FLORIDA (WENY) – A 18-year-old Hornell woman has been identified as the victim of a decades old, now-resolved cold case out of Florida.

According to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office in Florida, the body of an unidentified woman was discovered on February 15, 1991 in a wooded area off U.S. 1. The case became known as the “Valentine Jane Doe Homicide”.

Police investigated “countless leads”, but the case remained unsolved for 29 years; however, they were able to recently close the case with the help of new DNA technology.

The victim has now been identified as 18-year-old Wanda Deann Kirkum of Hornell. Police say Kirkum was never officially reported missing to law enforcement; both of her parents are now deceased.

Her killer has been identified as Robert Lynn Bradley, who was murdered following a separate incident in Texas in April 1992.

Police say the Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit used the new DNA technology to identify both the victim and the suspect. Bradley's DNA was obtained from the scene of Kirkum's murder in the Florida Keys. Investigators in Texas offered evidence that suggested Bradley had lived in Miami in late November 1990.

Police say Kirkum was seen hitchhiking out of Key West on Valentine's Day of 1991. Her body was found by windsurfers the following day off a dirt road that leads to an area known to locals as the “Horseshoe” east of Big Pine Key and west of Bahia Honda Key.

Police say Kirkum was face down and nude, with the exception of her bikini top, which had been used to strangle her. Forensic examination determined she had been beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled to death.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office says more than 4,000 pages of investigative documentation has been collected and “numerous law enforcement officers and experts from partner agencies have participated in this homicide investigation over the previous decades”. 

“I would like to personally thank Major Crimes Unit Detective Vince Weiner and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for their efforts in solving this very serious and tragic crime,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay. “This case is a testament and shining example of this agency’s commitment to solving crime, no matter how old the case and no matter the challenges.”

Now, with the victim and suspect identities known, the sheriff's offices is formally considering the case resolved and closed.