LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – A cold case involving a mysterious death from 1988 in Lake County is finally solved thanks to the DNA Doe Project, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said on Sept. 25, 1988, a victim was found dead about 30 feet off of the side of County Road 474 in Clermont.
According to a news release, the victim’s body had been in the heavily wooded area for about two-to-four weeks and the cause of death has not been determined.
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Deputies said the victim was initially thought to be female until 2015, when DNA testing revealed the victim was biologically male.
According to the sheriff’s office, the victim was wearing a skirt and had breast implants, and there is evidence they may have been taking female hormone injections
“With the support of Dr. Barbara Wolf, the District Medical Examiner for Districts 5 and 24, the case was evaluated by the DNA Doe Project. The DNA Doe Project is a non-profit organization that utilizes investigative genetic genealogy to identify unidentified remains. After years of difficult work, the genealogists were able to identify possible relatives of ‘Julie Doe,’ who were then contacted by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office,” the release said in part.
Deputies said after relatives submitted DNA for comparison, the victim was identified as Pamela Leigh Walton.
According to the release, Walton was born a biological male in Kentucky and put up for adoption, but once adopted, their name was Lee Allen Walton. At some point in their adult life, they changed their name to Pamela Leigh Walton and was at some point transitioning from male to female.
The sheriff’s office said that it is not known how Walton came to be in Florida, but the Lake County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the circumstances of the death.