Murder victim identified nearly 39 years after body found in Washtenaw County
Cheryl Coates (Washtenaw County Sheriff)
WASHTENAW COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Investigators finally know the identity of a body found in Washtenaw County nearly 39 years ago.
The body of Cheryl Coates was found in a shallow grave in the area of MacArthur Blvd. and Stamford Road in Superior Township in January 1985. She had been shot to death.
On Friday, the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office said the body had been identified as Coates.
The victim had been buried in a shallow grave near the Woolman Oval Apartments which were abandoned in the 1970s. The apartments have since been razed.
In 2014 there was a renewed effort to find what happened to Coates with age-progressed photos. In May 2021, Othram Labs began working with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office, in identification of human remains through forensic DNA.
"Othram Labs was able to identify a DNA profile," said a release. "This profile allowed additional investigations to happen through genealogical research. In 2023 we were able to locate a cousin of our Jane Doe. It was confirmed through DNA that our Jane Doe is in fact, Cheryl Lynne Coates."
Coates would have been 25 at the time she was found in January of 1985.
Her biological mother, Meta Waller, died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The sheriff's office said she was at her desk in the Pentagon when the hi-jacked passenger jet struck the building. Her surviving cousin currently lives in the Washtenaw County area.
Now, investigators are working to learn more about her murder. Detectives say Coates used to frequent Southfield and Detroit, and it is believed that she was killed sometime between January 1984 and January 1985.
Anyone with information about the murder is asked to contact robertsb@washtenaw.org or the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office Tip Line at 734-973-7711.