After 47 years, Hamilton County coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco has put a real name to a mystery that has hung over Cincinnati since the late 1970s. The remains of a toddler found in a local field in 1979, long referred to by investigators as “Baby Angel,” have now been identified as a child named Velina Jeter. The announcement gives the long-unidentified homicide victim a proper identity and could reopen leads in a case that has been cold for decades.
At a news conference, Sammarco said investigators built a genetic profile from the child’s remains and matched it to relatives, which allowed them to finally make the identification. An autopsy determined the child died from head trauma, and officials said her body had been badly burned and was not recognizable. DNA collected from the remains was sent to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation in 2008. The coroner also said the child’s biological parents were Sharon Jeter and Barry Lee Valentine of Columbus and that both have since died, and that the family can now give her a proper headstone, according to WLWT.
Cincinnati police specialist Jeff Smallwood said putting a name to a victim is often the key that can finally unlock a cold case. “Any homicide investigation is very difficult when you don’t even know who your victim is,” he told reporters. Police said the department will begin offering voluntary DNA test kits, and investigators asked anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers, WLWT reported.
Where She Was Found
The child’s remains were discovered on Feb. 4, 1979, in a field near Eiler Lane, north of Lincoln Avenue in Springfield Township, Hamilton County. The state’s unidentified-remains registry lists the case as Doe #195 and notes the media-era nickname “Baby Angel.” DNA and dental records are available for comparison, per the Ohio Attorney General.
What Comes Next
Officials said the identification does not close the investigation but instead refocuses detectives on potential leads and evidence that could support criminal charges. Detectives hope the new name and the genetic matches will help generate tips and fresh investigative avenues, and they repeated their call for anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers or the Cincinnati Police.
