Loyola forensic science students helped solved 1971 Howard County cold case
Forensic science students at Loyola University Maryland helped solve a nearly 55-year-old cold case homicide in Howard County, which led to two adult children being reunited.
In September, police identified Sarah Sharkey as the "Jane Doe" who was killed in 1971.
Over the past couple of years, some Loyola students sent fingerprints to police departments across the country, created renderings of the victim, and tested old histology slides for DNA.
Then, using modern technology and collaboration, Sharkey was identified.
Sharkey's homicide
According to police, Sadie Belle Murray, who was known as Sarah Belle Sharkey at the time of her death, was found unconscious in a field off Route 99 in Woodstock, Maryland, in July 1971. She was treated at the hospital for injuries caused by an assault.
She never regained consciousness and died two months later, police said.
ID leads to reuniting siblings
Sharkey was identified as a Pennsylvania mother who was born on September 7, 1924.
Her identification led to her two living adult children being reunited.
"I looked for years, and then I gave up because nobody wants to tell me anything," her son Charles Sharkey said.
According to Howard County Police Chief Gregory Der, due to advancements in DNA profiling technology.
Der said in October 2024, cold case investigators found biological slides refrigerated for more than 50 years. Those slides were used to create a DNA profile of Murray. Investigators then used genealogy technology to identify her two surviving children.
"The work done by our cold case unit to solve a mystery of more than 50 years, and then bring siblings back together after 70 years apart, is nothing short of extraordinary," Der said.
Police said they are now working to determine why Sharkey was in Howard County and gather more information about her murder.
Siblings connect after the mother was identified
Sharkey's children were placed in orphanages at a young age after their mother's death, according to Der.
Two of her adult children, who police identified as 79-year-old Charles Leroy Sharkey and 81-year-old Mildred Marie Cantwell, were reunited in July, Der said.
"I thought I'd never connect again with my family," Charles Sharkey told police. "I tried there for a while, even traveling to Pennsylvania, where we were born, and Cleveland, where we were adopted. I got nowhere. There was nothing."
"Learning about my mother was closure for me," Mildred Cantwell said. "I always wondered…and I am glad to have that closure. Being reunited with my brother is awesome. He's the only thing in that family that I remember. The closure is worth everything because I always wondered what happened to her."
