'Jane Doe' Identified in Collin County After 20 Years – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

The Collin County Medical Examiner's Office's Unidentified Project has solved a 20-year-old mystery surrounding the identity of a “Jane Doe” by replacing her gravestone.

Highland Cemetery in Melissa has been her final resting place for years. Her granite headstone, generously donated by the owners of the small cemetery, is weathered and barely legible.

It read: “Jane Doe, unknown female, died January 11, 2004 in Melissa, Texas, approximately age 50”

On Thursday morning, three employees of Turrentine Jackson Morrow Funeral Home carefully dug around in the lawn to remove the headstone.

After 20 years, this Jane Doe gets her real name back.

Collin County Coroner's Office Investigator Valerie Alvarez is making good on a promise she made in 2022.

“It's a sad moment of course, but it's also a very happy moment knowing that we were able to give her her name, her dignity and provide a place for the family to come visit,” Alvarez said.

The years-long search for answers weighed heavily on Alvarez. He wiped away tears as he remembered the phone call that confirmed the Jane Doe's real name was Lisa Jaqueline Mellay, 47, of California.

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“When the first call came in, I remember sitting at my desk and out of nowhere I burst into tears. I remember my boss saying, ‘Are you OK?’ I was like, ‘We found her,’” she said with a smile.

Moments like these are why she devoted herself to this field, she said.

“We do this because we can give them a name and their family can visit them there,” she said.

NBC 5 profiled Mellay's cold case in 2022 when the CCME office launched the Unidentified Project, which aims to draw attention to eight cases of unidentified men and women who died in the region as a result of homicide or unknown deaths.

Mellay was murdered in 2004 while walking in Melissa.

Establishing her identity has long been a challenge, as she was known as a “wanderer” who traveled across the country under various aliases and was imprisoned several times.

The case was initially classified as an unclaimed person case because she had identification on her, Alvarez explained.

She was subsequently classified as an 'unknown person' as it was clear that this victim had used someone else's identity.

Alvarez studied every name and city associated with her “Jane Doe” and discovered a pattern in the names the mysterious woman often used.

She discovered that this 'Jane' had once been married and used her married name in various combinations over the years.

Alvarez went online to research the last name and found a yearbook photo and possible family ties in California.

In 2023, she spoke to a woman on the phone.

“She said, 'I think that's my late husband's daughter. We haven't seen her since I think she said 1988,'” Alvarez recalled. “She says, 'I don't recognize her from that picture, but I would recognize those blue eyes anywhere.'”

By the end of the year, DNA testing on several family members confirmed Melley's true identity.

According to the family, she was the daughter of a well-known Hollywood composer, who was last seen when she was about 18 years old, Alvarez said.

The family spent “thousands of dollars” searching for her for years, but to no avail.

Finally, her loved ones have some closure.

Alvarez feels relieved and grateful. She hopes she can find the rest of the families on her list of unidentified bodies.

A new partnership, with Othram, aims to do just that. The forensic lab is located in The Woodlands, near Houston.

According to the company's website, “Othram is revolutionizing the way forensic cases are solved, justice is served, and families are restored.”

“We've worked thousands of cases to date,” said Colby Lasyone, Othram's chief of staff. “Every case we work, there's an unidentified individual, whether that's an individual, unidentified human remains, someone who dies without their identity, or the suspects in a crime, and so it's important that we provide answers to victims and their families.”

Othram develops forensic-grade genome sequences to create “ultra-sensitive profiles,” Lasyone explains, using evidence provided by law enforcement agencies, such as bones, blood or saliva.

“These DNA profiles can be uploaded into genealogical databases, where people have given permission for law enforcement to use their information to solve crimes and identify people,” he said. “Once these profiles are uploaded into genealogical databases, we build family trees, and those family trees result in leads, and those leads are given back to investigators to help further an investigation and ultimately close a case.”

Lasyone urges anyone who has lost a loved one to ensure DNA samples are provided to police.

A number of genetic genealogy providers work with law enforcement agencies to solve cases.

According to him, forensic investigations across the country have re-exposed decades-old murder cases or cases involving unknown persons.

Alvarez spoke to a company representative at a North Texas missing persons forum and explained the region's project.

To her surprise, Othram joined the initiative, “at no cost to the region,” Alvarez said.

DNA samples from the still-unidentified victims in Collin County's possession have been submitted for testing, she added.

“It’s very promising. This company is very successful in what they do and I’m confident that we’ll get more names out to people,” Alvarez said.

A second unidentified individual, who had previously been positively identified, also received his permanent granite headstone on Thursday, courtesy of Highland Cemetery.

The cemetery decided to place the headstones of 'Jane Doe' and 'John Doe' at the bottom of the grave, like a footstone.

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