Las Vegas police identify remains of slain woman found in 2001
After more than two decades, a slain woman whose skeletal remains were found in 2001 has been identified by Las Vegas police.
Virgia Mae Jackson was named in a Metropolitan Police Department news release on Wednesday.
The skeletal remains were discovered after Henderson police and Metro homicide detectices responded on Jan. 11, 2001, to a report of a human skull found near Pabco and Sunset roads, which was determined to have been in Metro’s jurisdiction, according to police.
“Detectives and crime scene analysts processed the scene and located multiple other human bones from a shallow grave,” the Metro news release stated. “The remains were unable to be identified, and the victim was given the name of Jane ‘Pabco’ Doe. The investigation soon went cold.”
Twenty years later, in 2021, the skeletal remains were sent to Othram Inc., a lab in Texas that uses whole genome sequencing and genealogy to identify people, police said.
In November, Othram notified cold case detectives they had identified the victim through DNA as Jackson.
Honored that Othram could assist the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in identifying a 2001 homicide as Virgia Mae Jackson. Grateful for the support of RTI, NamUs, and the NIJ. #dnasolveshttps://t.co/Oy7lSfEFwQ
— Othram Inc. (@OthramTech) January 22, 2025
According to Metro, family members had said Jackson left the San Antonio, Texas, area with four small children sometime in the mid-1990s. Records checks showed that Jackson was living in the Las Vegas area in 1995, police said.
Jackson moved to the Las Vegas area to “start a new life” and to be close to a friend she had met in Texas, Jackson’s family members said, according to police. The woman’s name was possibly Ava or Eva, and she had relatives in the Las Vegas area, police said, citing Jackson’s family.
“Virgia fell on hard times and was unable to care for her four children. The oldest went back to Texas to live with family members and the other three were placed into temporary care here in Las Vegas,” the release said. “Virgia would regularly visit her children until one week she did not show up.”
Jackson was not reported as missing to police because the family thought she had disappeared. She was last reported living near Harmon Avenue and Mountain Vista Street.
“It is believed Virgia went missing sometime in 1999 or 2000,” the release said.
Anyone with information about what may have happened to Virgia Mae Jackson or anyone who may know the identity of Ava or Eva, Jackson’s friend, is urged to contact Metro’s Homicide Section at 702-828-3521. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555, or at crimestoppersofnv.com.
Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com.
