Surette Clark was murdered in 1970, but the location of her body remained a mystery.
Forty years later, police have been able to identify her remains and close the case.
It turned out she was the same child who had been found in a shallow grave in Tempe in 1979.
Police used DNA to identify her.
Surette was murdered in Nov.1970 but the murder went unreported until 1994.
A family member called police, suspecting Wayne Clifford Roberts, Surette's step-father, was the murderer.
Roberts was tried and convicted for the murder in 1996.
Meanwhile, Phoenix Police continued to search for Surette's body.
The 1995, 135-page Phoenix police report of the case details the circumstances of the girl's death.
According to the report, Roberts shook Surette as punishment for getting out of the car one day.
She became sick and Roberts panicked.
Later, he buried her, possibly alive.
He and Surette's biological mother fled to Canada following the murder.
In 1979, the body of a little girl was found in a shallow grave beneath the old Mill Avenue Bridge in Tempe.
The skeleton was still intact.
For nearly 31 years, Surette's remains were labeled 'Jane Doe.'
In May, Phoenix detectives approached Tempe Police Detective Tom Magazzeni when they learned about Tempe's cold case.
They worked closely together and began to see similarities between Surette's and Jane Doe's murders. "Looking at the reports, the cases matched, the time line matched and the victim's description matched," Magazzeni said.
Magazzeni obtained samples from Surette's biological mother.
The DPS Crime Lab compared the DNA to that of Jane Doe.
The results matched, but to check the validity, Magazzeni found DNA samples from Surette's biological father.
The father died in February of this year, but samples were collected from a skin biopsy he had done years before his death.
Once again, the results matched and investigators were able to confirm that Jane Doe was Surette Clark.
Forty years later, police have been able to identify her remains and close the case.
It turned out she was the same child who had been found in a shallow grave in Tempe in 1979.
Police used DNA to identify her.
Surette was murdered in Nov.1970 but the murder went unreported until 1994.
A family member called police, suspecting Wayne Clifford Roberts, Surette's step-father, was the murderer.
Roberts was tried and convicted for the murder in 1996.
Meanwhile, Phoenix Police continued to search for Surette's body.
The 1995, 135-page Phoenix police report of the case details the circumstances of the girl's death.
According to the report, Roberts shook Surette as punishment for getting out of the car one day.
She became sick and Roberts panicked.
Later, he buried her, possibly alive.
He and Surette's biological mother fled to Canada following the murder.
In 1979, the body of a little girl was found in a shallow grave beneath the old Mill Avenue Bridge in Tempe.
The skeleton was still intact.
For nearly 31 years, Surette's remains were labeled 'Jane Doe.'
In May, Phoenix detectives approached Tempe Police Detective Tom Magazzeni when they learned about Tempe's cold case.
They worked closely together and began to see similarities between Surette's and Jane Doe's murders. "Looking at the reports, the cases matched, the time line matched and the victim's description matched," Magazzeni said.
Magazzeni obtained samples from Surette's biological mother.
The DPS Crime Lab compared the DNA to that of Jane Doe.
The results matched, but to check the validity, Magazzeni found DNA samples from Surette's biological father.
The father died in February of this year, but samples were collected from a skin biopsy he had done years before his death.
Once again, the results matched and investigators were able to confirm that Jane Doe was Surette Clark.
Surette Clark was murdered in 1970, but the location of her body remained a mystery.
Forty years later, police have been able to identify her remains and close the case.
It turned out she was the same child who had been found in a shallow grave in Tempe in 1979.
Police used DNA to identify her.
Surette was murdered in Nov.1970 but the murder went unreported until 1994.
A family member called police, suspecting Wayne Clifford Roberts, Surette's step-father, was the murderer.
Roberts was tried and convicted for the murder in 1996.
Meanwhile, Phoenix Police continued to search for Surette's body.
The 1995, 135-page Phoenix police report of the case details the circumstances of the girl's death.
According to the report, Roberts shook Surette as punishment for getting out of the car one day.
She became sick and Roberts panicked.
Later, he buried her, possibly alive.
He and Surette's biological mother fled to Canada following the murder.
In 1979, the body of a little girl was found in a shallow grave beneath the old Mill Avenue Bridge in Tempe.
The skeleton was still intact.
For nearly 31 years, Surette's remains were labeled 'Jane Doe.'
In May, Phoenix detectives approached Tempe Police Detective Tom Magazzeni when they learned about Tempe's cold case.
They worked closely together and began to see similarities between Surette's and Jane Doe's murders. "Looking at the reports, the cases matched, the time line matched and the victim's description matched," Magazzeni said.
Magazzeni obtained samples from Surette's biological mother.
The DPS Crime Lab compared the DNA to that of Jane Doe.
The results matched, but to check the validity, Magazzeni found DNA samples from Surette's biological father.
The father died in February of this year, but samples were collected from a skin biopsy he had done years before his death.
Once again, the results matched and investigators were able to confirm that Jane Doe was Surette Clark.
Forty years later, police have been able to identify her remains and close the case.
It turned out she was the same child who had been found in a shallow grave in Tempe in 1979.
Police used DNA to identify her.
Surette was murdered in Nov.1970 but the murder went unreported until 1994.
A family member called police, suspecting Wayne Clifford Roberts, Surette's step-father, was the murderer.
Roberts was tried and convicted for the murder in 1996.
Meanwhile, Phoenix Police continued to search for Surette's body.
The 1995, 135-page Phoenix police report of the case details the circumstances of the girl's death.
According to the report, Roberts shook Surette as punishment for getting out of the car one day.
She became sick and Roberts panicked.
Later, he buried her, possibly alive.
He and Surette's biological mother fled to Canada following the murder.
In 1979, the body of a little girl was found in a shallow grave beneath the old Mill Avenue Bridge in Tempe.
The skeleton was still intact.
For nearly 31 years, Surette's remains were labeled 'Jane Doe.'
In May, Phoenix detectives approached Tempe Police Detective Tom Magazzeni when they learned about Tempe's cold case.
They worked closely together and began to see similarities between Surette's and Jane Doe's murders. "Looking at the reports, the cases matched, the time line matched and the victim's description matched," Magazzeni said.
Magazzeni obtained samples from Surette's biological mother.
The DPS Crime Lab compared the DNA to that of Jane Doe.
The results matched, but to check the validity, Magazzeni found DNA samples from Surette's biological father.
The father died in February of this year, but samples were collected from a skin biopsy he had done years before his death.
Once again, the results matched and investigators were able to confirm that Jane Doe was Surette Clark.
