Alabama police ID āBaby Jane Doeā found slain in 2012, arrest father, stepmom
OPELIKA, Ala. – For more than 13 years, Sherry Wiggins faithfully paid child support to the father of her daughter, Amore Joveah Wiggins, whom she lost custody of in 2009 when Amore was 3.
In December, the Maryland woman faced every motherās worst nightmare: She learned her daughter was dead ā and had been for more than a decade.
Amoreās skeletal remains were found Jan. 28, 2012, in some woods behind a trailer park in Opelika, Alabama. She would have turned 6 that New Yearās Day.
The girl, who had become known as āBaby Jane Doeā among law enforcement, was never reported missing by her father or stepmother, according to Alabama authorities. Investigators last year turned to genetic genealogy to determine who the Baby Jane Doe was.
Last week, Opelika authorities announced that they had solved the mystery.
They also announced the arrest of the girlās father, Lamar Vickerstaff Jr., 50, and his wife, Ruth Cenyatta Vickerstaff, 53, in connection with Amoreās slaying. The couple was arrested in Jacksonville, Florida.
Lamar Vickerstaff is charged with felony murder, and Ruth Vickerstaff is charged with failure to report a missing child. Both are being extradited to Alabama to face the charges.
At an emotional news conference last week, Opelika Police Chief Shane Healey spoke of the arrests and the long-sought identification of the girl.
The remains of Amore Joveah Wiggins, pictured as a baby, were discovered Jan. 28, 2012, in some woods behind a mobile home in Opelika, Ala. Eleven years later, authorities have identified Amore and charged her father, Lamar Vickerstaff Jr., 50, and stepmother, Ruth Cenyatta Vickerstaff, 53, in connection with her death.
āThe level of dedication to this case, I have never seen in my entire career ā to see a group of men and women coming together searching for a name,ā Healey said.
The chief, whose voice faltered as he fought back tears, said from the day she was found, āBaby Jane has been a part of our OPD family.ā
Sgt. Alfred White, who has worked on the case since 2015, said he never doubted the hard work would pay off.
āI knew weād get here I just didnāt know how,ā White said. āWeāre never done with a murder, especially with a childās murder, because it affects all of us. A lot these detectives have children.ā
Watch the departmentās news conference on Baby Jane Doe below.
A heartbreaking discovery
Authorities believe that Amore had been dead for a year or more on Jan. 28, 2012, when a small human skull was found in the yard of a mobile home in the Brookhaven Trailer Park, located off Hurst Street in Opelika.
After the skull was found, responding officers discovered more skeletal remains just a few feet into the tree line behind the trailer and an adjacent lot, police officials said.
āDuring the search of the area, a pink childās shirt and a small bundle of curly hair were also recovered,ā authorities said in a news release.
The hair was still styled in the cornrows the unidentified girl wore when she died.
The childās autopsy, performed at the FBIās lab in Quantico, Virginia, uncovered evidence of long-term abuse.
The remains of Amore Joveah Wiggins were discovered Jan. 28, 2012, in this wooded spot behind a mobile home in Opelika, Ala. Eleven years later, authorities have identified Amore and charged her father, Lamar Vickerstaff Jr., 50, and stepmother, Ruth Cenyatta Vickerstaff, 53, in connection with her death.
āHer autopsy notated fractures to her skull, arms, legs, shoulders and ribs, totaling more than 15 individual fractures that were attributed to blunt force trauma,ā Healey said. āThese injuries all had evidence of healing and had occurred sometime prior to her death.ā
Authorities believe Amore was blind in her left eye because of an eye socket that had been fractured at some point in her short life. Her remains showed signs of scarring on her eye.
The medical examiner also found she had been malnourished.
āAmore suffered a tremendous, horrible death,ā Opelika police Capt. Johnathan Clifton said.
A pink shirt, pictured, was discovered Jan. 28, 2012, along with the remains of Amore Joveah Wiggins, in some woods behind a mobile home in Opelika, Ala. Eleven years later, authorities have identified Amore and charged her father, Lamar Vickerstaff Jr., 50, and stepmother, Ruth Cenyatta Vickerstaff, 53, in connection with her death.
Amore was estimated to have died sometime between the summer of 2010 and 2011, when she would have been either 4 or 5 years old. CBS News previously reported that residents of the trailer park told police that in the fall of 2011, they detected the smell of decay coming from the area where the girlās remains were later found.
Opelika detectives have spent āan unmeasurable number of hoursā on the case over the past 11 years, Healey said. They pored over more than 15,000 case files from the Alabama Department of Health and investigated thousands of tips, following leads across the U.S.
They also received photos early in the investigation that may have shown Baby Jane Doe attending vacation Bible school at Opelikaās Greater Peace Community Church in 2011. The photos appeared to show a young girl matching the description of the slain child, including a damaged eye.
Healey said last week that detectives have never been able to confirm the identity of the girl in the images.
Authorities believe Amore Joveah Wiggins, pictured at left in an artist’s sketch, may have attended vacation Bible school, right, at a church in Opelika, Ala., in 2011, around the time they believe she was slain. Eleven years after her remains were found, police have identified Amore and charged her father, Lamar Vickerstaff Jr., 50, and stepmother, Ruth Cenyatta Vickerstaff, 53, in connection with her death.
Neither the photos nor any of the other tips in the case led to Baby Jane Doeās identity. An initial attempt to obtain a DNA profile for the girl was also fruitless due to the condition of her remains.
In January 2022, however, advancements in DNA technology and the advent of genetic genealogy led to a breakthrough in the case. The breakthrough came with help from two companies that specialize in genetics, the Texas-based Othram Inc. and the California-based Astrea Forensics.
āOtham labs successfully extracted DNA from the scalp and Astrea labs, from the hair,ā the chief said.
Othram then used genetic sequencing to build a genetic profile for the child. The comprehensive profile created by the scientists was handed over to renowned genealogist Dr. Barbara Rae-Venter.
Rae-Venter, who helped identify Californiaās infamous Golden State Killer in 2018, used public DNA databases to identify relatives of the slain girl.
In October, the investigative leads from the genealogist led to Lamar Vickerstaff.
āVickerstaff was born and raised in Opelika before enlisting in the U.S. Navy,ā Healey said. āDuring his lengthy Navy career, he resided in Norfolk, Virginia; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Jacksonville, Florida.ā
Vickerstaff was preparing to retire from the Navy but was still active duty at the time of his arrest, the chief said.
In December, detectives traveled to the Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, where Vickerstaff was stationed, to notify him of Amoreās death. At that meeting, Vickerstaff provided no information about the identity of the girl.
Investigators turned to Ruth Vickerstaff, who has been married to Lamar Vickerstaff since May 2006, when Amore was 4 months old. Ruth Vickerstaff told police she did not know his daughter or who the daughterās mother might be.
The remains of Amore Joveah Wiggins, pictured in an artist’s rendering, were discovered Jan. 28, 2012, in some woods behind a mobile home in Opelika, Ala. Eleven years later, authorities have identified Amore and charged her father, Lamar Vickerstaff Jr., 50, and stepmother, Ruth Cenyatta Vickerstaff, 53, in connection with her death.
Rae-Venter went back to the family tree and was able to determine several possible matches for the girlās mother. One of them was Sherry Wiggins.
Investigators met with Wiggins, who confirmed that she was the unidentified girlās biological mother. Wiggins, 37, offered more than proof of Baby Jane Doeās identity, however.
Wiggins was able to provide investigators with documentation showing that Lamar and Ruth Vickerstaff obtained custody of Amore in 2009, at which time Wigginsā visitation was suspended.
āSherry also provided documents indicating that she has continuously paid child support to Lamar Vickerstaff since 2009,ā Healey said.
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Detectives reached out to the various school boards and pediatric offices in the states in which the Vickerstaffs have lived since 2009. None had a record of the girl being enrolled as a student or receiving any sort of medical care typical for a child her age.
After discussion with Lee County prosecutors, detectives obtained arrest warrants for both Lamar and Ruth Vickerstaff.
āOur hearts go out to Sherry Wiggins, who was a tremendous help in solving the case and helping bring justice to her baby girl,ā Healey said.
The case remains under investigation, and Healey said investigators need the publicās help in gathering additional details regarding Lamar and Ruth Vickerstaffās relationship with Amore, as well as the time the girl spent in Opelika.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Opelika Police Departmentās detectives at 334-705-5220 or the Secret Witness Hotline at 334-745-8665. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through the Opelika Police Departmentās mobile app.
