The Buckskin Girl

The Buckskin Girl is the nickname given to an unknown female murder victim found in 1981 in Troy, Miami County, Ohio. She is known for her unusual hairstyle along with the tasselled suede jacket she wore. The victim may have been killed by a serial killer that had murdered many prostitutes or dancers in the region, although this particular case did not indicate sexual activity. 

The body was autopsied on the afternoon that it was found. The coroner officially ruled she had perished from strangulation. Early actions to recognize Buckskin Girl involved the creation of a sketch of the face that would be published in regional newspapers and television networks on April 28, 1981, in wishes to learn her identity. 

About two-hundred leads were followed after the media scrutiny, yet none amounted to unravelling the case. Because of the brief time the victim had been deceased, it was apparent to attain her fingerprints. Her dental information and DNA were also taken. 

Nearly 37 years after her corpse was discovered, the Miami County Sheriff Department formally recognized "Buckskin Girl" as Marcia King of Arkansas. She was 21 at the time of her demise.

Some investigators believe that King was the first of several casualties murdered by an anonymous serial killer who committed his murders in the 1980s and 1990s, continuing until 2004, in Ohio. Such a serial killer was believed to have murdered nearly seven to ten other women, supposed prostitutes and exotic dancers, in Ohio.

In 1991, a press conference came before the creation of a task force which strived to connect several murders in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois. These cases were originally connected by a reporter who found resemblances between unsolved killings in the area.

The case was briefly detailed on Unsolved Mysteries along with many other cases connected to the anonymous serial killer. The program connected this case with the killings of Shirley Dee Taylor, Anna Marie Patterson, Hebron Jane Doe (identified in 2017 as Patrice Corley) and other murder cases. All of the casualties had been beaten or strangled and had some clothing or jewellery missing. She wore no jewellery, had her footwear removed, and perished likewise to that of the other victims.

There are, however, various clues doubting this theory. The victim was missing shoes when she was discovered, but there was no proof that she had participated in any sexual activity before her demise. Furthermore, she was relatively well-groomed, unlike many of the other victims. 

Some, like Corley, had participated in sexual activity before their demises, a characteristic which implied that they were sex workers. Also diverging from the theory, Patterson's body had been bandaged in a sleeping bag and was likely stored in a refrigerated area for "nearly a month" before it was found on the side of a highway. It is believed that the women who may have been victims of the serial killer could have met with a man at a truck stop while working as prostitutes. 

In the case of Anna Marie Patterson, there was a suspect, identified over a CB radio as "Dr No", thought to be between the ages of 25 and 40. Patterson's husband, who was involved with her work as a sex worker, asserted that she was uneasy accepting the man's requests, as other regional prostitutes, some speaking over the radio, had expressed that they were sceptical of the man and did not wish to meet with him. Police have believed that this person may have been her murderer and that he may also have been involved in the demise of King. Earlier, it was supposed that she had been a victim of a different span of killings, known as the Redhead murders, but this theory has been ruled out. Early assumption also made a connection to the killing of a 27-year-old woman in February 1981, yet police never made an authorized link between these two killings.