FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Editor's Note: The video above was published in March 2022 before Joyce Meyer was identified.
Detectives have identified a woman more than 25 years after her body was found in a Fairfax County cemetery. The case has been in the headlines for years, naming the victim 'The Christmas Tree Lady.'
According to a release from Fairfax County Police, the woman, believed to have taken her own life, has been identified as 69-year-old Joyce Meyer.
On December 18, 1996, officers found Meyer's body at Pleasant Valley Memorial Park. Investigators claim a small decorative Christmas tree was found near her body and she had two envelopes in her pocket: one containing a note indicating she had taken her own life and another containing money to cover her funeral expenses. Both notes were signed "Jane Doe."
Cold case detectives were able to identify Meyer using a lab that specializes in Forensic Genetic Genealogy, which used DNA to link Meyer to a family member.
Family members believe Meyer moved to Virginia sometime in the mid-1980s. At the time of her death, no one filed a missing person report as she did not have family in the area.
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