Woman police suspect was murdered by serial killer in Detroit still unidentified 16 years later

Killer convicted of 2 first-degree murder charges

Detroit Jane Doe 2006. (NamUs)

DETROIT – A woman police suspect was murdered by a serial killer in Detroit 16 years ago has never been identified.

The woman’s body was discovered on June 5, 2006, in a vacant building on Harding Street in Detroit. Police believe she had been dead for seven days.

She was estimated to be between 20 and 30 years old. The Doe Network said she was missing her right front tooth, had poor oral hygiene, and was missing her right maxillary central incisor. Detroit police were able to lift some fingerprints.

She was wearing a red shirt, “No Excuses” blue jeans (size 9-10), a white bra, a winter weight short jacket with navy/white trim with nautical flags on it, and Nike sneakers.

Shelly Andre Brooks was initially charged with seven counts of premeditated murder and seven counts of felony murder, according to NBC News. Brooks was taken into custody on July 30, 2006, after being accused of sexually assaulting a sex worker.


'We really do not believe that he would have stopped until he was caught'


Then-Detroit police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings told NBC News in 2006 that Brooks was a suspect in “very similar” deaths of seven women.

“Bully-Cummings said the string of slayings began in 1999. She said DNA evidence connects Brooks to many of the cases. The victim of the June rape and beating also provided police with a description. ‘We really do not believe that he would have stopped until he was caught,’ Bully-Cummings said,” NBC News reported.

NBC News listed the known victims as Sandra Davis, 53; Pamela Greer, 33; Marion Woods-Daniels, 36; Rhonda Myles, 45; Thelma Johnson, 30; Melissa Toston, 38; and Jane Doe.

Brooks was convicted of two counts of first-degree premeditated murder. He was sentenced on March 29, 2007, and is serving two life sentences. The Doe Network said Brooks confessed to murdering the unidentified woman.


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Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.