Police ID Teen Found Dead 45 Years Ago: What Police Know About 'Woodlawn Jane Doe'

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — Police have identified a teenager whose body was found 45 years ago in Woodlawn. Until now, she was referred to as "Woodlawn Jane Doe" by investigators.

Margaret Fetterolf, 16, of Alexandria, Virginia, went missing in 1975, family members told the Baltimore County Police Department.

Her body was discovered in the 5600 block of Dogwood Road on an access road to the Lorraine Park Cemetery in Woodlawn on Sept. 12, 1976, officials said. A witness said a white van dumped the body there between 9:20 and 10:20 a.m., according to police.

The teen died by asphyxiation, according to police. She had been bound, beaten and strangled with ligature and had been violently raped, officials said.

Detectives thought she may have been drugged, because the sedative Chlorpromazine was in her system.

"Her body was wrapped in a white sheet, her hands tied behind her back," the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reported. "A handkerchief with holes cut out for her eyes and nose covered her face, and a bag had been placed over her head."

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released a new facial reconstruction image of Jane Doe in 2016 on the 40-year anniversary of her death.

"The biggest break in the case came earlier this year," police said in a statement Sept. 15, 2021.

More DNA testing was conducted through the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Bode Technology, police said, that helped to identify "Woodlawn Jane Doe."

After 45 years, authorities on Wednesday announced the victim was no longer "Jane Doe" but had been identified as Margaret Fetterolf.

"By knowing Margaret’s identity, detectives are now one step closer to catching the people responsible for her murder," police said.

Here is the timeline in the case, provided by the Baltimore County Police Department.

Breaks in the case occurred in 2006 and 2015.

Detectives asked for the evidence in the case to be tested in 2006 after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children offered assistance. Semen was discovered, police said, but it would be nearly 10 years before another break in the case.

In 2015, a scientist working with the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol tested her clothes, which revealed cedar and mountain hemlock pollen, two types of pollen that are found together in only two places in the U.S.; one is in the Boston area at Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.

That was not the only clue that led detectives to Massachusetts.

Two seed bags only available in Massachusetts were found at the crime scene, police said.

A cloth bag covering the girl's head and a piece of cloth used to gag her were both from lawn seed bags from the Farm Bureau Association in Massachusetts, officials reported. The bags, which were discontinued in 1974, were sold in five cities: Waltham, Greenfield, Lowell, Rochdale and South Weymouth.

Police also found two keys in her right front pocket, traced to a manufacturer in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. One of the keys appeared to be a house key, the other a night latch key, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Anyone who might have information in this case is asked to contact Baltimore County detectives at 410-307-2020.

See Also: Police Seek Clues About Woodlawn 'Jane Doe,' 40 Years Later