PORT ORANGE, Fla. – A woman found slain in Volusia County in 1980 has been positively identified, and authorities said she was the victim of Daytona Beach-area serial killer Gerald Stano.
The Volusia Sheriff’s Office on Thursday said the victim was identified as Pamela Kay Wittman, of Indiana, whose body was found Nov. 5, 1980, off I-95 north of Port Orange.
“The serial killer who confessed to killing 41 people at one point in time said he dumped the body off of I-95,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said. “Pamela left her home in Indiana to come to Daytona Beach to start a new life and at some point in time she ran across this scumbag Stano who killed her and dumped her on the side of the road.”
Officials said the positive ID was made possible by FHD Forensics with funding from Genealogy For Justice (G4J), a nonprofit organization that provides grants for genetic genealogy investigations of unsolved cases with unidentified human remains.
Wittman was identified after her DNA was extracted from a small piece of bone.
“After all these years, finally this family can answer the question of what happened to their loved one,” Chitwood said in a statement. “While this isn’t the news any family hopes to hear, I’m grateful for everyone who worked so hard to make sure we found the truth and gave Pamela a proper memorial.”
According to a news release, Wittman’s Indiana schoolmates recalled her as a beautiful person with a big heart who loved to make people laugh and enjoyed singing.
A memorial marker has been placed in the area where Wittman’s body was found, reading in part: “She had the voice of an angel.”
Wittman’s younger sister, Donita Bishop, was in grade school when Pam disappeared.
“I wish I had the opportunity to get to know her, but learning the truth has been healing,” Bishop said. “Closure was long awaited and well needed.”
After a plea agreement, Stano was found guilty of nine other murders, although he confessed to killing 41 women in three states. He was executed by the state of Florida in 1998.
“He was pure evil. This was a guy whose whole life surrounded and centered on preying on young girls,” said Detective Bill Weaver.