My case takes us to a city that I didn’t even know existed until 2015. I learned of Woodlawn, Maryland along with thousands of others as they listened to one of the most well-known true crime podcasts, Serial. We learned about many places in Woodlawn with that podcast. The high school, Leakin Park, and even Best Buy. With the town being just 8.5 miles from the heart of Baltimore, Woodlawn houses just under 40,000 people. It is the Social Security Administration’s Headquarters and is only 9.6 square miles large. Woodlawn carries a D+ grade on CrimeGrade.org for Violent Crime. This means that you are more likely to become a victim of violent crime than the average US city but Woodlawn is in the 27th percentile for safety. The northern half of the city is a bit more dangerous than the south. Your chance of becoming a victim is 1 in 109 in the north and as low as 1 in 709 in the southern areas. While Woodlawn may not have the squeakiest of clean records when it comes to violent crime, it’s not all bad. It gives a small-town feel but is near the big city. A few notable people that have been born or resided in Woodlawn are Astronaut Robert Curbeam Jr., Actress DeWanda Wise, of course, Adnan Syed, and the woman who’s story I’m sharing.

My case takes us all the way back to 1976. September 12 to be exact. It was a seemingly beautiful day with a high of 86 and a low of 55 degrees. A passing motorist called into the Baltimore County Police Department Precinct 2 of a body found near the 5600 block of Dogwood Road near the Lorraine Cemetary and Mausoleum. When law enforcement arrived, they found a woman somewhere between 15-30 years of age, wrapped partially in a white sheet. She was wearing blood-stained beige Levi jeans, a white short-sleeved shirt, a white bra, knee-high multi-colored striped socks, and a string of rawhide around her neck with a singular blue turquoise bead. Her hands were tied behind her back with rope. Over her face was a bag for grass seed with a label stamped with the company logo from Farm Bureau Association Grass Seed in Lexington, Massachusetts. Also over her face was one orange bandana with holes cut in it where her eyes were and then a second blue bandana. All of these items were tied tightly around her head with square knots. Nearby a single light brown shoe with twine laces was believed to have been the victim. There was no identifying paperwork or items with the body.

In her pocket, she had a safety pin with two keys. One appeared to be a house key that had been stamped with the numbers DB 09212 and the town Fitchburg Massachusetts USA indicating it was originally cut there. The other key was assumed to be to a night latch. I was a bit confused by this as most night latches I have seen are keyless. Imagine the deadbolt alternative for a hotel. Usually placed above the handle as an extra security measure. Most do not have keyholes, let alone one that would require a key with teeth.

As the investigators and medical examiner began their exams, they learned the terrible truths of what happened to this young woman. The blood-stained pants confirmed that this woman had been severely beaten and raped. To the point that she was bleeding through her jeans. They also discovered that this victim, now known as the Woodlawn Jane Doe, died from strangulation. As they unwrapped the two bandanas and grass seed sack from her head, they also found another piece of the seed sack stuffed into Jane’s mouth. As if this wasn’t enough, the toxicology report came back showing an extremely high level of Chlorpromazine in her system. Chlorpromazine is used to treat psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe behavioral problems including ADHD, and even in major cases anxiety before surgeries. It can be administered orally, intramuscularly, or intravenously. In the early 1950s, it was intended to be used as a surgical anesthetic but doctors in France learned that it worked as an antipsychotic medicine for patients with symptoms of mania and psychosis.

Due to such a high amount of Chlorpromazine in her body and the white sheet she was originally wrapped in, law enforcement postulated that she, or her murderer, may have been a patient in a mental institution. The white sheet was similar to those used in medical facilities.

The medical examiner also found that Jane had at some point in the past seen a dentist. She was missing three of her molars and had fillings in the other five. They added her fingerprints and dental records into national databases with no matches.

Several hundred tips came into hotlines especially after law enforcement offered a $2,000 reward. Several sketches both age progressions and age regressions were made and describing Jane was a bit difficult. She had olive skin that wouldn’t allow law enforcement to correctly identify her ethnicity. The only distinguishing mark on her body was a crude tattoo that was very light and could have easily been looked over. It was two letters believed to be any of the following combinations: JP, SS, or JB.

One witness came forward stating she was headed to church that same day Jane was found stating she saw a Ford Econoline Van in the area approximately an hour before the passing motorist called law enforcement.

Baltimore County was receiving a tip almost daily with someone claiming the 5’6” to 5’9”, dark-haired young girl was their loved one. Time, after time law enforcement had to let another family down because Jane, was not their family member.

As the tips began to come in slower and slower, law enforcement began to look into the grass seed bag. They learned that it was manufactured in Buffalo, New York, and was a discontinued bag that was only sold in Waltham, Rochdale, Lowell, South Weymouth, and Greenfield Massachusetts. How did it make it approximately 400 miles south?

A couple of missing person reports caught the attention of officials. Including Maria “Mia” Anjiras (Un HEE ras). She was a teenager who had run away earlier in the year from Connecticut. These potential identities didn’t match.

In 2006, while examining the evidence semen is detected but I could not find out if this was ever tested or if there was even enough to be tested.

Investigators continue pushing for answers, and Jane’s case even was featured on America’s Most Wanted.

It wouldn’t be until four decades later, yes 40 years, that investigators were able to utilize new technology to gain some traction in Jane’s case. The 2015 case of “Baby Doe” of a toddler found in a trash bag in Boston Harbor made mainstream media when the pollen found in the bag led investigators to identify her as 2-year-old Bella Bond.

Baltimore County sent Jane’s clothing off for forensic testing where they were able to find microscopic grains of pollen. Experts found a blend of cedar and mountain hemlock pollen that is consistent with that found at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston. While this isn’t a “foolproof” science, it is able to give investigators some direction as to where the victim had been before being murdered. Experts state that there are no two locations with identical pollen mixtures so you can quickly narrow down a geographical target.

The forensic palynologist ( that examined Jane’s clothes stated that cedar and mountain hemlock pollen are found together in only two places. The New York Botanical Garden and the Arnold Arboretum which is near the neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain and Roslindale.

Other evidence pointing to the Massachusetts area including the seed bag and keys found on the victim, further propelled the authorities toward the Boston area.

Once this new information was released to the public, a tip led police to think she may have been an immigrant from Puerto Rico and that she had lived in Jamaica Plain…. Boston police learned that her children may have attended a catholic school in the city and flyers were distributed. Nothing came from this tip or the efforts of those volunteers distributing flyers.

BODE technologies were able to step in to assist investigators in February of 2021, where they successfully extracted DNA from the evidence. They sent that extraction over to our friends at Othram with fingers and toes crossed for a comprehensive genealogical profile. Othram was able to use their Forensic Grade Genome Sequencing to create a profile and return it to BODE.

This is why I love programs like GED Match and DNA Solves. With this profile and the hard work of investigators, they were able to identify Woodlawn Jane Doe as 16-year-old Margaret Fetterolf on September 16, 2021.

Margaret was sassy and rebellious. She often would run away to a friend or hide from her parents. She hung out with kids who smoked marijuana and her father or the cops would have to bring her home. In her hometown of Alexandria, Virginia in 1975, when she went missing for the last time, her family chalked it up to her regular behavior but still reported her missing.

Further work from law enforcement led them to Margaret’s younger brother who had a family member that had uploaded their DNA profile to Ancestry.com.

When her brother was notified of his sister’s murder, he said he knew the news was coming. But had held onto the hope that one day she would call him. He was questioned about whether he knew if she had been in the Boston area or not and he had no clue as to why or how she would have made it to Boston. They had no family ties in the area.

Now that the Woodlawn Jane Doe has finally been named, what is next? Law enforcement re-released crime scene photos and a photo of Margaret hoping that after 45 years, they would receive the tip that leads to finding out who did all of those terrible things to her.

If you have any information about the rape and murder of 16-year-old Margaret Fetterolf, please contact Baltimore County Detectives at 410.307.2020.