A murder victim whose body was found face down in a Florida canal in 1984 has finally been identified, 40 years later.
Lori Jane Kearsey was just 23 when she went missing after marrying into an infamous Boston crime family.
She was found dead in a canal on the 2600 block of Southwest 130th Avenue in Davie, South Florida on February 18, 1984, having been strangled.
Despite releasing her description, blonde, hazel eyes, 5’4 and 120 pounds, police were not able to identify the victim.
However, a breakthrough came when the use of DNA from Kearsey’s bone fragments led investigators to find a match with her daughter Maehgan Smith, who lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Lori Jane Kearsey was just 23 when she went missing after marrying into an infamous Boston crime family
She was found dead in a canal on the 2600 block of Southwest 130th Avenue in Davie, South Florida
Despite releasing her description, blonde, hazel eyes, 5’4 and 120 pounds, police were not able to identify the victim
‘I was so overwhelmed because I resigned myself to the fact that I thought I’d probably never know what happened to her,’ Smith told WSVN.
Kearsey had had Smith at just 17 and she was still a small child when she went missing. At the time, her parents were divorced.
‘She had dropped me off on the weekend and just didn’t go back,’ Smith said. ‘I think, ‘What was she doing down here,’ like she didn’t feel like, call anybody, and I just can’t even imagine what that feeling was like for her and it’s heartbreaking.’
‘She re-married into a pretty infamous crime family in Boston,’ Smith explained.
However, neither Smith nor the police will release the identity of Kearsey’s husband or his family name.
Smith, who journeyed to Florida to receive her mother’s remains the moment was emotional.
‘I think the feeling of even picking up her remains, thinking I probably haven’t touched any part of her in 41 years, is just a little surreal feeling.’
Now, after 40 years, her daughter will finally lay her to rest.
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However, a breakthrough cam when the use of DNA from Kearsey’s bone fragments, led investigators to find a match with her daughter Maehgan Smith (pictured)
Smith (center) now has her own daughters, ages 18 and 21. Seeing them near the age that her mother was when she was murdered is a poignant reminder
Neither Smith nor the police will release the identity of Kearsey’s husband or his family name
Kearsey’s lifeless body was found face down in a Florida canal in 1984
Davie Police Sergeant Kevin Urbaez said his force is still looking for Kearsey’s killers
Smith now has her own daughters, ages 18 and 21 and watching them near the age that her mother was when she was murdered is a poignant reminder.
‘My whole life I knew something happened to her, but now to have the closure,’ Smith said.
‘She was a kid. She could have grown up … She never got a chance.’
Davie Police Sergeant Kevin Urbaez said his force is still looking for Kearsey’s killers.
‘That’s our goal in this case, bring additional closure, but to also bring those who were involved in this criminal case to justice,’ Urbaez said.
Without sharing details, Detective Eddy Velazquez told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that they have identified people of interest who are still alive.
He would not say whether they are in Massachusetts or Florida because of the active investigation.
The man Kearsey married is still alive, but Velazquez would not say whether he is a suspect or where he is.
They are still working leads, awaiting other DNA test results, he said.
