Chelsea Jane Doe identified as Tiffany Bradley, 26 years after Massachusetts murder

DNA and genealogy testing have identified a teenager found murdered in Chelsea, MA in 2000 as 16-year-old Tiffany Bradley of Pennsylvania.

Chelsea Jane Doe named as Tiffany Bradley after 26-year cold case breakthrough

Investigators have identified "Chelsea Jane Doe" as 16-year-old Tiffany Bradley of Pennsylvania, 26 years after her body was found brutally murdered in Chelsea, Massachusetts, cbsnews.com reports.

Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced Wednesday that DNA testing confirmed Bradley's identity. On 13 November 2000, police discovered a body in the parking lot of the Chelsea Soldiers' Home. "They found the body of an unknown female," Hayden said. "Tragically she had been cut in half, she was without her head and without any hands."

Eugene McCollom is currently serving a life sentence for her murder. He told police he had buried her head and other body parts in the sand at Nahant Beach.

Despite knowing the suspect's name early in the investigation, detectives were unable to establish the victim's identity for more than two decades. The breakthrough came when the FBI used investigative genetic genealogy to locate Bradley's brother. "It is rare to have a case like this one, where we knew the suspect's name before the victim's," Massachusetts State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble said.

Bradley's family had reported her missing at the time to police in Pennsylvania. Investigators believe she was a victim of human trafficking and that she met McCollom shortly after arriving in the Boston area. Authorities say he killed her in his room at the Lynn YMCA.

Family member Shakirah Wiggins recalled Bradley's last known words to a cousin: "I'll call you later. I have to go." Wiggins said that call never came, "and was replaced with 26 years of waiting, wondering why."

Bradley was an athlete who played on her school's basketball team and participated in the ROTC. Her aunt, Janet Bradley-Knight, described her as "a loving girl" and addressed investigators directly: "Thank you so much for letting us take her safely home. For not letting my baby be a box on the shelf. I thank you all for your tireless effort."

Wiggins added: "It is totally amazing that after 26 years people care enough to give her a name and return her to her family."

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)