DeKalb County Sheriff’s Police finally have identified the mysterious Jane Doe, a homicide victim found 13 years ago in a Sycamore cornfield, and the primary suspect in her death.

Jane Doe was discovered under a collapsed garage by two boys playing. She had been shot three times.

Sheriff Roger Scott said June 21 that the body has been identified as Elizabeth Sue Grabow Angotti, 17, of Aurora, Illinois. Grabow had been missing since July 24, 1976.

Scott also reported Grabow last was seen by her brother, Gary Grabow of Aurora, with a young man she had been friendly with for some time. Coincidentally, this man was the primary suspect in the early years of the investigation when Jane Doe’s identity still was unknown. Scott declined to say how or why this man was linked to the case, except, “through a series of investigations … information came up that pointed to him.”

Scott did not name the 18-year-old man, but said he died of unnatural causes in DeKalb County in June, 1988. Although the suspect has not been physically linked to the crime, Scott said it was “the considered opinion of myself and my investigative staff that the deceased suspect was responsible for the death of Elizabeth Sue Grabow.”

However, Aurora Police Department Captain Lou Beatus said when Gary Grabow reported his sister missing in 1976, he told the police she possibly could have left with Ralph Dyson Jr., a Kane County resident, for Tennessee. Dyson later returned to the Grabow home and told the family he had had a fight with Elizabeth Sue in Tennessee and she had run away from him, Scott said. Dyson refused to discuss Elizabeth Sue with her family ever again.

Even though Jane Doe has been identified, little is known about her. She had been married and divorced before her death. The Aurora Beacon-News said Grabow had a one-year-old son at the time of her death who now is living with his paternal grandmother. Most importantly, no one seems to know why Grabow was killed.

And the reason may never be known. The DeKalb County Coronor’s office said Ralph Dyson Jr. died in Hinckley on June 27, 1988 as the result of a cocaine overdose.

The disappearance of Grabow and the body of Jane Doe were not connected until this spring when Gary Grabow’s wife, Linda, saw a picture of the 1977 facial reconstruction of Jane Doe in an article recapping the case printed in the Aurora Beacon-News. Linda Grabow noticed similarities between the facial reconstruction and pictures she had seen of her missing sister-in-law. The Grabows immediately contacted the Sycamore Sheriff’s office.

Strangely, the Grabows had not seen the widely circulated picture in 1977. Scott explained that the Grabows did not read newspapers or watch television at the time and did not see the photograph.

Scott said Jane Doe tentatively was identified as Grabow by matching the physical descriptions from the July 1976 disappearance of Grabow to those of the July appearance of Doe and the clothing found on the victim’s body.

Grabow was further identified by an unusual western belt buckle found on Doe’s body. Scott said this significant piece of evidence belonged to Grabow’s stepgrandfather, Walter Leathers, formally of Kings, Illinois.

Despite the evidence, Scott felt he needed solid proof that Jane Doe was Elizabeth Sue Grabow. After conferring with the Grabow family, DeKalb County and Coroner Dennis Miller, Scott had Doe’s remains removed from Fairview Cemetary, DeKalb, on June 16.

According to Scott, conventional methods of identification such as Grabow’s dental records or fingerprints were not available to compare with Jane Doe’s. Captain Beatus said Gary Grabow had mentioned the name of a retired Aurora dentist to the police, but no record of Grabow’s being there ever was found.

Scott turned to forensic anthropologist Dr. Clyde Snow, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for consultation. Snow had been involved in the 1977 clay-and-wire facial reconstruction of Jane Doe.

Snow recommended Dr. Richard Glass, a forensic orthodontist, to Scott. Glass was able to compare Doe’s teeth with a photograph of the 14-year-old Grabow which clearly showed her teeth. Scott said Glass thought “there were significant points of comparison” and determined Doe was Grabow.

Snow also concluded Doe was indeed Grabow through a process called photo transposition. During this procedure, Snow projected a photograph of Grabow onto the skull of Doe and matched Grabow’s bone structure with Doe’s.

Although Jane Doe has been identified as Elizabeth Sue Grabow to the satisfaction of Scott, Miller and the Grabow family, the case remains open. Scott said, “It is department policy not to close a criminal investigation unless there is an arrest or sufficient direct evidence to close. In this case we do not have that.”

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Homicide

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