148: Hernando County Jane Doe: The Women Who Vanished Before Her, Part 1

In 1980, Pam Sherrell escaped a violent attack by a man who abducted her and tried to kill her. He evaded capture, but her escape would set off a chain of events that revealed a much darker story unfolding in Hernando County, Florida. Months later and thousands of miles away, two young women crossed paths with the same man at a bar. He tried to get them to leave with him. They refused, but as they watched he left the bar with another young woman: Rene Saling. The next day, Rene was found murdered. Back in Florida, investigators were trying to solve the disappearance of another young woman: Sandra Jean Graham who had disappeared after an ordinary evening playing pool with a stranger. And behind it all was a man whose history of violence stretched back years despite repeated encounters with the criminal justice system: Billy Mansfield Jr. As investigators pieced together what happened to the women, Mansfield was on the run. HIs eventual capture would expose a pattern of violence that stretched far beyond the murder of Rene Saling. And somewhere in the story was a woman whose name investigators would not learn for more than 40 years. She is still known only as Hernando County Jane Doe 📍 Florida | 1975-1981 📖 Featuring an original poem written and read in her honor by Corrina Smith. ➡️ Help bring attention to missing and unidentified women—subscribe and share this episode. 📍 Find us on Instagram & Facebook and Patreon. 📚 Get Aimee’s book, Doe, now available via University of Akron Press, Bookshop.org, and Amazon. 📰 For more women-centered true crime content, subscribe to Aimee’s newsletter, GIRLHUNT. More about Corrina Smith: Corinna Smith is a violinist and multi-instrumentalist who has toured with Adam Ezra Group for the past 14 years. With a background in music education, she also maintains her teaching license in her home state of Massachusetts. Beyond the stage, Corinna is passionate about using music as a force for good, helping hundreds of concertgoers register to vote through her "Folkin' Vote!" initiative and supporting RallySound's mission to empower communities through music. Whether performing, teaching, or volunteering, she believes music has the power to connect people and inspire meaningful change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices