The county coroner, FBI task force and police came together to identify a child homicide victim whose body was found in a field in Springfield Township in 1979.
Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco, along with Springfield Township police, Cincinnati police and the FBI’s Southern Ohio Cold Case Task Force, announced the identification at a news conference.
The child, 18-month-old Velina Jeter, was discovered Feb. 4, 1979, on Eiler Lane.
The case quickly gained attention, with the child being dubbed “Baby Angel.”
Investigators said her body was found in a field on Eiler Lane near Clovernook Country Club and the former Providence Hospital site. She had been badly burned and was not recognizable. An autopsy later determined she died from head trauma and that her death was a homicide.
“Any homicide investigation is very difficult when you don’t even know who your victim is,” Cincinnati Police Specialist Jeff Smallwood, said.
Officials said the case remained unsolved for years until the child’s body was exhumed in 2008 so DNA could be collected and sent to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. That work helped investigators build a large genealogy tree profile and eventually identify her.
Springfield Township police called the killing a “heinous crime” and said the case remains a reminder for the community to come forward with information. Cincinnati police said they are continuing efforts to solve cold cases through DNA and genetic genealogy.
“We’re talking about an 18 month-old girl at the time that was heinously murdered and killed. We couldn’t even identify this person. We take these cases with great importance and great significance,” Chief Chris Niehaus with the Springfield Township Police Department said.
Smallwood says CPD will start offering DNA test kits that are entirely voluntary for those who choose to be genetic witnesses.
Officials said the child can now be given her name back and they are able to give her a proper headstone, saying that was important to them.
Officials shared the names of the child’s biological parents: Sharon Jeter and Barry Lee Valentine. Sharon died in 2013, Barry died in 2011. The parents were from Columbus, as was the child. It’s unclear who had custody of Velina at the time of her death.
The coroner shared both parents have since died.
Authorities hope now knowing the child’s name will help lead to information about her killer. The next stage now calls on community assistance, finding the child’s possible connection to being found in Cincinnati.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.
