Central Alabama Crime Stoppers shared this sketch of Opelika Jane Doe when they announced a $5,000 reward for information regarding her identity.
More than a decade after her skeletal remains were found in a trailer park, investigators have finally identified the child previously known as Opelika Baby Jane Doe.
This major break in the case also led to the arrests of her biological father and stepmother, police announced Thursday.
The Opelika Police Department said Opelika Baby Jane’s real name is Amore Joveah Wiggins. Amore was born in January 2006, making her about 4 or 5 years old when she died.
Barbara Rae-Venter, a biologist and genetic genealogist perhaps best known for her help identifying the Golden State Killer, was able to use Amore’s DNA to identify possible relatives in October 2022, police said.
This led detectives to Lamar Vickerstaff Jr., 50, an Opelika native and Sailor who was stationed at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida. When detectives visited Vickerstaff to tell him of his daughter’s death, police said Vickerstaff didn’t tell them anything about Amore’s identity.
His wife, Ruth Vickerstaff, said they had been married since May 2006 but claimed she didn’t know his daughter or who Amore’s mother might be.
Amore Joveah Wiggins, born January 2006, has been identified as the Opelika Baby Jane Doe.
Not done yet
While that might have seemed like a dead end, Rae-Venter and detectives were able to prevail. The police department said Rae-Venter found “several possible matches” for Amore’s mother, which detectives then narrowed down to a woman in Maryland.
She confirmed being Amore’s biological mother. She then provided records that showed the Vickerstaffs took legal and physical custody of Amore in January 2009, when the little girl was about 3 years old.
Amore’s mother further showed detectives that her visitation with Amore was suspended at that time, but that she had continuously paid child support to Lamar Vickerstaff since.
The Opelika Police Department has previously estimated Amore was murdered sometime in 2010 or 2011. Prior to 2022, it was believed Amore had likely been abused or malnourished in life and was possibly blind in her left eye due to a fracture in her eye socket — one of more than 15 fractures she’d suffered from blunt force trauma before she died.
With the new information, police said they determined the Vickerstaffs never enrolled Amore in school and never reported her as a missing person.
Officials then set about determining charges.
On Tuesday, Lamar and Ruth Vickerstaff were arrested in Jacksonville, Florida. Lamar Vickerstaff is charged with felony murder, while Ruth Vickerstaff is charged with failure to report a missing child.
As of Thursday, they remained at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office pending extradition to Opelika.
Lamar Vickerstaff Jr., left, and Ruth Vickerstaff
What happens now
While there have been some major breaks in Amore’s case, Opelika Police Department isn’t finished with its investigation.
Detectives now need the public’s assistance in gathering additional details about the Vickerstaffs’ relationship with Amore and the time Amore spent in Opelika.
Anyone with information that could help in the case is urged to call the Opelika Police Department Detective Division at 334-705-5220 or the Secret Witness Hotline at 334-745-8665. Tips can also be submitted through the Opelika Police Mobile App.
Tips can be submitted anonymously.
