The Story of Opelika Jane Doe: A Decade-Long Mystery Solved

Amore Joveah Wiggins was a young girl who was brutally murdered and left unidentified for nearly 11 years. Her skeletal remains were found in a trailer park in Opelika, Alabama, in 2012, but her name and story remained unknown until January 2023.

The Discovery of Opelika Jane Doe

On January 28, 2012, a resident of Brook Haven Trailer Park, Yvonne Johnson, discovered a human skull in her backyard. She alerted the police, who searched the surrounding area and found more bones, including a pink, long-sleeve shirt with heart buttons and ruffles, on a nearby creek bank.

The remains were sent to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, where forensic experts determined that they belonged to a young African American girl, aged between 4 and 7 years old. The bones showed evidence of 15 fractures caused by blunt force trauma, indicating that she was a victim of homicide. The girl was given the name Opelika Jane Doe, as her identity was unknown.

The Investigation of Opelika Jane Doe

The Opelika Police Department launched an extensive investigation to find out who Opelika Jane Doe was and what happened to her. They looked at school and birth records but found no matches. They contacted local churches, schools, daycares, and social services, but no one recognized her.

This is the reconstructed face of Amore Wiggins

They also reached out to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), which created a facial reconstruction image of what she might have looked like. The image was widely circulated in the media and online, but still no leads came forward.

In 2016, a breakthrough occurred when a former Vacation Bible School teacher at Greater Peace Church in Opelika provided photos of a child who resembled Opelika Jane Doe. The photos were taken in the summer of 2011 when the child attended the church program.

The teacher said that the child had a slightly unkempt appearance and was not very clean. She also had trouble communicating with other children and was quiet and stayed to herself. The teacher did not remember her name and the church did not formally register children, so there were no records.

This is the baby picture of Amore Wiggins

In 2017, another clue emerged when the University of South Florida Institute for Forensic Anthropology & Applied Science performed isotope testing on her bones. The results indicated that she lived in the Southeastern United States. However, these clues were not enough to identify her or find her killer.

In January 2022, the Opelika Police Department enlisted the help of Othram Laboratories and Astrea Forensics to build DNA profiles of Opelika Jane Doe. They also hired genealogist Dr. Barbara Rae-Venter, who had helped identify the Golden State Killer. Using advanced DNA technology and genealogy research, they were able to trace her biological relatives and narrow down her identity.

The Identification of Amore Wiggins

On January 19, 2023, the Opelika Police Department announced that they had finally identified Opelika Jane Doe as Amore Joveah Wiggins. She was born on January 1, 2006, to Sherry Wiggins and Lamar Vickerstaff Jr. in Norfolk, Virginia.

In 2009, Lamar and his wife Ruth Vickerstaff obtained legal and physical custody of Amore from Sherry. Sherry continued to pay child support and hoped to reunite with Amore when she turned 18.

Ruth Vickerstaff

Amore's father, Lamar Vickerstaff Jr., was an Opelika native and a long-term U.S. Navy officer. He had been stationed in various places around the world during his career. He had married Ruth Vickerstaff in 2004 and they had two children together. Lamar was questioned by the police in December 2022, but he did not provide any information about Amore. Ruth claimed that she did not know Lamar had another daughter.

The Arrest of Lamar Vickerstaff Jr.

On January 19, 2023, the same day that Amore's identity was revealed, Lamar Vickerstaff Jr. was arrested and charged with felony murder and failure to report a missing child. Ruth Vickerstaff was also arrested and charged with failure to report a missing child.

Lamar Vickerstaff arrested

Ruth Vickerstaff had admitted that she had been untruthful during her initial arrest since she "didn't know what was going on". She stated that while she and Lamar had custody of Amore Wiggins, she became overwhelmed with having to take care of Amore and requested that Lamar "take Amore to his family" and stated that was the final time she saw Amore.

During Lamar Vickerstaff's police interview, he had confessed to murdering Amore, but denied inflicting the injuries which had been observed on her remains.

He stated that he had attempted to "bring [Amore] back to life" after the murder.

After the hearing, Lamar Vickerstaff was denied bail, while Ruth was granted bail and returned to Jacksonville, where she must wear an ankle monitor while she awaits trial.