Unidentified 1977 murder victim's body exhumed

Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives have exhumed the body of a woman who was murdered in 1977 but has never been identified.

The remains of the “Jane Doe” murder victim, who was buried in Everett, were dug up April 1 in hopes of using modern technology to identify her, according to court documents filed Thursday in Snohomish County Superior Court.

Detectives obtained a court order authorizing exhumation on March 30, documents say.

David M. Roth was convicted in the woman's murder and has served his sentence. Detectives recently contacted Roth to verify that he has no idea of her identity.

David Roth is the brother of Randy Roth, who was convicted in the early 1990s of drowning his wife -- a case that attracted international attention.

Officers in 1992 tried to reconstruct the face of David Roth's victim using sculpting techniques and clay. Photos of the sculpture were widely distributed, but nobody came forward to identify her.

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said the 1992 sculpture may make the woman look much older than she really was, and a sheriff’s artist will put together a new version of her likeness