No marker. No flowers. Theresa Baker’s final resting place at Roselawn Cemetery in Glen Allen is void of any of the usual symbols memorializing a life lost.

About 60 days after coming to the Richmond area in 1985, the 24-year-old vanished from Midlothian in Chesterfield County. The date was Sept. 20; her badly decomposed body was discovered on Woodbridge Road in Mechanicsville on Feb. 8, 1986.

At that time, law enforcement authorities and the medical examiner’s office first thought her death had been caused by a gunshot wound to the head.

Investigator Kevin L. Laplaga of the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, who took over Theresa’s case at the end of 2009, said the initial press release indicated she “was shot to death where her body was found.” In reopening the case and consulting with the chief medical examiner’s office, he said “It has been determined that she was shot post-mortem and that her cause of death was blunt force trauma to the skull.”

Two days after her body was found by three men in a wooded area in the Cherrydale Subdivision, the medical examiner said the body “appeared to be consistent with Theresa Lynn Baker.” A missing person’s report had been filed in September 1985.

In reviewing the files on Theresa’s death, Laplaga said a positive identification was not made until May 28, 1986. “At that point, they were relying on clothing and physical descriptors. They had to get medical records from family members and physicians in Pennsylvania.”

Sgt. Eddy Smith, a supervisor in the General Investigation Unit, said the victim “was ultimately identified by her medical records.” He also said the decomposition “was pretty extensive.”

Without confirming any suspects, the three officers did say they are pursuing new leads in the case.

According to Laplaga, Theresa got a ride with two acquaintances the night she disappeared. The acquaintances, who later returned to Theresa’s residence in the 7100 block of Midlothian Turnpike, said she had been dropped off in the area of a Midlothian night spot known as Johnie’s at 4400 Jeffer-son Davis Turnpike.

“An in-dependent patron saw her a few hours later at D’Angelo’s,” another Midlothian night spot, Laplaga said. She was last seen around 2:30 a.m. in the 4500 block of Jefferson Davis Turnpike.

Theresa was reported missing on Sept. 24, 1985, to officers with the Chesterfield County Police Department. With her body being found in Hanover County, the Sheriff’s Office entered into a joint investigation with Chesterfield authorities. “We recovered the remains,” Trice said. “We didn’t know a lot about what happened to her.”

A statement released by the Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 19, 1986, said the skeletal remains had been identified as Theresa Lynn Boyer Baker. Her description was listed as white female, age 24, 5-foot-6, 140 pounds, with brown hair and eyes.

She was the mother of two boys, ages 7 and 1, and a 3-year-old girl. The older child was raised by relatives in Pennsylvania, while the younger two children were adopted by non-relatives, Laplaga said. He also said Theresa’s husband Raymond was incarcerated at the time of her death.

Theresa had a sister – who, in a Feb. 20, 1986, article in the Richmond News Leader, asked that her name not be used—living in the area. The victim was said to be seeking employment at the time of her disappearance.

On Feb. 19, 1986, the News Leader reported that Theresa “left her home Sept. 20 and took her children and some belongings to the home of her sister.” She “then left the children and belongings, including her purse, at her sister’s home and went to Johnie’s Night Club.”

“Theresa didn’t have any connections to the Mechanicsville area,” Laplaga said, “so we’re hoping that this article will bring to light to people who either lived in Cherrydale or Mechanicsville or possibly visited those establishments and might have some type of recollection.”

“It seems obvious that the killer had a connection to both areas,” Smith added. “Mechanicsville and Hanover (County) were much different places than they are now. They were more rural at that time. We’re looking for someone who can help connect those dots for us.”

Laplaga has reviewed evidence, visited the scene where Theresa’s body was found, and talked with personnel at the State Crime Lab as his investigation continues. He said he plans to “turn over every stone and make sure everything was done.” He said “a fresh set of eyes” may help the Sheriff’s Office “get some resolution” with the case.

Investigator W.L. Snelson and Sgt. H.L. Wray handled the case in 1986.

Theresa Baker’s remains were not claimed, prompting then-Sheriff Harold E. Bradley to make arrangements for her burial. She was laid to rest on June 13, 1989, at Roselawn Cemetery in Glen Allen.

Anyone with information concerning Theresa Lynn Boyer Baker’s death can contact the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office at 365-6110. Information also can be submitted online to the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office at www.hanoversheriff.com.

For more information on cold cases, visit http://www.co.hanover.va.us/sheriff/mostwanted_coldcases.html.

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The Investigative Division of the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office is supervised by Capt. Michael J. Trice, who said, “Over the last several years we have identified and assembled unsolved violent crimes cases; such as, murders, rapes and robberies. Our first step was to evaluate the investigative work that took place immediately after the crime was discovered or reported. While, in most cases, these investigations are not opened as a result of new information, it is important to evaluate historical cases and then take advantage of new investigative and forensic techniques in the hope of reaching a conclusion to this crimes. “Sergeants Eddy Smith and Patrick Lamb are responsible for pulling these cases off the shelf, assigning an Investigator, and begin to actively reconstruct them and work on them again,” he added.

Melody Kinser
Theresa Baker’s remains were buried at Roselawn Cemetery on June 13, 1989.

Laplaga