Cold case: 'Lake Lady Jane Doe' identified 38 years after body found in Louisiana lake
The woman has been identified as Pamela Lee Hupp, whose case was featured on 'America's Most Wanted.' Her killer or killers have not been found but St. Tammany Parish authorities aren't giving up.
On June 19, 1986, a fisherman found a woman's body floating in a lake in southeastern Louisiana.
For nearly four decades, the unidentified homicide victim was only known by the name "Lake Lady Jane Doe" until last week, when the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office in Covington announced new DNA technology had identified the victim.
The sheriff's office said that the woman had been identified as 33-year-old Pamela Lee Hupp.
As of Monday, Hupp's killer's identity remained unknown, the sheriff's office told Paste BN.
Victim featured on 'America's Most Wanted'
After Hupp's remains were discovered in Lake Pontchartrain near Slidell, about 30 miles northeast of New Orleans, they were turned over to the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office.
Hupp's manner of death was ruled a homicide, coroner's spokesperson James Hartman told Paste BN on Monday, and her death certificate showed she died as a result of asphyxia. Officials also said she was pregnant.
At the time of the discovery, she was estimated to be 20 to 30 years old, according to Othram, the DNA lab that eventually helped identify Hupp.
During the investigation, authorities reconstructed Hupp's skull, from which a photograph was captured and released to the public, the sheriff's office said. Her story was also included on a segment that aired on "America's Most Wanted."
Years later, in September 2022, a grant paved the way for more DNA analysis and genealogy research in the case.
Then in April 2023, Othram's efforts helped locate potential family members of the victim who later helped lead to her identity.
Who was Pamela Lee Hupp?
Born in April 1958, her last known residence was in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
It was not immediately known what she was doing in Florida at the time of her killing or how she was killed.
“I want to thank the many investigators over the years who worked on this case and sought out available resources and technology to identify and give a name to the victim,” Sheriff Randy Smith released in a statement after the victim's identity was released. “Our detectives will not stop working until they have identified and arrested the person(s) responsible for Ms. Hupp’s death.”
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the sheriff's office at (985) 898-2341 or Detective Winston Harbin at (985) 276-1355.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.