Pregnant woman found dead in basement 32 years ago is identified, Indiana officials say

Jennifer Rodriguez
·2 min read
2

A woman whose body was found in a basement in Indiana in 1992 has now been identified.

Tabetha Ann Murlin was identified through DNA, officials said at a news conference streamed by WPTA.

“She has been Mary Jane Doe to us for these years, and now we are able to attach her name and her family,” Allen County Coroner Dr. Jon Brandenberger said.

On May 15, 1992, a construction worker discovered Murlin’s decomposed body wrapped in a blanket in 8 to 12 inches of water in a Fort Wayne basement, officials said.

Murlin was about 23 years old and 26 weeks pregnant at the time of her death, WPTA reported. An autopsy was done but showed no cause of death or manner of death, Brandenberger said.

She was buried a week after she was found, without a known identity.

Her body was exhumed in 2017, and DNA testing was done, officials said.

In January, IGGnite DNA co-ounder Lisa Needler told the Allen County Coroner’s Office she had an update on Murlin’s case. Needler found several of Murlin’s biological family members, including her father, mother and two aunts, according to WPTA.

One of the aunts had a marriage license for Murlin and her husband, Jerry Murlin, WPTA reported.

Detectives met with Jerry Murlin and said he has been cooperative and is not considered a suspect. He last saw her in 1989 when the two separated and he moved in with his parents, according to the Indy Star.

The man identified as Murlin’s father, Robert Bowers, said he last saw Murlin in 1988 leaving for Tennessee with her boyfriend, the Indy Star reported.

Anyone with information about Murlin’s disappearance is asked to call the Fort Wayne Police Department Detective Bureau at 260-427-1201 or Crime Stoppers at 260-436-7867.

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