The victim in a cold case over 45 years old was identified as a victim of the United States’ most prolific serial killer, authorities said.
A woman only know as ‘Macon Jane Doe’ was identified as Yvonne Pless, a 20-year-old woman who was reported missing in 1977.
The case was broken by a team of investigators working with the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, a Georgia office dedicated to providing ‘innovative resources’ to investigators.
Pless was identified using forensic genetic genealogy, a process that combines DNA analysis with traditional family genealogy research.
Investigators believe Pless was the first victim of Samuel Little, a serial killer who confessed to murdering a total of 93 people between 1977 and 2005.
Before his death in 2020, Little confessed to killing two unknown women in Macon, Georgia. Investigators matched his accounts to two unsolved cases in the state – including a woman a local paper dubbed ‘Macon Jane Doe.’
Pless is believed to be the first person Little killed in 1977. This would make her Little’s 16th victim.
The second Georgia victim was identified as Fredonia Smith, a woman who was found dead in Washington Park in 1982.
‘The family members of Yvonne Pless and Fredonia Smith now have closure concerning their missing or victimized loved one,’ Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said. ‘I believe with continued dedication, teamwork, and advancement in technology, we can bring that same closure to other awaiting families.’
According to the sheriff’s office, eight of Little’s victims were residents of Georgia. A ninth was a resident of Chattanooga, Tennessee, but her remains were discarded in Dade County, Georgia.
Most of Little’s victims were from Florida and California, where he lived most of his life.
Little was in and out of jail for decades, beginning with a 3-year prison sentence for burglary in 1961. However, he never confessed to murder until 2018, when he began to tell Texas Ranger James Holland about the deaths.
Little was 80-years-old when he began to detail his murders. His first victim was killed on New Years Eve in 1970, when he was 30.
‘It was like drugs,’ Little said. ‘I came to like it.’
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