In a recent press release, the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office made a significant announcement regarding a homicide case that had remained unsolved for almost four decades. The breakthrough came after human remains were discovered in a shallow grave on Crescent Beach in April 1985, located approximately 50 miles south of Jacksonville.
According to the sheriff's office, the initial investigation indicated that the victim was a white female, potentially aged between 30 and 50 years old at the time of her death. Subsequent examination confirmed that the manner of death was homicide.
After years of tireless efforts to progress the case, the remains were sent to Othram, a private forensics lab, in 2023. Advances in DNA technology led to the development of leads, prompting investigators to visit potential relatives and collect samples. In January 2024, the remains were positively identified as belonging to Mary Alice Pultz.
"The Othram team was able to develop a DNA profile for the victim," explained the sheriff's office's statement. "This profile was submitted to consumer genealogy databases, resulting in the identification of possible relatives of the victim."
Pultz, born in 1943 and raised in Maryland, was last seen by her family in 1968 after leaving with her boyfriend, John Thomas Fugitt. "The belief is that Mary Alice and – he went by Tommy – had kind of moved off together, potentially to either Florida or Georgia," said Sgt. Gene Tolbert in an interview.
Further investigation revealed that Pultz had undergone brain surgery after 1968, evidenced by burr holes in her skull. Authorities suspect she was involved in an event causing traumatic injury, necessitating hospitalization. Notably, Pultz's boyfriend, Fugitt, is considered a person of interest in the case, having died while serving a prison sentence in Georgia related to a separate murder.
Sheriff Rob Hardwick emphasized the significance of the resolution, stating, "The combination of highly skilled detectives and advanced DNA technology has given Mary Alice’s family some answers about her disappearance close to 40 years ago." He praised the dedication of Major Crimes detectives in seeking closure for victims' families, affirming the department's commitment to pursuing justice relentlessly.
