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Cold-Case ID: 2007 La Vergne Jane Doe Confirmed as Mary Alice Maloney, 40

06:16 PM, 11/27/2025
Cold-Case ID: 2007 La Vergne Jane Doe Confirmed as Mary Alice Maloney, 40

The DNA Doe Project has identified remains found in La Vergne, Tennessee, in 2007 as Mary Alice Maloney, who lived near Nashville when she vanished. Genetic genealogists traced distant relatives and expanded a family tree after a closer DNA match emerged in 2021, enabling the confirmation. Maloney was estimated to be between 25 and 49 at discovery and was identified as 40 years old; the case remains an active cold-case investigation.

Human remains discovered in a wooded area of La Vergne, Tennessee, on Nov. 14, 2007, have been identified as Mary Alice Maloney, the nonprofit DNA Doe Project announced after a prolonged genetic investigation. Police originally estimated Maloney had died in the spring or summer of 2007; she was living in the Greater Nashville area at the time but was originally from Connecticut.

Identification through genetic genealogy

Investigative genetic genealogists at the DNA Doe Project traced distant relatives and expanded a family tree after a closer DNA match — a distant cousin — surfaced in 2021. That breakthrough, combined with DNA extraction and whole-genome sequencing, enabled the team to confirm the identity as Mary Alice Maloney, age 40 at the time of identification.

“Our work is often complicated by the lack of people who have uploaded their DNA profiles to the public databases we can use for our cases,” DNA Doe team leader Jenny Lecus wrote. “That’s why one of the recommendations we make to families of the missing is to make sure your DNA profile is in GEDmatch, FamilyTreeDNA and DNA Justice.”

At discovery, investigators estimated the remains belonged to a person between 25 and 49 years old. The DNA Doe Project reported Maloney was of mixed Puerto Rican and African descent.

Partners and case status

The identification was made possible with contributions from multiple partners, including:

  • La Vergne Police Department and the late Sergeant Bob Hayes, for referring the case
  • University of North Texas for DNA extraction
  • HudsonAlpha Discovery for whole-genome sequencing
  • Kevin Lord for bioinformatics support
  • GEDmatch Pro and FamilyTreeDNA for database access
  • Volunteer investigative genetic genealogists who built the family tree

La Vergne Police have stated the matter remains an open cold-case investigation and detectives continue to pursue leads. Anyone with information relevant to Mary Alice Maloney’s death is encouraged to contact the La Vergne Police Department.

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