More than three decades after the discovery of a woman’s body in a wooded area of Daytona Beach, her identity has been established through the assistance of forensic genetic genealogy.
According to deputies, on April 23, 1990, a passerby utilizing a trail in the woods found the woman’s remains to the east of Clyde Morris Boulevard, approximately a mile and a half north of Strickland Range Road.
The woman’s remains were initially unrecognizable, and no clothing or personal belongings were located.
Investigators suspect her body may have been there for up to half a year, as there was a rope around her neck. Although her DNA was gathered and entered into a national database, there were no matches, until this year.
Volusia County deputies reported that they managed to reconstruct the victim’s family tree using information from publicly available genealogical websites. By using DNA, they successfully identified the woman as Roberta “Bobbie” Lynn Weber.
Deputies disclosed that Weber would have turned 32 at the time of her death.
Upon contacting Weber’s sister in Missouri, she revealed that she hadn’t seen Roberta since 1989. She explained that Roberta, formerly known as Headley, divorced her husband in 1989 and subsequently vanished.
The sister informed deputies that she suspected Roberta was either deceased or residing in California.
Detectives also established contact with three of Roberta Weber’s children, who likewise confirmed they hadn’t seen their mother since 1989.
Deputies stated that the homicide of Roberta Weber remains unsolved. However, now that the victim has been identified, detectives are urging anyone with information to come forward. They have reopened the murder investigation and are employing advanced technology to scrutinize all evidence for potential leads.
