Woodlands lab helps crack a 1988 cold case
A Woodlands forensics lab has identified a woman found wrapped in plastic inside a trash bin in a Georgia cold case 35 years ago.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation hired The Woodlands-based Othram to identify Chong Un Kim, a South Korean woman who was 26 when she was found. As the first forensics lab of its kind, Othram uses forensic-grade genome sequencing and geneological data to help law enforcement agencies identify people involved in unsolved cases, according to spokesperson Kristen Mittelman.
On Valentine’s Day in 1988, a man collecting aluminum cans from the trash bin found Kim wrapped in plastic and duct tape inside a suitcase in a rural Millen, Georgia trash can. Kim moved from South Korea to Hinesville, Georgia in 1981 before her 1988 death. She died from asphyxiation and had been dead for four to seven days before she was found, according to the bureau.
Known for decades as “Jane Millen Doe” or “Jenkins County Jane Doe,” Kim’s identity duped investigators even after utilizing fingerprint tests, dental records and a computer-generated forensic sketch as they searched for a match.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children joined the search. Years later, police resubmitted DNA evidence to the GBI Crime Lab, but it was ineligible for the CODIS DNA Database.
“There were several people that were talked to and thought they might’ve seen something but nothing really panned out,” Jenkins County Sheriff Robert Oglesby told WJBT-TV. “I inherited this one, but it is still a good feeling to take one off the cold case list.”
In 2023, cold case group Project Justice helped fund DNA testing for the bureau. Kim’s body was cremated, so Othram used DNA sampled from the blanket she was wrapped in to create a geneological profile, which created leads that identified Kim.
“The DNA was actually in very small amounts, but we were able to extract DNA and build a profile through forensic-grade genome sequencing that led to her identity,” Mittelman said. “It was geneology in this case, so she did have relatives in the database.”
Identifying Kim has also led to investigative leads on the suspect, Mittelman said. Kim’s family has been notified about the discovery.
“That’s why it’s so important to identify these victims, we want to give them their name back and give their family the peace of mind of where their loved one is,” Mittelman said. “and when we’re able to identify them, (law enforcement can) give context and help identify a perpetrator that is living in plain sight and thinks they got away with it.”
Opened in The Woodlands in 2019, Othram has solved 112 cases in the last 10 months, Mittelman said, including another Georgia cold case Oct. 25.
Mittleman said Othram hopes to help spread its technology to more labs and promote federal funding so that more cold cases can be solved in the future.
“I really think this technology will end up making the world a safer and better place for all of us,” Mittelman said. “I think it’s going to allow for perpetrators to get caught the first time they commit a crime rather than the second, third, fourth or tenth. And I think it’s going to allow cold cases to go extinct one day.”
The Georgia bureau is requesting more information from anyone who may know more about Kim or the case. The agency’s phone number is 912-871-1121, and anonymous tips can be submitted through 800-597-TIPS, gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online or the See Something, Send Something mobile app.