169:. Consequently, the sisters were "highly isolated." Michelle ran away from home when she was 17 due to severe family conflict and abuse from her mother and stepfather. She then ended up in the state of Colorado in July 1979, surrounded by individuals who took advantage of her naivety (drugged and sexually assaulted). Upon finding out her location, Michelle's father Don Busha, Sr. promptly flew to Colorado to bring her back to be with him and family in
246:, area. He admitted to handcuffing her to prevent her escape. Police found his confession credible, as he stated he had removed her fingernails, a fact that had not been released publicly at the time. He pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, while he was already serving two life sentences. He was sentenced to an additional 86 months on August 25, 1989. Nelson had left Minnesota after becoming involved with a religious cult.
173:.; Michelle spent the next several months in Bay City with her father, stepmother, three of her brothers, and her youngest sister. Her life was turning around for the better, as she enjoyed time with family, made friends, and even gained employment at a local nursing home. She remained in Bay City until shortly after her 18th birthday.
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exhumed for DNA information, which was successfully obtained. The entire process would have cost approximately $ 10,000, but the exhumation was performed without cost by a local funeral home and construction companies, leaving only the $ 1,000 cost for the actual DNA testing. In 2004, hairs from the body were examined and a
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After
Michelle's 18th birthday, on November 2, 1979 she and a group of friends from Bay City decided to travel across the country. She was last seen in December 1979 while she was travelling with friends to Louisiana. She made calls to her family from Mississippi and Indiana between January and May
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resident
Deborah Anderson became intrigued by the case in 2002 and made efforts to bring the murder into the public eye. Anderson met with officials and presented a plan to raise funds for the victim's exhumation, which was eventually scheduled for late July 2014. On August 12, 2014, the body was
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After Busha was reported missing on May 9, 1980, various efforts were made to locate her. In
February 1984, a potential match was noticed with a set of remains discovered in New York. In May 1984, her dental records were compared to that of an unidentified woman, known as the Cheerleader in the
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via an MRI scan. Isotope testing was also performed on a tooth by the
Smithsonian Institution to identify regions where the victim may have lived prior to her death. Results from the examination indicated the victim was 17 to 23 years old and was likely white with a possible African admixture.
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In June 1988, while in police custody in Smith County, Texas, former
Minnesota State Trooper Robert Leroy Nelson confessed to murdering the victim while on duty. He claimed he did not know her name, but she apparently was travelling to Idaho or Oregon and she had spent time in the
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were removed while she was still alive and her head had been shaved, except for an area in the back of the head, which was left about an inch long. After her murder, the body was moved to a ditch along
Interstate 90 and her clothing and personal items were removed and disposed of.
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1980. Michelle would call home to her family in Bay City every one to two weeks and check in, let them know where she was, and to what was going on in her life. However after the calls stopped, her loved ones feared for her safety. On May 9, 1980, she was reported missing.
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contained in mitochondrial DNA) was developed. Authorities had previously taken her dental information and obtained a single fingerprint from the remains to compare against potential matches. Following the exhumation, a new facial reconstruction was created by the
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plants. The unidentified victim was estimated to be between the ages of 20 and 35. It appeared she was a transient, as her feet were "heavily calloused." She was 5'3" and weighed 128 pounds. Her left ear, at least, had been pierced and she had an overbite.
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On March 5, 2015, samples obtained from her family in 2007 were matched to her remains. Dental records were compared as well. The body was officially identified on March 13. The remains were then cremated and released to the Busha family on April 9, 2015.
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Near the scene, bloodied clothing and a Texas driver's license were found. The blood was later found to be that of an animal and the license was counterfeit. The body was later buried in the
Riverside Cemetery in Blue Earth in an unmarked grave.
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The unidentified victim's fingerprints and dental records were compared against missing persons from
Colorado and Minnesota but did not line up with any of the potential matches. Fliers describing the case were distributed nationally.
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The decomposed, nude body was discovered about three days to one week after her death. Heavy rains had washed her body into a visible area, where it was discovered by a farmer among broken
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confessed to killing a young woman along
Interstate 90 in the area, but when questioned in prison during 1983, he gave details inconsistent with the murder and was excluded as a suspect.
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Minnesota State
Trooper Robert Leroy Nelson, while on duty, offered Busha a ride on May 26, 1980, after witnessing her being dropped off by a vehicle near the
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649:"One final chapter in Jane Doe story - faribaultcountyregister.com | News, Sports, Information on the Blue Earth region - Faribault county Register"
149:, in 1980. Her murder was solved in 1989, but she remained unidentified for years following the confession of Robert Leroy Nelson, who was a former
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Michelle's family in Bay City kept the same phone number and address, hoping she would return home or at least contact them again.
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153:. Busha's remains were identified in 2015 after a DNA profile was obtained following the exhumation of her remains.
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Trunk, who was discovered in Maryland in 1982. She was excluded as a potential match to both decedents.
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456:"EXPLAINER: How Jane Doe was identified as Michelle Busha 35 years later"
535:"Father of missing teen, found dead in Minnesota, finally finds closure"
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503:"A Minnesota woman's tireless campaign to crack decades-old cold case"
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Riverside Cemetery, Blue Earth, Minnesota (prior to identification)
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People murdered by law enforcement officers in the United States
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Murders by law enforcement officers in the United States
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was a formerly unidentified murder victim discovered in
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National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
561:"Woman Slain By Trooper In 1980 Finally Identified"
355:"Minn. trooper's murder victim ID'd 35 years later"
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417:"Missing murder victim identified after 35 years"
623:"Thanks to a stranger, Jane Doe is identified"
454:Walsh, Paul and Jany, Libor (18 March 2015).
161:Busha and her younger sister were raised and
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689:Deaths by strangulation in the United States
479:: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
719:Violence against women in the United States
332:. Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
16:American ex-unidentified 1980 murder victim
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326:"Michelle Busha Investigative File I"
136:Formerly unidentified homicide victim
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501:Schultz, G.W. (22 September 2015).
285:List of solved missing person cases
93:Homicide by ligature strangulation
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699:Missing person cases in Minnesota
684:1980 murders in the United States
390:Erickson, David. “Runaway Jane.”
73:Remains identified March 13, 2015
324:Schultz, George (27 June 2014).
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415:Nienaber, Dan (17 March 2015).
621:Collins, Bob (17 March 2015).
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739:History of women in Minnesota
729:Blue Earth County, Minnesota
714:Torture in the United States
647:Hunt, Chuck (5 March 2017).
200:and strangled Busha with a
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709:Rapes in the United States
679:1970s missing person cases
653:Faribault County Register
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694:Formerly missing people
396:Investigation Discovery
394:, season 1, episode 6,
151:Minnesota State Trooper
734:Female murder victims
330:www.documentcloud.org
147:Blue Earth, Minnesota
143:Michelle Yvette Busha
42:Michelle Yvette Busha
392:Who Killed Jane Doe?
244:Milwaukee, Wisconsin
592:"Case File 183UFMN"
167:Jehovah's Witnesses
128:Blue Earth Jane Doe
90:Cause of death
596:www.doenetwork.org
421:Mankato Free Press
196:. He raped, beat,
255:mitochondrial DNA
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53:December 1979
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656:. Retrieved
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163:homeschooled
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83:(1980-05-26)
81:May 26, 1980
259:nuclear DNA
206:fingernails
50:Disappeared
673:Categories
658:9 December
632:9 December
606:9 December
571:9 December
545:9 December
512:9 December
465:9 December
426:9 December
365:9 December
336:9 December
291:References
250:Blue Earth
103:Blue Earth
539:USA TODAY
475:cite news
111:Minnesota
279:See also
202:ligature
198:tortured
190:Bricelyn
56:Bay City
627:NewsCut
507:Reveal
204:. Her
184:Murder
70:Status
263:genes
64:Texas
660:2018
634:2018
608:2018
573:2018
547:2018
514:2018
481:link
467:2018
460:KMSP
428:2018
367:2018
338:2018
214:corn
78:Died
38:Born
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
