Ohio murder victim identified as Louisville woman 27 years after death

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Known for decades only as "Jane Doe," a woman murdered and seemingly forgotten in Ohio was recently identified as a former Louisville resident.

Patrice Corley was beaten to death in April of 1990. Her body was discovered in Licking County, Ohio behind a truck stop.

Investigators at the time were unable to identify Corley, and no one from her Louisville family filed a missing person report.

Very little is publicly known about Corley. A single available photograph shows a smiling, dark-haired woman in her 20s, who seemed to vanish 27 years ago.

Her whereabouts might still be a mystery if not for a surprise phone call to LMPD last October.

Corley's sister-in-law had sought help from the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS) and called LMPD.

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"This has been one of the most fulfilling cases that I've ever had," LMPD Detective Anne Hogan said.

Hogan is credited with re-opening the cold case, locating Corley's estranged Louisville family and collecting samples for DNA testing. She also turned to NAMUS for help.

"NAMUS makes it so easy to, in a spare moment, start looking for cases," Hogan told WAVE 3 News.

NAMUS is a database with thousands of names, details and descriptions of loved ones that vanished.

"Such a relief to be able to give someone an answer," Hogan said.

Corley was one of at least six missing cold cases in Jefferson County, and one of 40,000 nationwide.

"We want more law enforcement to begin using the database," Amy Dobbs, the Regional NAMUS Administrator said.

NAMUS is run by the Department of Justice. It launched for use in 2009.

"We're obviously growing by leaps and bounds every year," Dobbs said.

The testing is done at the University of North Texas. Grants help fund labs that smaller departments sometimes cannot afford.

"It's a good feeling on our part...to know that we played a part," Dobbs told us.

Meanwhile, Detective Hogan continues to search for her other nameless victims - one click at a time.

"It's just one of those things where you take the next step and the next step," Hogan said. "This case has given me so much encouragement."

LMPD will assist the Licking County Sheriff in the now on-going murder investigation.

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