25 years after murder, serial killer Wayne Adam Ford's victim identified

Twenty-five years ago, the world was introduced to Wayne Adam Ford, who confessed to killing and mutilating four women. The serial killer turned himself in. He walked right into the sheriff's office in Humboldt County, California, with the breast of one of his victims in his pocket.

While three of Ford's victims were identified, one remained 'Jane Doe' all these years. After more than two decades, the police have successfully put a name to her.

Jane Doe

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The woman has now been identified as 25-year-old Kerry Ann Cummings. In October 1997, her torso was discovered in Ryan Slough, a stream in Eureka, California. More remains of the victim, as per The Daily Beast, were found on Clam Beach in January 1998.

A year later, when Wayne Adam Ford confessed to being a serial killer, he claimed responsibility for killing four women, including the one whose torso was found in Ryan Slough. More of her body parts werefound in Ford's encampment after he turned himself in.

However, in spite of many attempts, police were unable to identify who the woman found in Ryan Slough was. They had her DNA, which was run through databases periodically. However, the police failed to get any matches that could reveal her identity.

How did they finallyidentify serial killer Wayne Adam Ford's victim?

California justice officials teamed up with a private lab called Othram. They used the emerging investigative techniques of forensic genealogy to build a family tree for 'Jane Doe'.

Their investigation led them to a potential close relative of the unnamed victim. The person confirmed that a female member of the family named Kerry Ann Cummings had been missing since the mid-1990s.

Who was Kerry Ann Cummings?

According to The Daily Beast, Cummings was mentally ill and left her home to couch-serve in Eugene, Oregon in 1997. She was 25.

Reportedly, the family lost touch with her and tried to report her missing. They even hired a private detective to investigate the missing woman.

As per a statement released by the sheriff's office on Wednesday: "Unfortunately, back then they were told that Kerry was an adult, that she had chosen the lifestyle, and that if she wasn’t a threat to herself or others, there was nothing that [law enforcement] could do."

Kerry's sister Kathie told the sheriff's office that "As the internet expanded, I took to searching the NamUs website when I was missing her, scanning for mention of her tattoo and searching through the pictures of the Jane Does. She was dearly loved."

The victim's remains will now be released to her family so that she can be laid to rest with the rest of her family. As for her killer, Wayne Adam Ford has been behind bars for the last 25 years, he was sentenced to death in August 2006 and is currently waiting on death row.

(With inputs from agencies)

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