Texas mom who vanished during 1977 trip is identified as cold case victim found dead in shallow grave

BAY COUNTY, Fla. (TCN) -- Investigators recently identified a cold case victim who was found deceased in a shallow grave nearly 45 years ago and believe she and her child were killed by her husband in a suspected murder-suicide.

According to the Bay County Sheriff's Office, three hunters located skeletal remains north of Fountain in 1980. Authorities initially believed the victim to be JoAnn Benner, who they say was reported missing in 1976. Her body hadn't been located, and officials suspected foul play.

A lab later determined Benner wasn't the victim, and the case went cold. The sheriff's office noted damage to the victim's clothing, suggesting foul play in her death as well.

According to the sheriff's office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement tested a tooth from the remains and created a DNA profile. As a result, officials found two matches in Texas.

Two people in Texas had previously sent in DNA because they had a sister who disappeared. The Center for Human Identification tested the matches and determined the remains belonged to their missing sibling, Carol Skidmore, who vanished in 1977.

In March 1977, Carol Skidmore left her home in Texas to visit family in Georgia with her husband, James Skidmore, and her 5-year-old son, Lynn Mahaffy. The couple allegedly wanted to "put their marriage back together" at the time.

Carol Skidmore, her husband, and her son were last heard from on April 9, 1977, after Carol Skidmore told her parents "she wasn't sure when they would be back."

Authorities found a child's body in Parksville Lake in Tennessee in May 1977 and determined he died of homicidal violence. The body was reportedly wrapped in plastic and weighed down. The sheriff's office said the child was likely there for a few weeks before the discovery. The FBI later positively identified the juvenile as Carol Skidmore's son, Mahaffy.

Officials located James Skimore deceased in an Arkansas hotel room in June 1977. It was determined he died of suspected suicide from a drug overdose, and there was a note with his body that said, "Things weren't working out for him."

Investigators believe James Skidmore killed Carol Skidmore and her son before hiding his wife's body in a shallow grave and leaving Mahaffy's remains in a lake.

In a statement, Sheriff Tommy Ford said, "We will never stop seeking justice for victims of crime, no matter how much time may have passed. I am so proud of our Cold Case and Crime Scene Units for their determination to find the truth and bring closure to this family."

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