OPELIKA, Ala. (WRBL) – The Florida man accused of killing his biological daughter Amore Wiggins in the decade-old Opelika Baby Jane Doe case is back in court. Lamar Vickerstaff faces felony murder charges, while his wife Ruth Vickerstaff, who is not Amore’s biological mother, is charged with failing to report a missing child. The preliminary hearings for both defendants are scheduled for Wednesday, March 22nd, where a judge will determine if there is sufficient evidence to proceed to a Grand Jury for official indictments.
Lamar Vickerstaff is being held at the Lee County Detention Facility without bail, while Ruth Vickerstaff has been released on a $10,000 bond but must remain in Alabama. She has hired Zach Alsobrook as her attorney, who says she has cooperated fully with the police and shared all information she knows.
According to court documents, a witness statement puts Lamar Vickerstaff in Opelika during the estimated time of Amore Wiggin’s death between 2010 and 2011. Additionally, we learned Vickerstaff has ties to the exact area where her remains were recovered and how he went AWOL from the Navy before a scheduled meeting with Opelika police in Florida.
“Amore Wiggins suffered serious, physical injuries that led to her death, while in the care in the custody of Lamar, Vickerstaff, and her body was discarded in Lamar’s hometown behind a residence where associates of Lamar live,” said a deposition court document.
On December 5, 2022, Opelika detectives traveled to Jacksonville Florida to meet with Lamar. Vickerstaff has been a member of the Navy since 2001 and is currently stationed at Mayport Naval base.
“With the assistance of NCIS the meeting was scheduled with Lamar however, Lamar never showed up for the meeting and went absent without leaving AWOL from the base. Lamar was tracked down after several hours and when told about his deceased daughter’s remains being found in Opelika, he stated he could not answer questions about something he did not know about. Ruth was interviewed later the same day and said she did not know Lamar‘s daughter or his daughter’s mother. Amore Wiggins suffered serious physical injuries that led to her death, while in the care and custody of Lamar Vickerstaff,” stated court documents.
BACKGROUND
On January 28, 2012, Opelika Police responded to Brookhaven Trailer Park, located at 1775 Hurst Street in Opelika, AL, about skeletal remains being found. A skull was located in the yard of a residence while the majority of the bones were located only a few feet into the wood line behind a trailer and the adjacent lot. During the search of the area, a pink child’s shirt and a small bundle of curly hair were also recovered. The remains were sent to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Va., where a medical examination was performed. The report stated that the remains were of a black female likely between 4-7 years of age who became affectionately known to the community as Baby Jane Doe. An autopsy was performed and notated fractures to her skull, arms, legs, shoulders, and ribs; totaling more than 15 individual fractures that were attributed to blunt force trauma.
Baby Jane Doe’s death was determined to be a homicide and is believed to have occurred between the summer of 2010 to 2011. In 2022 a profile was built and in October of 2022, Jane Doe’s father was identified as 50-year-old Lamar Vickerstaff Jr. Mr. Vickerstaff was born and raised in Opelika, Ala. before enlisting in the U.S. Navy.
WRBL is in court and will update you on the hearings.
