to search for her—but found nothing.
In 2009, the Will County Coroner’s Office created a Cold Case Unit to help solve this case and other unsolved ones.
After the case was reopened that year, the team exhumed the remains for modern forensic testing
Initial tests and analysis showed the woman likely had Native American ancestry, but this discovery led detectives nowhere.
In 2017, Dr. Cris Hughes and the University of Illinois Forensic Anthropology Department updated the records, after more testing.
They discovered that the woman may have had both Asian and Native American heritage, but even with this discovery, the case still didn’t move forward.
In 2020, newly elected Coroner Laurie H. Summers focused on solving cold cases using new forensic technology.
Investigators William Sheehan and Joe Piper contacted Othram Inc., a Texas lab that specializes in forensic genetic genealogy, to help with the case.
Othram then used advanced DNA sequencing to create a detailed genetic profile, which was then compared to public genealogy databases.
This led investigators to Emily Washines, a distant relative in Washington State, who helped connect them to Martha’s niece.
DNA match in 2024 finally confirmed the victim’s identity as Martha Bassett, as per WJOL.
"This case shows how persistence, technology, and community collaboration can solve even the oldest mysteries," said Coroner Laurie Summers.
"Martha Bassett’s family deserved answers, and we’re honored to have played a part in bringing her home," she added.
Martha’s family finally now have some answers after 56 years, even though the outcome is painful.
They now know what happened to her, but her killer is still unknown.
The Will County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating and hopes that new leads will come up.
Even though her identity has been confirmed, the case is not yet closed.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about her death to come forward.
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