On June 20th, 1984, two fishermen spotted a horrific sight floating near the T.J. Meenach Bridge over the Spokane River, close to Spokane Falls Community College in Washington State. The nude torso of a young woman had been dumped in the water. Her body was missing its head, hands, and feet: deliberately removed, authorities believed, to prevent identification and hinder the investigation.
An autopsy revealed the victim had endured extreme violence: she had been sexually assaulted, stabbed multiple times, and then decapitated and dismembered postmortem. Forensic experts estimated she was in her early to mid-twenties, Caucasian, with evidence suggesting she had given birth to at least one child within the year or two before her death. Investigators nicknamed her “Millie” (a departure from the usual “Jane Doe”) to humanize the case and perhaps jog memories.
Despite extensive efforts, including sketches, dental records checks, and appeals for missing persons matches, no one came forward to identify her. She was buried in an unmarked grave at Fairmount Memorial Park in Spokane.
The case took another chilling turn fourteen years later. On April 19th, 1998, a human skull was found at the corner of Seventh and Sherman streets in Spokane’s South Hill area. DNA and forensic analysis eventually linked it to the 1984 torso remains, confirming it belonged to the same woman. Even with this additional evidence, her identity remained a mystery.
The breakthrough came through modern genetic genealogy. In September 2021, the Spokane Police Department and Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office partnered with Othram, a Texas-based forensic lab specializing in DNA analysis for unidentified remains. Othram sequenced the victim’s DNA and built a genetic profile, which was used to search genealogy databases.
By early 2023, investigators developed leads to potential relatives. A sibling provided a DNA sample, and on February 17th, 2023, Othram confirmed a match. On March 29th, 2023, authorities publicly announced that “Millie Doe” was Ruth Belle Waymire, born April 16th, 1960. She was twenty-four years old at the time of her murder.
Ruth had attended Rogers High School in Spokane. She was married to Trampas D.L. Vaughn (born 1945) at the time of her death; the couple had wed in Wenatchee, Washington, and no divorce record exists. Vaughn, who had a criminal history including prison time in Iowa before moving to the Pacific Northwest, died in Sutter County, California, in 2017. Police have not ruled him out as a suspect but have named no definitive perpetrator. Ruth’s first husband, who still lives in Spokane, has cooperated with the investigation.
Ruth was somewhat estranged from parts of her family—her parents are deceased, and she had limited contact with her sister—which may explain why she was never reported missing. The identity of any child(ren) she may have had remains unknown.
In July 2024, Ruth’s family gathered at Fairmount Memorial Park for the installation of a proper headstone, marking a poignant moment of closure after decades in an unmarked grave. Relatives described the identification and memorial as bringing “finally at peace” to a long ordeal.
The Spokane Police Department’s cold case unit continues to investigate the homicide. No arrests have been made, and leads remain limited. Authorities still seek information from anyone who knew Ruth Waymire, Trampas Vaughn, or had contact with the victim in the early 1980s.
Crime Immemorial 