Chip Chick
While authorities attempted to put all of those pieces together, James ended up pleading guilty to the murder of Mercedes.
He accepted a plea deal and charges of second-degree murder in exchange for a 15-year sentence.
In the years he spent behind bars, he said a few things about Mercedes. He said he knew who she really was and demanded money to reveal it.
He said someone had taken her as a child, but authorities didn’t buy what he was telling them.
As the years went on, it seemed like the real name of Mercedes, better known as the El Dorado Jane Doe, would never be uncovered.
That was, until 2019.
In 2019, a positive match came back for her DNA, and authorities were led directly to her living relatives.
This was amazing news! DNA always seems to hold the keys, the answers, but this information just left authorities and the family of Mercedes with even more questions.
One of her second cousins from Alabama was notified of the match…but she didn’t know who Mercedes was at all. She showed her photos to other family members, who were completely baffled by her.
Facebook; Mercedes smiles in the photo above
