A baby found beaten and burned in southeastern Ohio nearly 50 years ago has been identified as Velina Jeter, who was born June 10, 1977 in Columbus, Ohio.
Hamilton County Coroner Lakshmi Sammarco revealed the name of the baby, who was found in Springfield Township in February 1979, at a May 29 press conference.
At 18 months old, Velina was found in a wooded area behind the Clovernook Country Club near the former Providence Hospital site.
Investigators determined she had been killed by a blow to the head, and evidence suggested she was already dead when her body was burned.
But police still do not know what happened to Velina, how she ended up in Cincinnati or who killed her. That investigation is now underway.
Springfield Police Chief Chris Niehaus called on the community to think back and share any information they might have about what happened.
On Feb. 4, 1979, it was Springfield Township Officer Ted Hessler who spotted smoke in the distance and found the girls’ body. In 2008, he was already retired, but watched the exhumation leaning over his cane. Hessler died in 2010 at the age of 78.
Cincinnati Police specialists Jeff Smallwood and Heather Saidler carried on Hessler’s work.
The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office was able to exhume her body in 2008 in order to extract DNA. Smallwood and Saidler began using new genealogy techniques to work the case in 2021 and last summer they identified some close family members.
Smallwood emphasized the importance of “genetic witness” in cold case like this. He said Cincinnati police will be conducting a drive to encourage more people to submit genetic material. The information will be kept private, but could help solve old crimes and identify other victims, Smallwood said.
Cincinnati police will be offering kits for free, and people who submit samples will have to opt in to allow law enforcement to use the information.
Sammarco said Velina’s parents were Sharon Jeter, who died in 2013, and Barry Lee Valentine, who died in 2011. There is no evidence pointing to either of them as suspects, Smallwood said, but they are looking at all possibilities.
“A lot of people think cold cases are cold and no one is working on them,” Sammarco said “That’s not the case.”
Siedler said that now “Baby Angel” has a proper headstone bearing her real name, Valina Jeter.
Anyone with information about this case is being asked to call Springfield Township police at 513-729-1300 or Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Baby found slain and burned in 1979 identified as 18-month-old from Columbus
Reporting by Cameron Knight, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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