All language subtitles for Cold.Case.Detective.S02E08.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP.2.0.H.264-deadorbit_track3_[eng]

(slow dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Tammy Jo Alexander,

once known to the rest
of the true crime world

as the Caledonia Jane Doe
prior to identification,

was an independent and
colorful young soul.

Her deep-rooted insistence on exploration

and achieving adventure,
as well as her inclination

to travel without worry and engage

with the wider world
around her, was cut short

by an unexplainable unsolved murder

in the open fields of Caledonia,

New York on November 9th, 1979,

leaving all who knew her back
home in Brooksville, Florida,

and the entire country at
large, grasping for answers

in a sea of evidence that
drowned us all in doubt.

As I hope to provide more
substantial reasoning

built upon observable evidence
and situational analysis,

this is an examination of the
murder of Tammy Joe Alexander

and the long years she
spent as the Cali Jean Doe

without an identity for
three and a half decades.

This is "Cold Case Detective."

(slow dramatic music)

(slow music)

Tammy Alexander was born
on November 2nd, 1963

in Atlanta, Georgia to parents

Joe Alexander and Barbara Jenkins.

From birth through childhood,
Tammy lived through

incredibly turbulent and terrifying times.

Her parents' negligence

and filling the household with dread,

their unruly choices
permeating into the psyche

and overall emotions of their children.

As a mere toddler, Tammy would walk in

on her mother abusing
pills in the bathroom,

addicted to prescription medicine

after Tammy's father, Joe moved out.

These bouts with addiction
and other mental illnesses

spiraled into occasional suicide attempts,

including times where
Barbara would slit her wrists

right in front of her own daughter.

Despite the chaos, and
Barbara's endangerment

to both her family and herself,

there was no true intervention
during Tammy's early years.

While she did survive with the help

of the infrequent
relative or family friend,

Barbara never achieved
the help she needed,

and the hardships carried
over into Tammy's adolescence.

After Joe Alexander left
Tammy and her mother, however,

Barbara did bear another
daughter with a different man.

Tammy was blessed with a half sister

and family ally in Pamela Dyson.

The two girls used each other as lifelines

during the rough bouts at home

and clung to each other's spirits

when the tides of terror rolled in.

Sadly, Pamela was subject to
the same tantrums as Tammy

and she would later tell reporters

that had Barbara been properly diagnosed

by a mental health professional,

she would have received treatments

and she and Tammy would have
lived much more peaceful lives.

Nevertheless, the sisters fought onward.

And at age 11, Pamela
escaped the Jenkins household

to live with her paternal grandmother.

She presumed Tammy was able
to find a similar escape

and move in with fellow relatives.

But little did she know,
Tammy continued to be stuck

in the presence of her volatile mother,

left to process that trauma alone

and into her teenage years.

Luckily Tammy's end of middle school

and beginning of high school years

weren't completely isolating.

At school Tammy was able to
form a few close friendships

with like-aged girls in her
Brooksville, Florida classrooms.

One girl in particular was Laurel Nowell,

who shared multiple
personality traits with Tammy

and quickly clicked with
her go-getting demeanor.

Laurel and Tammy would often
write letters to one another.

Tammy consistently informing Laurel

of her most recent boy crushes and desire

to escape their Brooksville home.

Soon after their high
school careers began,

Tammy found love in another classmate,

an older boy named Kevin Williams.

Tammy was certain she
wanted to marry Kevin,

despite their relative youth.

In helping ends meet, Tammy
joined her mother, Barbara,

as a waitress at a local truck stop,

busing tables and collecting tips

to prepare for her future
abroad and away from trouble.

In an intriguing twist though,

trouble still followed Tammy
despite her best intentions.

Due to her crumbling
relationship with her mother,

Tammy often sought temporary escapes

from her home in Brooksville.

And she and her friend
Laurel would hitchhike

around the country as means of adventure.

Often they would go places
they had no connection to,

just two teenage girls wandering
the open United States.

One time the pair hitchhiked
all the way to California.

However, upon arrival,
Laurel called her parents

out of confusion, and Mr. and Mrs. Nowell

flew both their daughter and
Tammy back to Brooksville.

Tammy's parents, however,
didn't seem to care.

And she often wrote new letters to Laurel

professing her desire to hitchhike again,

viewing these cross-country
escapades as fun journeys,

never questioning the overall
safety of their trips.

These letters would become
the defining artifacts

of Tammy's final weeks alive and well.

She and Laurel, weren't always

on the same page about things.

Like many high school friendships,

they took part in their
fair share of arguments.

But one thing was for
certain in the letters.

Tammy was not just a person
defined by her rough upbringing

or occasional carelessness.

Rather, Tammy displayed
a natural charisma,

an enigmatic mode of operating

that reflected her love of independence.

Tammy was strong-willed
and vastly imaginative.

And above all, incredibly introspective,

in tune with her emotions

while understanding
exactly what she wanted.

She sought a sturdy life,
at least something sturdier

than she knew as a child,
hopeful for a post-grad marriage

and a happy life far, far away.

Her exuberance pushed her to new heights,

and tragically to new
places for unknown reasons.

For in 1979, Tammy Jo
Alexander went missing

from her sleepy town in Central Florida,

only to be found dead in
autumn of that same year,

left unidentified as the Cali
Jane Doe for over 35 years.

(slow dramatic music)

Let's now turn to the timeline of events

leading up to Tammy's disappearance.

The last stretch of Tammy
Alexander's known whereabouts

begin at 11:35 p.m. on May the 26th, 1979

in Brooksville, Florida.

She writes a final letter to
her best friend, Laurel Nowell,

announcing her desire to get married

before the year is out
and her plan to leave

the Sunshine State in September
of the following year.

The letter acts as a goodbye of sorts

due to Laurel and Tammy's
impending parting of ways.

This would be the last time

Laurel hears from her childhood friend.

A short while after Tammy sends
her final letter to Laurel,

around the time spring
transitions to summer of 1979,

Tammy ends up at the
Rainbow Prison Ministry

in Young Harris, Georgia.

Young Harris is a rural
yet mountainous region

in the northern sector of Georgia,

and the Rainbow Prison
Ministry hosts inmates

who have either been released
on parole or on probation.

However, why Tammy attends
the camp is unknown,

and could either be as
a volunteer of sorts

through a summer school
program or an actual attendee,

considering her runaway
incidents in Florida,

seeking an alternative
form of corrections.

Yet none of Tammy's friends nor family

know of her whereabouts, and
assume she has run away again.

During Tammy's stay at the
prison ministry in July of 1979,

she leaves a series of
voice recordings via phone

for her boyfriend, Kevin Williams,

who remains back in Florida.

Kevin isn't privy to
Tammy's exact location,

but in her messages she
sounds at peace and hopeful.

Not at all disturbed nor in danger,

thus prompting no anxious
reaction from Kevin.

This is the last confirmed
communication made by Tammy.

Later that summer,
Tammy's trace disappears.

She theoretically leaves the ministry

in Young Harris, Georgia and travels

either back to Florida or westward.

Due to her history of hitchhiking

and taking rides from strangers,

it's believed that Tammy journeys

on a cross-country road
trip with strangers,

and most likely not by
herself for the time being.

As the dog days of summer give way

to the mild chills of autumn,

Tammy remains missing from
her Brooksville community.

She continues to travel,

most likely northeastward
this time around.

Either at the end of October

or the beginning of November that year,

Tammy lands in Upstate New York.

How she gets here

or why she chooses this
location is unknown.

But again, she is most likely accompanied

by either one or multiple companions.

In the early evening hours of
Friday, November 9th, 1979,

Tammy is reportedly spotted
at a diner in Lima, New York,

a small town of less than 4,000 people

in the northwest area of the state.

A waitress, who later
accounts as an eyewitness,

serves a girl matching Tammy's description

and an older male figure
who accompanies her.

Tammy doesn't appear distressed
or in any real danger.

And the male figure pays for the meal

before departing with
Tammy a little while later.

This is the last known
sighting of Tammy Jo Alexander.

Later that night of November
9th, Tammy is taken to a road

on the edge of a farm
in Caledonia, New York

of Livingston County, another small town,

only a 20 minute drive
west of the Lima diner

along Interstate 20 and
New York State Route 5,

23 miles south of Rochester.

Here she is shot in the back
of the head once via handgun,

stripped of all identification,

and dragged into the
neighboring corn fields.

In the fields, the perpetrator
fires one more bullet

into Tammy's back and leaves her for dead.

The gunshot wounds hemorrhage

and Tammy passes away before sunrise,

her murderer escaping into the night.

As the clock strikes midnight
and the calendar flips

to Saturday, November 10th,
a series of rainstorms

hit upstate New York and wash away

most of the evidence from Tammy's body.

Vital DNA destroyed, and
Tammy Alexander's story

is blemished almost
beyond any understanding.

The following morning, a
Caledonia farmer awakens

and walks outside to check on his pastures

after the inclement weather
of the night before.

As he approaches the corn fields,

the farmer spots a bit

of red fabric settled in the distance.

Believing it to be a trespassing
hunter or unwanted visitor,

the farmer approaches with caution.

Upon reaching the red clothing, however,

the farmer instead finds
the body of a young girl

shot twice and covered with dirt.

He quickly returns to his
farmhouse and alerts the police.

Not long afterwards,
authorities show up at the scene

and begin collecting evidence.

They find a small pool of blood

on the edge of the corn field
where the girl was shot,

along with a trail leading
from the blood to the body.

The body itself shows no
signs of sexual assault

and was fully clothed.

However, her pant pockets
had been turned inside out,

as if ransacked prior to abandonment.

At the coroner's office later in November,

the medical examiner notices
that the gunshot wounds

indicate that the girl had not flinched

or moved as she was shot,

a peculiar yet common
phenomenon in murder cases.

The coroner is unable to find
anything else peculiar though,

and rules the death as a homicide,

while the police continue
searching for the girl's identity.

As November 1979 comes to a close,

law enforcement announced
the female corpse

as the Caledonia Jane Doe,

failing to find her family,
origin points, or even name.

She is initially described as a young girl

between the ages of 13 and
19, standing at around 5'3"

and weighing around 120 pounds,

with brown eyes, wavy brown
hair at shoulder length

that had been dyed four
months prior to death,

and coral colored nail polish
painted on her toenails.

She displays no signs of dental work.

Her blood type comes back as A negative,

and her stomach contains sweetcorn,

potatoes, and canned ham.

The analysis of the composition

and mineral content in her teeth

reveal a North American
drinking water pattern.

Despite these revelations
and biological clues,

police are unable to
identify the Cali Jane Doe

as 1979 comes to a close.

About a year later, on October 20th, 1980,

authorities release a
sketch of the Cali Jane Doe,

asking for anyone who recognizes the girl

to come forward with information.

Her case is quickly shipped
to major news networks.

And before long, the
entire state of New York

is searching for Cali Doe's identity.

Even with the advanced
efforts of investigators

to share the Cali Doe story
with the general public,

very little advancements
are made in the case

over the next few years
as the 1980s progress.

A few tips here and there make their way

to the proper channels, but
none turn out to be of any use.

The first major bend in
the case arrives in 1984,

when the notorious serial
killer Henry Lee Lucas,

murderer of 11 women and
friend of fellow murderer,

Otis Toole, confesses to Texas
State Rangers while in prison

that he had killed the unidentified girl

known as Caledonia Jane Doe back in 1979

without ever giving
away her true identity.

Rangers relay this information

to fellow New York State detectives.

However, even through
joint investigations,

each branch is unable to find

sufficient evidence in this claim.

Lucas's involvement is then
all but ruled out in 1985,

when it's discovered that
he had falsely confessed

to over 100 murders in which
he had zero connection.

It is widely believed that
the Caledonia confession

is one of these 100 plus bogus claims.

As the 1980s come to a
close, police interview

their fair share of other serial killers

and small criminals with
potential links to Caledonia.

However none prove fruitful

and the case remains as cold as it was

that November morning of 1979.

In 1989, newly elected sheriff

of Livingston County, New York, John York

promises the public that the Cali Doe

investigation will remain active

as long as he remains sheriff.

York was deputy sheriff
and one of the first

responding officers at
the scene of the crime,

and acts as the strongest voice

for the still unidentified teenage girl

well into the new millennia.

Over 15 years pass until the
next major development in 2005,

when forensic scientists perform
a successful DNA extraction

from Cali Doe's remains
due to improved technology.

This allows for the
possibility that her identity

will be found someday through
another DNA sample match.

Another break in the
case helps authorities

inch closer to solving Cali Doe's mystery

one year later in 2006, when
an analysis of her teeth

display an isotopic oxygen ratio,

hinting she may have been from the south

or southwestern regions
of the United States.

These tests are paired with
a palynological analysis

done on the Cali Doe's clothing,

in which pollen pulled from her body

can be traced back to trees
grown in California, Arizona,

and other southwestern
regions in the United States,

leading investigators to recognize

that their Cali Doe was
not a Caledonia native.

A few years later, in
2010, Websleuths moderator

and California artist Carl Koppelman

catches wind of the
ongoing Cali Doe cold case

and opts to before a facial reconstruction

of the girl's profile in
hopes that a newly-drawn image

will aid both investigators
and the general public

in identifying the body.

The facial reconstruction is uploaded

to the National Missing and
Unidentified Persons System,

also known as the NamUs database,

but no new information is discovered.

Coincidentally, around
the same time in 2010,

Laurel Nowell, Tammy Alexander's

best friend from
Brooksville, starts searching

for her old high school
classmate via social media,

but cannot find Tammy or her
name on any internet platform.

As the next few years trickle by,

Laurel doesn't give up her efforts.

She eventually reaches
out to Pamela Dyson,

Tammy's half sister who now
resides in Panama City, Florida.

Pamela tells Laurel that
she moved away from Tammy

and their mother, Barbara,
when she was only 11

to live with other relatives

and figures Tammy did the
same not long afterwards.

However, both women also discussed

Tammy's inclinations
to run away from home,

and wonder if she simply left Brooksville

to start her own life

free from her haunted
history in Central Florida.

When Laurel informs
Pamela of her own research

and the lack of Tammy's
presence on the internet,

Pamela digs deeper into the connections

with the surviving members
of the Alexander family

and learns that Tammy
hasn't been heard from

since her initial disappearance in 1979.

Barbara Jenkins, the girl's
mother, had died in 1998

and listed Tammy as
deceased in her obituary,

a commonly-held belief when
she had never returned home

after the summer of 1979.

In 2014, both Laurel and
Pamela share with one another

their concern that Tammy had wandered

along a dangerous path after she vanished,

and wonder if she is a
victim to an unknown crime.

Pamela tells Laurel
that she believes police

may not have taken a missing
persons report seriously

if they knew about Tammy's
hitchhiking history.

And so even if Barbara had filed one,

it may have been disregarded or lost.

Thus in August of 2014, Pamela and Laurel

pay a visit to the Hernando
County Sheriff's Office

in Central Florida to inquire about

a missing persons report
for Tammy Jo Alexander.

The officers at the station
check and say no report

had ever been filed in 1979 or since.

So the two women file one

and the authorities launch
an official investigation.

About one month later,
in September of 2014,

the Cali Doe artist, Carl Koppelman

spots the new listing for Tammy Alexander

on the NamUs database
and realizes her face

is strikingly similar
to the reconstruction

of the Caledonia Jane Doe.

He promptly emails the Livingston
County Sheriff's Office

in New York, the Hernando
County Sheriff's Office

in Florida, the NamUs regional admin,

and the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children.

Law enforcement quickly responds

and arranges a DNA test with Pamela Dyson,

since her blood relation
to Tammy Alexander

could provide an accurate match.

A few months later, in January of 2015,

the DNA results come back

to the Monroe County Medical Examiner

and reveal Pamela's
mitochondrial DNA samples

match perfectly with Cali Doe's samples.

(slow music)

For the first time in 35 years,

detectives know the body's identity,

and Pamela knows the tragic fate

of her half sister, Tammy Alexander.

Not long after, on January 26th,

authorities announce
during a news conference

the identity of the Caledonia Jane Doe

and shift the focus of their investigation

from identification to
solving Tammy's murder.

A mere month passes by, and
at the end of February 2015,

the Livingston County
Sheriff's Office reports

that a record number of tips

have flooded through
their various channels.

A drastic change to the slowly
decreasing number of leads

they had acquired up until then.

One call from a Tennessee truck driver

gives detectives what they describe

as their most sizable development yet.

However, what this is is never disclosed.

Another month flies by,
and in March of 2015,

the revelation regarding
Tammy and her time spent

at the Rainbow Prison Ministry
is revealed to detectives.

However, the Young Harris
ministry has long since closed,

and the husband and wife
who started the ministry

have passed away, along
with one of their children.

The lack of public information

regarding Rainbow Prison Ministry

doesn't deter investigators,

and at least gives a bit of insight

into Tammy's final months of life,

details which had been lost
for three and a half decades.

A few months later, on June 10th, 2015,

Pamela, Laurel, and
about 100 other attendees

visit Tammy's cemetery
in Dansville, New York

for a ceremony replacing
the Jane Doe tombstone

with one that reads Tammy Jo Alexander.

The family decides to keep her in New York

rather than transfer her back to Florida,

thanking the Livingston County officials

for their hard work on the case.

In what might be the biggest
discovery in Tammy's case

since her identification in 2015,

another piece of DNA evidence is procured

from an auto racing jacket
found on her body in early 2016.

This sample is different than the one

used to identify Tammy Jo,

and is found to be that's
of an unknown male subject.

Three separate male persons of interest

are brought in for questioning,
and their DNA is taken

in order to match against
this new evidence.

Almost a year passes
until November of 2016,

when the Federal Bureau of Investigation,

now a major player in
the cold murder case,

announces none of the three male subjects

matched the new DNA
sample from Tammy's body,

but that they are still following any

and all leads that they may obtain.

The most recent update delivers

on what would be Tammy
Alexander's 57th birthday,

November the 2nd, 2020,

when the Livingston
County Sheriff's Office

releases three segments of
the audio recording acquired

from her high school
boyfriend, Kevin Williams,

who had kept a voicemail
he received from her

on a tape cassette prior to
her disappearance in 1979.

Detectives hope that someone out there

recognizes Tammy's voice
from around the time

she went missing.

Another effort to bring the
final closure to a mystery

with so many twists
and hardly any answers.

(slow music)

In most cold case detective investigations

I like to hone in on one
specific aspect to the case

that signifies the mystery's biggest clue,

or in some cases its
most microscopic detail

that could cause the fissure needed

to crack the case wide open.

In regards to Tammy Jo Alexander's murder,

I'm going to bend the rules a bit

to highlight two separate case points,

as they both reflect
vital pieces of evidence

that we all must take seriously

when considering Tammy's case.

The first major case
point is the description

of the male subject seen with the girl

thought to be Tammy Alexander
at the diner in Lima, New York

on the night of November 9th, 1979.

The man was first spotted
and described by the waitress

who served him and Tammy, and
is thus far the only suspect

with a verified eyewitness account

and corresponding profile.

He was a middle-aged white
man standing around 5'9".

He wore black wire rimmed
glasses and reportedly drove

a tan station wagon to and from the diner.

The waitress told police that he paid

for both his own and Tammy's meal,

but never aroused much
suspicion or concern.

The man in the black rimmed glasses

is still considered a
prime suspect by police,

and his facial composite
sketch is still used

on wanted posters across the country.

You can see a copy of this sketch

in the show notes on this podcast.

If the man in this drawing
is familiar to you,

if you recognize his face

from the Livingston County, New York area

or any area in general dating
back to the late 1970s,

please call the Livingston
County Sheriff's Office

at 1-844-527-6847.

The second major case
point is the recordings

released by police revealing
Tammy Alexander's voicemails

left to her former boyfriend in 1979.

I have three segments here
that I will play to you now.

These recordings are
thought to be from the time

Tammy spent at the Rainbow Prison Ministry

and showcase her personality

mere months before she was killed.

These are the three excepts
played one after another.

- [Tammy] Hi, Kevin.

How you doing?

I'm fine.

It was nice to hear from you.

I'm very glad that you're better.

I got to go now, so you
take care and be careful.

Cool, I'm looking at a postcard
that says, "Moon over Miami,

"the alluring beauty of moon rise

"shimmering over the
Atlantic Ocean in Florida."

It's got two palm trees,
the moon, the ocean

and a girl in a white
shirt and black pants on it

and its blue, beautiful. (indistinct)

(slow music)

- [Narrator] While
investigators have come forward

and said they believe there
is nothing incriminating

or suspicious involved
with these recordings,

they do give us a rare opportunity

to hear Tammy's true
self, to get a glimpse,

even a small one, into the caring

and optimistic person she was,

and maybe even trigger someone's memory

who may remember hearing that voice

back during her final months spent alive

in the autumn of 1979.

While the chances of such
recognition happening are slim

as it was over four decades
ago, cold cases such as these

deserve every opportunity to be solved.

Every avenue must be explored,

as far fetched as it may seem.

Again, if you recognize this voice

or know someone who might,
please share this audio

and call the Livingston
County Sheriff's Office

at 1-844-527-6847.

Now let's turn to the
most prominent theories

surrounding the murder
of Tammy Jo Alexander.

(slow music)

For years, the central theories revolving

around Tammy's case file
focused on her true identity,

considering her Jane Doe moniker.

Luckily that aspect of the
mystery has been solved

and we can focus our
theories on who killed her

and how she wound up
in Caledonia, New York,

hundreds of miles away
from Central Florida.

To start, it's vital to
track Tammy's first movements

when she left in the summer of 1979

to theorize where she may have gone

and theorize who she may have met

between Brooksville and Livingston County.

We do know that Tammy spent
time at Rainbow Prison Ministry

in Young Harris, Georgia, but
where did she go after this?

Like many theories
surrounding Tammy's murder,

we can draw incredibly helpful clues

from the clothing she was
wearing the night she was killed

and the artifacts pulled from
her body after her discovery

on the morning of November 10th.

As we've previously mentioned,
scientists completed

a palynological analysis of pollen samples

extracted from the exterior
of her garments in 2006

to trace the origins of the samples

and track her movements via
United States pollen patterns.

The tests were conducted
at the palynology lab

at Texas A & M University,
and researchers found

four distinct types of pollen grains.

That of Australian pine,
oak, spruce, and birch trees.

These grains were then compared

to a control sample of pollen grains

extracted from the rural
upstate New York area in 1978,

one year before Tammy's tragic arrival.

Oak trees are found all
across the United States,

alongside birch and spruce trees,

which are especially popular
in the state of New York.

That being said, there
were no oak, spruce,

or birch pollen grains detected
in the 1978 control sample.

And it should be mentioned
that no birch or spruce trees

were located in the general vicinity

of the body's discovery in Caledonia.

In fact, the birch and spruce varieties

found on Tammy's clothing
were eventually matched

with birch and spruce
species found most often

in the mountainous regions of California,

on the other side of the country

and 3,000 miles away
from Livingston County.

The fourth and final
pollen grain extracted

from Tammy's person, the Australian pine

is considered an invasive
genus, grown sporadically

across the United States and
in surrounding countries,

but in finite quantities.

Australian pine can be found
in Mexico, South Texas,

South Florida, the campus
of Arizona State University,

the campus of the University of Arizona,

and some regions of California.

We know that Australian
pine cannot survive

the cold winter seasons
of upstate New York.

Therefore we know at
least one of these strains

was picked up away from Caledonia.

And the one area that shares overlap

in all four pollen grains,
the Australian pine,

oak, birch, and spruce is the
southwest mountainous area

of California, including San Diego.

While detectives are
confident these findings

paint a clear picture of Tammy's
movements prior to death,

do a few pollen grains
certify Tammy's presence

in the Southwestern United States?

No, but that's not all that
hints of her westward journey.

Another piece of clothing,
or in this instance, jewelry,

supports that very theory.

A handmade necklace found on Tammy's body

the morning of November 10th.

The necklace, chain, and prongs
are made of imitation silver

with three turquoise stones
fitted to each prong,

one resembling a bird.

You can find a picture of this
necklace in the show notes.

The overall shape and
craft of the necklace

strongly supports a homemade origin,

as it bears no brand name
or identifiable match

in any jewelry catalog
from the time period.

Rather, investigators view the necklace

as a replica of Native American jewelry

made and sold mostly in the
Southwestern United States.

Of course, there is no
way to confirm Tammy

didn't already own the necklace
prior to her 1979 departure,

as she could have potentially brought it

at a thrift store or antique
stand somewhere in Florida.

But experts don't think so.

This would be far too coincidental.

And it also ties in with Tammy's wishes

to return to California that she expressed

in her final letters
sent to Laurel Nowell.

So the routes that Tammy
Alexander most likely took

after leaving Young Harris, Georgia track

southwest across the United
States, through the Bible Belt,

through the deserts of
Texas and New Mexico,

and then through Arizona
into Southern California.

She most likely stayed in that area

for more than a few days, as the tan lines

found on her body post-mortem

hinted at a lengthy
stay in a sunny climate.

It was here she probably picked up

the regional Australian
pine pollen grains,

and then headed back east.

Detectives believe Tammy
then tracked through

the Sierra Nevada mountain range,

picking up the exclusive birch

and spruce species of pollen
before heading through Nevada

and most likely hitchhiking
eastward towards New York State.

In terms of the remainder
of Tammy's belongings,

police also recovered two
metal key chain pendants,

which were traced to vending machines

set along the New York State Thruway,

a series of controlled access highways

that cross a mere 4.5
miles north of Caledonia.

The pendants were a lock and
key style of paired chains,

and the locket included the inscription,

"He who holds the key can open my heart."

Unfortunately, the key portion

was also included on Tammy's body,

meaning the perpetrator never
took one half of the pendant.

This clue doesn't reveal too much,

except that Tammy most
likely came into New York

heading east on Interstate 90.

Aside from jewelry,
detectives took a deeper dive

into the rest of Tammy's outfit
to see if they could match

anything else to an ulterior source.

Most of what was left
behind seemed to make sense

belonging to a 16-year-old
independent teenage girl.

The tan corduroy pants,

colored plaid cotton polyester shirt,

blue knee high socks, and
brown ripple sole shoes

all fit Tammy's demographic.

However, there was one piece of clothing

that did not fit a girl
of her age's profile,

and was thought to belong to another male,

a red nylon-lined windbreaker
with black stripes

along the sleeves with
a collar label reading

Auto Sports Products, Inc.

This is the garment that
included a new DNA sample

belonging to an unidentified man,

and was tested against three other

male subjects' DNA in 2015.

That DNA has still yet to be matched,

but it is widely agreed
upon Tammy picked up

the red windbreaker on
her ventures out west,

either on the way there
or on the way to New York.

Now this isn't proven to have
belonged to the killer himself

since the killer went through the trouble

of removing Tammy's other
identifiable belongings.

But there is a good chance
whoever it does belong to

knows more about Tammy than anyone else

at this point in time.

(slow dramatic music)

One specific theory attached
to the red windbreaker

does include a possible known
killer, Christopher Wilder.

Wilder, also known as
the Beauty Queen Killer,

was an Australian who immigrated

to the United States in 1969.

He raped 12 women and killed eight

on a cross-country crime spree

in a six week period in early 1984.

He is also thought to be the culprit

of two statutory rape
cases in Florida in 1983,

as well as countless unsolved murders

both back home in Australia
and in the United States.

Wilder's MO was to persuade young women

to get into his truck

after offering them a modeling contract,

using his background in photography

as a means to appear legitimate.

The crimes that have been
confirmed to have been Wilder's

took place all over the
country, including Florida,

Georgia, Kansas, Texas, Utah,
Arizona, and California.

But one in particular really stands out.

In April of 1984, Wilder
abducted a 16-year-old girl

named Tina Marie Risico, and forced her

to road trip with him across the country

while helping him abduct other
unsuspecting female victims.

They eventually reached New York,

where Wilder again abducted a woman

by the name of Beth Dodge,

before killing her and
dumping her in a gravel pit.

He then bought a plane
ticket for Tina Marie

back to Los Angeles before
heading back out on the road

to commit further crimes.

One of the elements that makes
Wilder such a fitting suspect

in relation to Tammy Alexander's murder

is the way he traveled
while committing crimes

and the places he was known to frequent.

Tammy was killed five years before

Wilder's six week homicidal spree,

but it is possible he
was in the United States

during that time period,
driving across the country,

scouting out locations, and understanding

the general routes between state lines.

It is entirely feasible
Wilder ran into Tammy

during her own adventures out west

and pulled the same
sickening stunt he would

on Tina Marie Risico half a decade later.

But that is not where the suspicions end.

Wilder was also a
prevalent race car fanatic,

even dabbling in stunt driving

and other high speed endeavors himself.

In fact, he owned a fair
share of merchandise

that was manufactured by the same company

labeled on Tammy's red windbreaker,

Auto Sports Productions, Inc.,

leading investigators to wonder

if that jacket Tammy
had belonged to Wilder.

In addition, Wilder was also known

to have used a Colt Python
.357 Magnum revolver,

a gun that can be used to
fire a 38 caliber bullets,

the type of slug found
at Tammy's crime scene.

Sadly, the ballistics of Wilder's gun

were never tested alongside the bullet

found at the cornfield in Caledonia.

And Wilder was killed in
a standoff with police

in Colebrook, New Hampshire,
before any interview

could ever take place regarding Tammy.

It should be noted that Wilder's
involvement in Tammy's case

was theorized early on
in the investigation,

and prior to the male DNA
sample's discovery in 2015.

Now it is safe to assume that Wilder's DNA

has since been tested against
the windbreaker's evidence

and rendered not a match.

However, until there is
an official statement

made by the assigned detectives,

Christopher Wilder is still
a solid suspect in the case.

Beyond a few other lower-tier criminals,

investigators have already
ruled out using DNA evidence.

There just aren't many names

tied to Tammy Alexander's murder.

One could conceivably
still chart Henry Lee Lucas

as a possible culprit
using his MO and testimony.

But remember that officials
have his DNA on file as well

and have most certainly tested it

against the mystery male subject's DNA.

Of course, there is also
the family left to consider.

Anytime a person goes missing,

especially an underage teenage girl,

the focus always passes over the family.

There are those that wonder
if Tammy's listing as deceased

on her mother, Barbara
Jenkins' obituary in 1998

wasn't just an assumption, but
rather admissible of the fact

that her family knew she was dead.

As previously mentioned,
Barbara had various

untreated mental disorders, and working

at a truck stop with Tammy would've meant

frequent encounters with
nefarious characters.

It's possible Barbara,
or one of her boyfriends,

knew about, or worse, was
complicit in Tammy's death

and then covered it up using
her runaway status against her.

It should also be noted that
no missing persons report

was ever filed, a mistake that
could be rendered purposeful.

Some theorists also refrain
from absolving Kevin Williams,

Tammy's high school
boyfriend, of any guilt.

Kevin was reportedly the last
person to hear Tammy alive,

and some suggest that if he caught Tammy

running away with another guy

on one of her hitchhiking escapades,

he may have taken things a step too far.

However, both we and the authorities

do not believe Tammy's family or boyfriend

are in any way involved with
her disappearance and death.

Tammy was rarely home as a teenager,

and the fact that her mother
and other family members

figured she simply ran away in 1979

does make sense when factoring
in her known behavior.

Kevin Williams has been
nothing but helpful

throughout the investigation,

and was only a boy at the time.

These theories also do
not explain how Tammy

had pollen grains from terrain

on the opposite side of the country

and ended up thousands of miles away

from Brooksville, Florida
at the time of her murder.

These theories simply do not
fit in any way, shape, or form

with the remaining evidence
left at Tammy's crime scene,

and should not seriously be considered

by the general public.

When considering killers, recall the fact

that the detectives have a DNA profile.

We don't know for sure it's the killer's,

but it likely been used to rule out

known players in Tammy's
life who are still alive,

as well as criminals already
included in the FBI's database.

Whoever the killer is,

they are not someone
from Tammy's childhood.

(slow music)

Before we divulge our hypothesis

of Tammy Alexander's unsolved murder,

we want to make it known
that our conclusions

presented in "Cold Case Detective"

are purely logical speculation
based upon evidence,

circumstance, and factual subtext.

We are only privy to the same information

presented in each episode.

And we do not attempt to promise certainty

or an expert guarantee.

We simply observe research and report.

Pulling from the evidence
analyzed for years

by scientists and investigators alike,

We believe Tammy Jo left
Brooksville, Florida,

and later Rainbow Prison
Ministry, of her own accord.

It was her nature to explore,

to find something better for herself.

And her youthful independence
led to her decision

to escape the horrors she faced
as a child and adolescent.

We believe she did travel westward

through the southwestern
regions of the United States,

most likely stopping in
New Mexico or Arizona

before making her way into California.

Taking into account the
tan lines on her body,

her previous positive
experience visiting the state,

as well as the amount of pollen grains

still attached to her clothing,
it makes sense that Tammy

probably spent more than just

a few days in Southern California.

Who she met and what she did there

is impossible to say for now,

but she must have
eventually felt the drive

to continue hitchhiking.

And this is where she met her fate.

We believe that at some
point Tammy decided

to head eastward before
running into the person

who would eventually kill her.

It is highly probable that
whoever the killer was

met Tammy and persuaded her to join him

under the pretense of innocent ideals.

They were likely a practiced manipulator,

and took advantage of a young girl

desperate for transportation,
but open-minded enough

to tag along with a stranger.

The two made it to New York

where Tammy bought her New
York State Thruway pendants

from the vending machine
and enjoyed one last dinner,

unaware her life was about to end.

We believe it was Tammy that
night at the Lima diner,

that the waitress who
reported her sighting

with the anonymous male
subject is telling the truth.

The stomach contents
in Tammy's post-mortem

matched the exact type of
food served at the diner

in which the eyewitness waitress worked,

sweetcorn, potatoes, and canned ham.

It was after this final meal,

the killer unveiled his true colors,

callously murdering the young girl

via gunshot wound to the back of the head.

Who the killer is exactly

is at this point impossible to discern.

In 1979, it was common for
people to not only ask for rides,

but for drivers to pick
up hitchhikers too.

To narrow down the list
of middle-aged white men

who gave a ride to young
girls in the late 1970s

would pose an astronomical
task, a feat without an end.

Whoever the killer was, however,
he knew what he was doing.

He was likely a practiced criminal.

He may have escaped persecution

but be in prison for another crime,

or maybe he died via other means.

Their identity and role in the murder

lost to a grave hundreds of miles away.

Or maybe he is still out there,

lurking in the shadows in old age.

Whoever it is, and regardless of his fate,

there is always a chance for capture,

no matter how many days have passed

or how many leads have been exhausted.

If the Golden State Killer can go decades

between crime and capture, others can too.

And until the man
responsible is behind bars,

we must operate with the belief

that justice can be done
and will in time be served.

Remember his description,
remember his face.

There is always hope
for justice to be done.

Until that time however, we must remember

that the long and winding
story of the Caledonia Doe

is not defined by a cornfield

in Livingston County, New York.

It is not defined by two gunshot wounds,

or a tattered red windbreaker,
or a few grains of pollen.

It is the story of a promising young woman

named Tammy Jo Alexander who persevered

through extraordinary and
terrible circumstances

to become the person
she was supposed to be.

Too often a person who runs away from home

or hitchhikes into potential danger

is viewed as unstable or unintelligent,

a youth who is asking for trouble.

But remember, Tammy was
surrounded by instability

and malevolence at home.

She fought through a chaotic childhood,

survived abuse and trauma,
and found the strength

to seek out a bright future

through whatever means necessary.

The judgment of others, be damned.

Tammy was an explorer,

a courageous adventurer
with a passionate soul.

More than just a survivor,

but a fighter and optimist as well.

Her legacy was that of
an enigma for 35 years.

But from here on out it will
be that of a human being

who deserved the chance to create the life

she sacrificed everything to pursue.

She had a right to start anew,

to make friends and relationships

with those that would listen to her story,

and to feel a part of this world.

It is our privilege and
duty to not only listen

and learn from Tammy Jo's
story, but to share it as well,

remembering her for the woman she was,

not the cruelty she endured.

This is "Cold Case Detective."

Thank you for watching

this "Cold Case Detective" documentary.

If you'd like to support us

in making more content like this,

consider subscribing on
Patreon for a whole host

of great rewards and additional content.

I'd like to give a special shoutout

to our incredible Chief
Detective patron supporters,

Nick M, Max Hay, Jennifer
Babcock, and Daniel Hearthstone,

as well as all our patrons for
making this series possible.

Thank you for watching,
and I'll see you next time.