REOPENED: The Lost Patient

Summary

Cold Case Files: REOPENED – The Lost Patient (May 21, 2026)

Episode Overview

This Cold Case Files episode, "REOPENED: The Lost Patient," chronicles the tragic case of Janie Landers, an 18-year-old mentally disabled woman who vanished from the Fairview Training Center in Salem, Oregon, in 1979. Her disappearance and subsequent murder mystified police and devastated her family. Decades later, thanks to advancements in forensic technology and the tenacity of her family and investigators, the identity of her killer is finally revealed, bringing long-awaited closure.

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Key Discussion Points and Timeline

The Landers Family and Janie’s Background

[01:31 – 04:59]

• Janie Landers was developmentally disabled, with the mental age of approximately 8 years.
• Grew up with her family in Coos Bay, Oregon; she and her sister Joyce were especially close.
• Early behavioral struggles led to her placement in Fairview at age 7 for specialized care.
• Family describes emotional turmoil and guilt surrounding Janie’s institutionalization and their limited ability to visit or help her.

Memorable Quotes:

"She had a good heart. Now my sister was gone. Why Janie? I often wondered if the person that murdered Janie was out there harming someone else."
— Joyce Caldwell (01:31)

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Janie's Disappearance and The Initial Investigation

[06:23 – 19:27]

• On March 9, 1979, Janie disappears from Fairview; last seen around 2pm.
• Staff and police at first believe she may return, then realize something is seriously wrong.
• Psychiatric aide Leona Wace saw Janie with an unknown man driving a gold-colored sedan; strict staff rules prevented her from intervening.
• A composite is created based on witness descriptions, but immediate leads run dry.

Key Moment:

"He was wearing T shirt and jeans. He was maybe 35, 40. He had a big pot belly, about 5'8" or 5'10". He needed a haircut, it was kind of shaggy."
— Leona Wace describing the man last seen with Janie (10:24)

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Discovery of Janie’s Body and Autopsy

[17:06 – 21:37]

• March 14, 1979: A farmer discovers Janie’s body near a highway close to Silver Falls Park.
• The body shows signs of blunt force trauma to the head and multiple stab wounds; however, there is no evidence of sexual assault.
• Autopsy reveals clutched hairs in Janie’s hand, one missing earring, and confirms she likely died shortly after her disappearance.

Quote:

"There wasn't a lot of evidence. There was blood there. There was no signs of a struggle. It was pretty clear that the body was just dumped in the bushes."
— Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle (18:03)

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The Long, Cold Years

[22:03 – 32:11]

• Investigators focus first on staff and residents at Fairview, including her counselor Bill Graf and another patient’s boyfriend, Ray Wright.
• Although rumor and circumstantial evidence briefly cast suspicion on Ray, lack of physical evidence and reliable witness testimony stall the case.
• Janie’s family, especially her sister Joyce, keeps fighting for answers. The family continually checks in with police, but the case grows cold throughout the 80s and 90s.
• Fairview closes in 2000 amid allegations of abuse of residents.

Quote:

"It just part of that time I was a young mom raising three little boys and the focus was there… But we didn't give up on her."
— Joyce Caldwell (31:30, 28:03)

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The Case is Reopened: The Promise of DNA

[32:11 – 36:14]

• In 2015, at Joyce’s urging, Oregon State Police, led by Detective Steve Hinkle, reopen the case.
• Advances in forensic science allow for DNA analysis of Janie’s clothing, carefully preserved since 1979.
• Forensic scientist Jennifer Rydell collects isolated blood stains from Janie’s shirt, suspecting they may belong to her killer.

Quote:

"This case had additional problems from the beginning because Fairview no longer existed. ...I paid special attention to the autopsy report and the crime scene photographs. She had fought, obviously as evident by the hairs in her hand and the defensive wounds on her arms."
— Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle (33:08)

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A Breakthrough and the Identification of Janie’s Killer

[36:14 – 41:42]

• DNA from the shirt matches Gerald Dunlap, a Fairview laundry worker and convicted sex offender.
• Dunlap had a violent criminal history, including a 99-year sentence for rape in Tennessee, but was paroled after only 12 years and hired at Fairview.
• Payroll records place him at Fairview during the time Janie disappeared; co-workers confirm he matched the description and was present at the critical time.
• Witnesses, including Leona Wace, positively identify him from a photo lineup almost four decades later.
• Unfortunately, Dunlap died in prison in 2002, precluding prosecution.

Key Quotes:

"Dunlap worked in laundry. Payroll records from Fairview show that he was employed and working during the month of March in 1979. ...He ended up having to fire Gerald because he had patted a female patient... that was another red flag. In addition to his prior rape offense from the 60s and then the sexual assault case in the early 90s..."
— Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle (38:00)

"The justice system failed by letting him out. The justice system gave him a free card to go and harm another person and eventually murder my sister."
— Joyce Caldwell (38:56)

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Family Closure and Reflection

[40:06 – 41:42]

• While the family is grateful to finally know the truth and for the closure DNA technology brought, Joyce expresses pain that Dunlap never faced trial for Janie's murder.
• A symbolic and emotional moment occurs as Joyce and her father hold a brick from Janie’s Fairview cottage, now inscribed with her name.
• The family can finally let Janie rest.

Memorable Moment:

"He brought a brick from one of the cottages that Janie lived in, and on the front has her name and year of birth and year of death. My dad and I were looking at the brick and her little hair ties and he looked at me and as tears were going down his face, he asked me, can we now let Janie rest?"
— Joyce Caldwell (41:10)

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Notable Quotes by Timestamp

• [01:31] Joyce Caldwell: "She had a good heart. Now my sister was gone. Why Janie? I often wondered if the person that murdered Janie was out there harming someone else."
• [10:24] Leona Wace: "He was wearing T shirt and jeans. He was maybe 35, 40. He had a big pot belly, about 5'8" or 5'10"..."
• [18:03] Steve Hinkle: "There wasn't a lot of evidence. There was blood there. There was no signs of a struggle..."
• [28:03] Joyce Caldwell: "In all the calls I made to the Oregon state police, they would tell me, it's a cold case. It's going to take a long time..."
• [33:08] Steve Hinkle: "This case had additional problems from the beginning because Fairview no longer existed... She had fought, obviously as evident by the hairs in her hand and the defensive wounds on her arms."
• [36:14] Steve Hinkle: "I got a call from Jen telling me that they found a DNA profile from an unknown male on a blood stain on Janie's shirt, which was super exciting because now we have a suspect."
• [38:56] Joyce Caldwell: "The justice system failed by letting him out. The justice system gave him a free card to go and harm another person and eventually murder my sister."
• [41:10] Joyce Caldwell: "My dad and I were looking at the brick and her little hair ties and he looked at me and as tears were going down his face, he asked me, can we now let Janie rest?"

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Episode Structure with Significant Timestamps

• 01:31 – Family learns of Janie's disappearance; personal reflections on her life and institutionalization
• 06:52 – Investigation at Fairview; witness recalls seeing Janie with unknown man
• 13:09 – Counselor Bill Graf discusses Janie's abilities and recent group home altercation
• 17:06 – Discovery of Janie’s body
• 20:25 – Autopsy results and evidence discussion
• 22:27 – Composite sketch and media outreach
• 28:35 – 1989: New tip implicating Ray Wright; lead is a dead end
• 32:11 – 2015: Case is reopened; DNA evidence sought
• 36:45 – DNA match: Gerald Dunlap identified as the killer
• 39:22 – Witnesses identify Dunlap
• 40:50 – Family receives closure and reflects on justice, grief, and memory

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Conclusion

This episode provides a poignant look at the intersections of vulnerability, institutional failings, persistence, and the changes brought by forensic science. Though true justice remained out of reach, the efforts of Janie's family and modern investigators ensured her case did not stay unsolved, offering the Landers family—and Janie herself—some measure of peace.

Transcript

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[Narrator]

This episode contains descriptions of violence. Listener discretion is advised.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

My dad got the call about Janie being missing. She was my sister. She was mentally disabled. I know Janie experienced being locked in rooms. Fairview was not a good place for anybody to be. She had a good heart. Now my sister was gone. Why Janie? I often wondered if the person that murdered Janie was out there harming someone else. This was the beginning of my quest to try to get her case solved.

[Narrator]

There are 120,000 unsolved murders in America. Each one is a cold case. Only 1% are ever solved. This is one of those rare stories. It's a pleasant spring afternoon on March 9, 1979, when the Oregon State Police receive a report from Fairview Training Center, a mental health facility on Reed Road in Salem. They inform police that one of their patients, 18 year old Janie Landers, has absconded from the facility. Janie's sister Joyce Caldwell recalls what life was like growing up in the Landers family.

[Joyce Caldwell (Younger Voice or Additional Family Member)]

We grew up in Coos Bay, Oregon.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

It's like a logging fishing town Back then, it was anyway, you got your oceans and you got your mountains and your trees and your rivers and lakes, you know, so it is a very pretty place. There was five siblings and of course, my mom and dad. Carolyn was the oldest. Janie was second born. Rachel was the third. I was fourth. And then my brother is the youngest of the family.

[Narrator]

Despite the age difference, sisters Janie and Joyce are inseparable.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

Janie and I were the closest as far as siblings go. So we were playing with baby dolls and running around like little toddlers would. Running for Janie was something happy for her. She liked being outside. Even though she was older. We were similar because her functioning level was the same as mine.

[Narrator]

Janie was developmentally impaired. With the developmental age of an eight year old. Her impairments had been discovered during her time at school. Where it was noticed that she struggled to sit still and got upset very easily. Janie also took to throwing objects and running away from home. But she always made sure to come back. When she was seven years old, she was sent to Fairview Training Center.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

My parents wanted whatever would help Janie. At this time. They had three other kids at home. And here's Janie needing some help that they didn't know how to get. Coos County Mental Health determined that she did have learning disabilities. Her IQ was low, but they also felt that she had some kind of psychological issues going on. And recommended for her to go to Fairview for further testing.

[Narrator]

Over time, the separation from her sister wears on Joyce.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

It was very emotional for me.

[Joyce Caldwell (Younger Voice or Additional Family Member)]

She was who I played with, so I didn't have that anymore. And I would be sad all the time because I never got to see her for this such a long time. I missed playing with her.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

And we both loved it outside.

[Joyce Caldwell (Younger Voice or Additional Family Member)]

I didn't get to do that with her anymore. It was sad.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

She would call me on the phone. She'd ask me for letters. She loved me writing long letters. It was hard for my parents because they lived so far away. As time went by, my dad would call the school about at least getting some visit time with her or having her come home and spend time with us. He'd go up to the schools, and sometimes he'd get to see her, and other times he wouldn't. He'd get there. He wouldn't know that she'd been moved to a different cottage. So he'd have to schedule another visit. The staff there at Fairview would do assessments. And they would say she needs more of this type of training or this kind of behavioral classes. So they Would encourage my parents to let her stay longer.

[Narrator]

By March 9, 1979, Janie had become a ward of the state, which meant that the state exercised control over her instead of her parents. Police descend on Fairview Training center after receiving the missing patient report. They are told by staff members that 18 year old Janie has been missing for several hours. Police begin their search immediately. As recalled by Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle,

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

detectives start gathering information. They interviewed her teacher first and they found out that Janie was last seen in her classroom and that Bill Graf, her counselor, he had come in and spoken with her while she was in class for a short while. And a short time later, she stormed out of the classroom. And the teacher said that she saw Janie walking from the classroom towards Koser Cottage, which was the housing unit where she lived. But Janie didn't arrive at Koser Cottage where she was supposed to. And then they listed her as awol.

[Narrator]

Leona Wace, one of the psychiatric aides at the facility, is more than worried for Janie's welfare.

[Leona Wace (Psychiatric Aide)]

The staff was all talking about it up until end of shift and we hadn't heard any word other than no, they haven't found her yet.

[Narrator]

Police learned that the last time Janie was seen was shortly before 2pm as the search for Janie begins, the facility makes contact with her parents.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

I had come home from school and my dad asked me and the rest of my siblings to have a seat that he had something to tell us. And he proceeded to tell us about a call that he got regarding Janie. That the school had told him that she was missing. They felt that she would come back after a couple hours because she had gotten upset earlier in the day that everything would be okay.

[Narrator]

Police first search the entirety of the grounds at Fairview, but they find nothing that could indicate where Janie had vanished. But it isn't long until a witness comes forward, changing everything.

[Leona Wace (Psychiatric Aide)]

I saw this man walking across the road. The feeling I had was something bad was happening. And I thought, I've got to help somehow. There were rumors like crazy the search for someone that walked off from their cottage. But I was afraid this was way more serious.

[Narrator]

As the investigation into the disappearance of Janie continues, a Fairview employee offers crucial information.

[Leona Wace (Psychiatric Aide)]

I worked at Fairview for approximately three and a half years. I was a psychiatric aide. The day that Janie disappeared, It was just as normal as could be. I usually left home shortly after 2 to go to work. My shift was 3 to 11 when I turned a corner close to the main driveway. That I went up every day, I saw this girl, and I recognized her as a resident. I did not know her name, but I had seen her on campus. I see a car that's parked on the shoulder and a gentleman walking in front of my car. I thought, I don't recognize him. This is kind of fishy. Why would that man be out of his car? What is he even doing getting close to her? And I thought, should I pick her up or should I not? I wanted to, but there were strict rules against it. So I quickly went up to my cottage and called security. Security went down and checked. They didn't find.

[Narrator]

Investigators theorized that the person Leona had seen was most likely Janie. They asked her to provide a description of the man she had seen her talking to.

[Leona Wace (Psychiatric Aide)]

He was wearing T shirt and jeans. He was maybe 35, 40. He had a big pot belly about 58 or 5 10. He needed a haircut. It was kind of shaggy.

[Narrator]

She also provides information about the vehicle, describing it as a gold colored sedan with four doors.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

Now we have more of a possibility of an abduction like, she didn't just walk away. She was talking to somebody. Fairview had hundreds of employees and there was no restricted access to the facility. So it could have literally been anyone.

[Narrator]

Investigators zero in on the last person at Fairview to speak with Janie.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

Bill Graffiti Bill Graf was a person of interest. He was a counselor. Somebody that had close contact with her, had had access to Janie and that she would have gone to or trusted. So we would want to know what the nature of that conversation, but also what the nature of their relationship was.

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[Narrator]

Bill Graf provides as much information to investigators about 18 year old Janie as possible.

[Bill Graf (Counselor/Therapist)]

I met Jane probably in 1977, 1978. I was her one to one therapist. Jane was like working with a nine year old. She would like to color. She didn't really know how to read. She was very kind and loving. She had a lot of skills. She would clean up where she lived, an area, wash dishes, dried dishes.

[Narrator]

Shortly before Janie's disappearance, she was living in a group home with other Fairview patients.

[Bill Graf (Counselor/Therapist)]

Three and a half months before Jane was missing, she was still living in the house next to the group home. She lived with another lady called Cheryl. They must have gotten some type of altercation. The other lady was warming up some chili. Jane grabbed the chili off the stove and poured it over Cheryl's head and burned her.

[Narrator]

District Attorney Paige Clarkson explains the situation further.

[District Attorney Paige Clarkson]

This altercation wasn't totally out of the blue for a patient like Janie Landers. She definitely struggled with appropriate responses to of frustration.

[Narrator]

After the altercation, Janie was taken from the group home and placed back in the state hospital. Soon after she had another setback. Her insurance plan changed after returning to the hospital, which meant that her therapy with Bill Graf was no longer covered.

[Bill Graf (Counselor/Therapist)]

I told Jane I couldn't work with her anymore. I told her that I won't be back the next day. That's the day she took off.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

She was no longer in the group home. Bill Graf was familiar to her. She trusted him. Now she's kind of in this big change where she's now placed back at Fairview. To her, her whole world has now changed again.

[Narrator]

Investigators have some further questions for Bill.

[Bill Graf (Counselor/Therapist)]

The witness gave the description to the police and I almost Fit that description, But I hadn't done anything.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

Polygraph. And the result was that he passed, and they believed that he was truthful.

[Narrator]

The days continue to pass slowly, but Janie still remains missing.

[District Attorney Paige Clarkson]

I think everybody recognized that her vulnerable nature made Janie a prime target for someone that would want to do her harm.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

With no particular direction other than the description of this unknown male, the thought was that the motivation for abducting this young female was most likely to sexually assault her.

[Narrator]

Investigators run routine background checks on fairview employees, and several of them stand out.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

So we are focusing on employees that we were able to determine had prior sex effects.

[Narrator]

In 1979, Oregon did not have a sex offender registry, making it difficult for fairview to screen employees for sex crimes convictions.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

But despite all the efforts, there weren't any employees that stuck out as a person of interest in the initial days of the investigation. The longer that time went by, the chances of finding her alive were dwindling.

[Narrator]

In coos bay, the landers family waits for news of Janie.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

I had just recently turned 14, and I do remember asking my dad probably a couple of times a day, you know, before I go to school, you know, have you heard anything about Janie? And each day it was, you know, no calls, they're still looking. I kept hoping and praying that she would go back to the school, return there, be safe.

[Narrator]

On the morning of March 14, 1979, a landowner is checking his field and the perimeter of his property when he comes across the body of a young female. She had been found at the edge of his farm field, Just a stone's throw from the highway.

[District Attorney Paige Clarkson]

Authorities knew they had one missing person. They knew that this was probably janie. A landowner walking his farm property along Highway 214, right outside of the Salem area, Not too far from the fairview training center Found a body, and he immediately reported it to police.

[Narrator]

Investigators embark on the scene. The young woman is lying face down in some bushes. They roll her over and observe that her neck is peppered in stab wounds. The victim is immediately identified as 18 year old Janie landers.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

There wasn't a lot of evidence. There was blood there. There was no signs of a struggle. It was pretty clear that the body was just dumped in the bushes.

[Narrator]

Investigators canvass the area and speak with the homeowners in the immediate vicinity, but nobody can provide any further insight into the gruesome murder.

[Leona Wace (Psychiatric Aide)]

All I remember hearing at that time was that Janie's body was found at silver falls park. The idea that I may have been the last person to See Janie alive. Besides, that man haunts me to this day. I did feel guilty because I could have picked her up.

[Bill Graf (Counselor/Therapist)]

I have thought about her in that car and that man with the knife hurting her and killing her. Yeah, it hurts. It still hurts.

[Narrator]

With Janie identified as the body in the field, investigators now have the gut wrenching task of informing her family.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

When my dad got the call about Janie, he had distress in his voice.

[Joyce Caldwell (Younger Voice or Additional Family Member)]

And then he tells us Janie's body was found.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

Looked like she had been murdered.

[Joyce Caldwell (Younger Voice or Additional Family Member)]

I didn't want to believe that they found her dumped somewhere.

[Narrator]

The family is in a state of disbelief.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

The first call that my dad got, there was no indication that it was serious, just that she was missing. They knew early on that she was seen talking to some stranger. And they didn't tell us that until after her body was found. It was like they were covering up stuff.

[Narrator]

Joe Wykowski, executive director of Emeritus Community Vision, a company that works with people with intellectual disabilities, shares his thoughts on the decision not to inform Janie's family of the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.

[Joe Wykowski (Emeritus Community Vision Executive Director)]

At some point during the day, they had a pretty good indication that she wasn't coming back and should have disclosed that to the family.

[Narrator]

Janie's body is transported to the medical examiner's office. Investigators hope the autopsy can provide some much needed information.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

In the autopsy, one of the things that was determined was that her stomach contents were consistent with what was served at the News at Fairview on March 9. That information would suggest that she was killed shortly after she was last seen.

[Narrator]

The autopsy also reveals some more information regarding Janie's cause of death.

[District Attorney Paige Clarkson]

This was a vicious attack that Janie suffered. We learned that the actual cause of death was blunt force trauma to her head. There was some sort of instrument available to the effect to hit her in

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

the head and that would have killed her in 1979. The forensic capabilities were not DNA. What we were looking for was hair standards and fibers to do direct comparisons, fingerprints. And if we had blood, we were able to do some typing in order to narrow down a suspect pool. One earring was collected from Janie's ear, but the other one was missing that was collected as evidence. And there were four hairs that were found in Janie's hand, like clutched in her fist, that were collected at autopsy.

[Narrator]

Investigators and Janie's family learned from the autopsy that she had not been sexually assaulted.

[District Attorney Paige Clarkson]

It was very clear to us that we were looking for a perpetrator who would prey on children or young women.

[Narrator]

Investigators turned to the media in the hopes to generate some leads that could point them in the right direction.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

In 1979, when we want to broadcast information to the public, we are going through the newspaper primarily. The Statesman Journal was where we would generate leads and tips from Leona provided

[Narrator]

a comprehensive description of the man who was observed with Janie before she vanished. So investigators call in a composite sketch artist to draw up a likeness.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

There was newspaper articles about Janie being missing, and the sketch of the suspect was put in the paper. Two women that worked at the food cart on Fairview saw the article in the paper, and the sketch of the man last seen talking to Janie recognized him as a man that they had served at the food cart the day she went missing on March 9. We don't know who he was, but we know that he at least came and he had lunch there. We didn't have a lot of other information to go on.

[Narrator]

As investigators work around the clock to try and find a suspect, Janie's family prepares for her funeral.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

My dad brought Janie back home to be buried. Her funeral was held at a church. I walk into the foyer area. The first thing I see is Janie's casket and I just dropped to my knees.

[Joyce Caldwell (Younger Voice or Additional Family Member)]

That point it came to a reality that she was gone. I couldn't even get up off the floor. I was just sobbing.

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[Narrator]

By the time Janie is buried, the investigation is in full swing.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

After the autopsy and the search warrant, law enforcement is still looking into who this individual was last seen with Janie, and we still don't have any real leads there. The investigation turns back towards who had contact and who had motive to harm Janie.

[Narrator]

Investigators build a timeline leading up to Janie's disappearance, and that's when they learn about the incident with the fellow resident, Cheryl.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

Janie had got into an altercation with a another resident at that group home named Cheryl. Janie had caused subsequent significant injury to her. Cheryl had a boyfriend named Ray Wright who was around the same age. Ray didn't really care a whole lot for Janie.

[Narrator]

Investigators look into Ray further and discover that he was really upset about what happened to his girlfriend. Rumors have been circulating that Ray wanted to kill Janie for what she had done.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

Ray Wright was very vocal about not caring a whole lot for Janie. He made several statements saying I killed Janie or I want to kill Janie.

[Narrator]

Investigators bring Ray in to be questioned.

[District Attorney Paige Clarkson]

He definitely had been on law enforcement's radar before. He seemed like somebody who would have a motive.

[Narrator]

But Ray insists that he did not kill Janie.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

We were never able to confirm or

[District Attorney Paige Clarkson]

deny his involvement, and Cheryl had the same type of struggles that Janie had. She was a difficult witness, so both her and Ray fell off the radar as plausible suspects. Going forward,

[Narrator]

With no other leads to go on, the case fails to pick up momentum.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

The case slows over time because there's really no new information coming in. After about 1980-81, the case was put back on the shelf to work other active cases.

[Narrator]

Joyce tries to keep the case alive and investigators do what they can, but by the mid-1980s, the case goes cold.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

In all the calls I made to the Oregon state police, they would tell me, it's a cold case. It's going to take a long time. Another year would go by, and another five would go by, but we didn't give up on her.

[Narrator]

The family continue with their lives as best as possible, But Janie is never far from their minds. But then, in 1989, the police finally receive new information. Ten years after the murder, A tip

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

came in to Salem police department. Individuals who said they were neighbors to Cheryl and ray wright at some point close to the time Janie went missing Said that they heard Ray say that he killed Janie.

[Narrator]

Cheryl and Ray were together when Janie was killed. But by the time the case was reopened in 1989, they were no longer in a relationship.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

Cheryl was re interviewed by detectives, and Cheryl said that she remembered seeing the truck that Ray drove, and she remembered seeing the earring that Janie had in the truck. That was a huge piece of information because we knew that Janie was missing the earring at autopsy. If we were able to find that earring and match it to Janie's other earring, that would have been a massive break in the case.

[Narrator]

Now, 10 years later, investigators once again go searching for Ray Wright and his truck.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

Ray denied any involvement. He didn't have any other knowledge to provide about the injuries to Janie or anything of that nature. But eventually, we figure out that that car was destroyed, and we were never going to get any information out of it.

[District Attorney Paige Clarkson]

Ray was always someone that the police considered viable, but there was no evidence that connected him to Janie on this day at all.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

Cheryl and Ray made statements and interviews. But we have to keep in mind that Cheryl and Ray both had mental disabilities as well.

[Narrator]

What looked like a promising lead fizzles out, and once again, the case goes cold. In 2000, Fairview Training center closes its doors for good after their reputation is marred by abuse allegations.

[Joe Wykowski (Emeritus Community Vision Executive Director)]

People started moving out of fairview in the late 70s. And then in the 80s, there was a bigger push to start to move people out of the institution. Because Fairview just has a long history of people's rights being taken away. People were giving medications they shouldn't have. People were sterilized against their will. People were restrained.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

When I heard fairview was closing, I was probably one of the happiest persons on earth, Because I knew of the history of the facility. I learned about some of the residents being strapped down or locked in rooms. I know Janie experienced some of That

[Joyce Caldwell (Younger Voice or Additional Family Member)]

I often wonder, would my sister Janie be thriving today? The help that people like Janie gets today is so much different. And I think she would have done so much better had she gotten that chance, but she didn't.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

I was always hopeful that Janie's case would be solved. It just part of that time I was a young mom raising three little boys and the focus was there.

[Narrator]

Janie was still a huge part of Joyce's life, and she felt like she owed it to her big sister to find her killer. It's 2015 and she is now 50 years old and their father is 82 years old. Her mother had since passed away without knowing who took her daughter's life. Time is catching up on the family and they long for justice.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

Janie's case had gone 36 years without being solved. But technology had changed Kick the police department tried to find out if there's been any movement in her case. In 2015, I went to the Oregon State Police Department to speak to Detective Hinkle about Janie's case and the possibility of reopening it.

[Narrator]

Joyce hangs her last hope of solving Janie's murder on the promise of new technology.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

I talked to Detective Hinkle and a couple other officers. I knew just from my own studies and watching TV that the technology was better in 2015 than it was in 1979. They had the ability to test her clothing to see if anything was there, you know, was there, ability to match DNA. The times had changed.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

This case had additional problems from the beginning because Fairview no longer existed. At the time that I started the case in 2015, Fairview had been gone from for 15 years. My first steps in the investigation was to track down the case file and begin going through those case binders and learning what happened with the original investigation. I paid special attention to the autopsy report and the crime scene photographs. She had fought, obviously as evident by the hairs in her hand and the defensive wounds on her arms.

[Narrator]

Detective Hinkle focuses on Janie's stab wounds.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

You can tell that the wounds are deep, that there was a lot of force behind these stab wounds. But there's also no hilt abrasion present. The hilt separates the handle from the blade. And the purpose of a hilt is to keep your hand from sliding down onto the blade when using that type of a knife. And to me, the lack of a hilt, that's significant because blood has the consistency of about motor oil when it's wet like that. And it's very common for someone's hand to slip down onto the blade and also become cut in the course of this type of an assault. So that would suggest to me that the killer was likely to have been cut by the knife in the course of this dynamic fight, and we had a high likelihood of finding DNA evidence on the body or on the clothing.

[Narrator]

He reaches out to Jennifer Rydell, senior forensic scientist at Oregon state police forensic laboratory.

[Jennifer Rydell (Senior Forensic Scientist)]

I'm an expert in blood stain pattern analysis, where one examines different blood stains to see how they may have been deposited. Was it transferred? Was it smeared? Was it spattered? When I reviewed the original report on the Janie Landers case, her clothing was submitted at that time for examination for trace evidence. The clothing obviously had blood on it, and it was abo blood tested. But DNA didn't exist as a forensic technology in 1979.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

Luckily, the evidence had been packaged in paper like it was supposed to be, so it didn't appear that it had been molded. We came up with a list of items we felt like had the best likelihood of giving us a DNA profile or a blood stain from the killer and not Janie.

[Jennifer Rydell (Senior Forensic Scientist)]

I ended up collecting four isolated blood stains from Janie Lander's shirt to send to DNA that I thought might be transfers from the perpetrator. If the perpetrator had picked her up and had, say, a cut on his finger or hand and he had grabbed her and maybe put her over his shoulder, that would be a location where his hand would naturally go to her back.

[Narrator]

Nine months after Janie's shirt is submitted for testing, the results come back.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

I got a call from Jen telling me that they found a DNA profile from an unknown male on a blood stain on Janie's shirt, which was super exciting because now we have a suspect. We don't know who they are, but we have a suspect.

[District Attorney Paige Clarkson]

Detective Hinkle came into my office to tell me they have a hit on the blood on Janie's sweater.

[Narrator]

Almost 40 years after Janie was murdered, cold case investigators finally close in on her killer.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

I got a call from Jen telling me that there was a codis hit and the suspect was Gerald Dunlap. So I wanted to know, who the hell is Gerald Dunlap? His DNA profile was in codis because he was sentenced and was in Oregon state prison at some point.

[Narrator]

Gerald Dunlap is a convicted sex offender. First arrested in the 1960s, Gerald Dunlap

[District Attorney Paige Clarkson]

was sent to prison for 99 years for the rape of a very young female victim. In 1961 in the state of Texas, Tennessee, he was paroled. However, in 1973, he was only there for 12 years. It's not unusual in the United States back in the 70s for people to get really long sentences and only serve a small portion of it.

[Narrator]

Detective Hinkle tracks down a photograph taken of Gerald Dunlap in Tennessee when he was paroled. And he looks eerily similar to the composite sketch made of the man who was seen with Janie. The cloud of suspicion deepens as investigators learn that after Dunlap was paroled, he was hired at Fairview Training Facility.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

Dunlap worked in laundry. Payroll records from Fairview show that he was employed and working during the month of March in 1979. When we interviewed the co workers and supervisors in Laundrie, they all said that they worked a day shift and every single person had a break at 2pm that's the point where Janie went missing. One of the supervisors I interviewed in Laundrie said that he ended up having to fire Gerald because he had patted a female patient that worked in laundry on the butt. So that was another red flag. In addition to his prior rape offense from the 60s and then the sexual assault case in the early 90s where he sexually assaulted his step granddaughter, that case ended him up in Oregon State Prison.

[District Attorney Paige Clarkson]

What we were dealing with was a serial rapist, somebody who preyed upon young women.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

The justice system failed by letting him out. The justice system gave him a free card to go and harm another person and eventually murder my sister.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

When we got the photograph of him, we did a double blind photo lineup with the witnesses that were still alive. And they both picked Dunlap's photo out of that lineup.

[Leona Wace (Psychiatric Aide)]

When Detective Hingle came to my home, he said, I have some pictures here that I'd like you to go through and so see if you can identify anyone. I looked through him. This is the man that I saw there. And he says, yeah, we got him.

[Narrator]

Investigators hand over all of their evidence to the district attorney's office, who determines that Dunlap was responsible for Janie's murder. Janie's family finally knows who the killer is. But tragically, justice is out of reach. Dunlap died in prison back in 2002.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

One moment, I'm feeling elated. Yes, we have a match of DNA, but yet he's deceased. So right away I'm thinking we don't even get to take him to court and find him guilty of what he did to Janie.

[District Attorney Paige Clarkson]

I was disappointed that Gerald Dunlap was dead. I want 12 jurors to come in and I want them to say that Gerald Dunlap is guilty of this crime.

[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

Once Paige Clarkson made the determination officially that the case was at its legal conclusion, her and I drove down to Coos Bay and met with Joyce and her father and officially told them that the case was closed and that Gerald Dunlap.

[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

I feel relieved knowing her case was solved and the person that did it died in prison where he belonged. Unfortunately, my mom passed away before her case was solved, but my dad was with me that day that Detective Hinkle came and he went from the very beginning of the case to the inn and he brought a brick from one of the cottages that Janie lived in, and on the front has her name and year of birth and year of death. My dad and I were looking at the brick and her little hair ties and he looked at me and as tears were going down his face, he asked me, can we now let Janie rest?

[Narrator]

Cold Case Files is hosted by Paula Barros. It's produced by the Law and Crime Network and written by Eileen McFarlane and Emily G. Thompson. Our composer is Blake Maples. For A and E, our senior producer is John Thrasher and our supervising producer is McKamey Lin. Our executive producers are Jesse Katz, Maite Cueva and Peter Tarshis. This podcast is based on AE's Emmy winning TV series, Cold Case File. For more Cold case files, visit aetv.com.

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[Jennifer Rydell (Senior Forensic Scientist)]

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[Jennifer Rydell (Senior Forensic Scientist)]

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[District Attorney Paige Clarkson]

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[Joyce Caldwell (Janie's Sister)]

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[Detective Sergeant Steve Hinkle]

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[Joyce Caldwell (Younger Voice or Additional Family Member)]

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