Murder of Deanna Criswell

Discovery

Criswell's decomposing body was located on the side of Interstate 10 on November 25, 1987 in Marana, Pima County, Arizona by a homeless man. She was estimated to have been between seventeen and twenty-one, at a height of around five feet, three inches and a weight of 138 pounds. It was believed that the victim was white or possibly a Hispanic or Native American female with fair skin. The victim's brown hair was determined to be short and curly. Her eye color could not be determined, as she had begun to decompose after exposure to the hot environment for several days or weeks.

She was wearing several layers of clothing, including a denim jacket with its sleeves rolled, a white jacket, gray sweater, a multicolored flannel shirt, black jeans, white shoes and purple underwear, the large amount of clothing indicating she was a runaway. The victim also had unusual and large upper front teeth that had a gap in between. Her body was found underneath a bridge, on the side of a road, after she was shot five times with a .22 caliber firearm.

Investigation

The case was eventually reopened in 2009. At their location in Virginia, the FBI completed a forensic facial reconstruction of the victim in 2010, after her exhumation, in hopes that someone who knew the victim in life could possibly recognize her. Her DNA was also processed by the agency.

In 2011, a partial DNA profile was generated from evidence at the crime scene, which was not possible to perform in the past due to lack of knowledge. The profile matched a local criminal, William Ross Knight, who was notorious for his crime spree of robberies in the 1980s. Knight died in 2005 due to liver complications. Although a suspect was identified, the victim's DNA did not match with any individual in the CODIS database.

Identification

It was announced that Criswell's body was identified on February 11, 2015. Her estranged aunt and uncle, who at first were hoping she was still alive, eventually turned to online databases, to search through unidentified persons cases after their hope dwindled. Criswell was never reported missing by her family members, which is most likely a major reason why she remained unnamed for decades. Because of her history of running away from home, her family made the assumption that she would "contact them when she wanted to," as she had called her sister once after departing. The pair began to search through cases in Arizona, as they eventually learned that Criswell had been given a bus ticket by Knight to the area that she was later found dead. It is believed that the two were in a romantic relationship, although Knight was considerably older than Criswell. Knight is also believed to have purchased the bus ticket that transported the victim to Tucson, according to her family.

Approximately five to ten months before her identification, they had discovered the unidentified person case on The Doe Network and believed that the Jane Doe was their missing niece, as the reconstruction bore a strong resemblance to her. Other characteristics, such as the height and weight approximation, were also similar. After the pair contacted authorities, DNA samples were taken from Criswell's immediate family members to compare to the then-unidentified remains. It was decided that the gravestone that stands over her remains would be removed and updated to bear the victim's name.