Amore Wiggins ("Opelika Jane Doe")

Case background and investigation

On January 28, 2012, the skull and other skeletal remains of a child were found in a yard and nearby woods at the Brookhaven trailer park on Hurst Street in Opelika, Alabama, according to the City of Opelika. Investigators determined the remains belonged to a Black girl aged roughly four to seven, and for more than a decade she was known publicly as "Baby Jane Doe" or "Opelika Jane Doe."

According to the city and WSFA, skeletal analysis showed more than 15 fractures, many of which had begun to heal before her death, and the death was ruled a homicide caused by blunt force trauma. Police estimated that she died sometime between the summer of 2010 and 2011. Over the years the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released a facial reconstruction, and later isotope testing pointed to a childhood spent in the southeastern United States, according to Wikipedia's summary of the investigation.

In January 2022 the remains were sent to Othram for advanced DNA testing, and genealogist Barbara Rae-Venter helped trace relatives, according to the City of Opelika. Her father was identified in October 2022 and her mother, Sherry Wiggins, was confirmed in December 2022. The child was named as Amore Joveah Wiggins, born in January 2006. Court records cited by WSFA show that Lamar Vickerstaff Jr. and his wife, Ruth Vickerstaff, had obtained legal and physical custody of Amore in 2009.

Opelika police announced the identification on January 19, 2023. Lamar Vickerstaff Jr. and Ruth Vickerstaff were arrested in Jacksonville, Florida, and waived extradition to Alabama, WSFA reported. He was charged with felony murder and failure to report a missing child; she was charged with failure to report a missing child. At a March 2023 preliminary hearing, according to Wikipedia and the Opelika-Auburn News, a detective testified that Vickerstaff had admitted killing his daughter; he was denied bond, while Ruth Vickerstaff was released on bond with an ankle monitor.

Both defendants are presumed innocent. A trial for Lamar Vickerstaff Jr. that had been scheduled for August 17, 2026, according to a March 2026 report carried by Yahoo News, was reset; in July 2026 WTVM reported that his trial is now set for February 1, 2027. Sources consulted did not report a trial date or outcome for Ruth Vickerstaff's charge. Amore was buried in Norfolk, Virginia, in February 2023.