Sequoya Vargas
In this episode, we shine light on the story of 16-year-old Sequoya Vargas who went missing from Hawaii in 1993.
Background
In many missing person’s cases, little is known about what happened to the missing individual. That’s not the case with Sequoya’s story where there are multiple perpetrator testimonies about what happened the night she disappeared. Because we want to give adequate space to Sequoya’s story, this is a rare two episode edition of she goes by Jane.
Early Life
Sequoya was born in 1975 in Oceanside, California. In her early life, she seemed to forge her own path: inventing her own language, making new rules to board games, and chasing boys around with spiders.
In 1989, her mother’s friend convinced her to move to Hawaii which she described as the perfect place to raise a family. And in many ways it was a paradise for them. By the time she was in middle school, Sequoya competed in chess against island high schoolers…and won. And in high school she took on a role in the drama club’s production of The Merchant of Venice.
Though she missed a lot of school due to skipping, before the start of her junior year she started making plans on what she wanted to do. She decided to do better in school because her dream was to go to art college. Shortly before she disappeared, she took the SAT exam and was looking forward to the start of school.
Disappearance
On August 21, 1993, a group of about 20 friends gathered on Kehena to camp over night. The next day, Sequoya and her friend, Jessica, were hitchhiking to Jessica’s house. They were picked up by a man we’re calling D. D gave them a ride and, though in his 20s, then told the teens he would call them later to see if they wanted to go to his cousin’s house to watch television.
Later, when he called, only Sequoya went. This was the last time Jessica ever saw Sequoya.
Early Search
Sequoya and her mother had a strong relationship, one where Sequoya knew to contact her mother to let her know where she was. When Sequoya didn’t call or return hoDme, her mother knew immediately something was wrong.
Despite this, police brushed aside these concerns and suggested that Sequoya may have run away. They also suggested that the family contact friends and community members first to help them find Sequoya. This sent her family on an extensive search manned by friends, family, and volunteers.
The family learned of D and of the car he was driving which led them to identify D’s cousin, the man whose house D was inviting the teens to. We will refer to him as J. When the family questioned J they said he seemed nervous. He did reveal that yes, Sequoya had been to his house. He claimed, though, that D and Sequoya left shortly after and the Sequoya ended up connecting with a few friends.
His story was immediately suspicious. Using this information, the family was able to track down a third man we’re calling M. When Sequoya’s mother questioned M, he said he received this wound in a fight. He also denied knowing what happened to Sequoya or saying where she was.
A few hours later, though, he would go to the local police station and start talking.
Subscribe to she goes by Jane wherever you get your podcasts to support our work in shining light on these stories.
People and Cases Mentioned in this Episode:
Sequoya Vargas (unsolved missing person case, solved murder)
Dana Ireland (unsolved murder case)In this episode, we shine light on the story of Carma Purpura who went missing in 2007 from Indianapolis, Indiana.
Introduction
It’s important to know this episode deals with issues of substance abuse and we urge all listeners to approach this with compassion. Like many who face drug addiction, Carma was well-loved by her family and friends.
Personal History
Carma faced many life challenges including a drug addiction. While this doesn’t excuse any of her actions, it provides important context for some of her actions. In 1999, Carma, along with her boyfriend at the time, were arrested for improper disposal of a body and auto theft in connection to the death of Gregory Reed. Reed, along with Carma, her boyfriend, and acquaintance had used drugs at Carma’s residence resulting in Reed’s death. The three surviving individuals left Reed’s body by an observation tower where he wasn’t found for several months. Hoping to take her case to trial, Carma delayed while the other two took a plea deal. She ended up being arrested two times while awaiting trial in a series of drug-related offenses.
It seems that none of Carma’s interactions with the court systems resulted in efforts to get her clear interventions for her drug addictions. By 2007, it was apparent that Carma had begun to work as a sex worker frequenting truck stops.
Encounter with Alleged Killer
Carma was last seen near the cab of a truck driver. The next day the man was stopped in Nashville, Tennessee as police sought to interview him in the murder of Sara Nicole Hulbert the month before. When investigators searched his cab, they found some of Carma’s belongings and what turned out to be her blood. The blood of at least ten individuals were found in the cab.
The man, a married father, implicated himself in several other murders. He also claimed, though, that he was a victim of two men who kept using his truck cab to commit crimes. He has since been convicted of two of these murders and is awaiting trial in Carma’s case.
Missing Person
Despite authorities finding evidence that Carma was in the truck cab, they were unable to locate her body. The truck driver suggested that he left her body in a car near a Hardee’s in Indianapolis. Police, though, theorized he may have placed her inside a dumpster and that it was unlikely that her body would be found. They were confident they could still move forward with a murder case given the amount of blood and evidence in the case.
Unidentified Woman
In 2011, 4 years after Carma disappeared, the skull of a woman was found alongside a parkway in Kentucky. In total, investigators were only able to locate around 30 of her bones. It was theorized at the time that these skeletal remains belonged to a Native American woman who had been shot in the head. It was also believed that she may have been scalped as part of a hate crime.
Identification
In 2016 after a second DNA extraction, the Jane Doe found in Kentucky was identified as Carma Purpura.
Remembrance
Despite her complicated history, it’s important to know that Carma was loved. As her mother told reporters, “Despite her troubled life, we know Carma as a beautiful, talented and sweet young woman.”
Subscribe to she goes by Jane wherever you get your podcasts to support our work in shining light on these stories.
People and Cases Mentioned in this Episode:
Carma Purpura (solved missing persons/Unidentified persons case)
Gregory Reed (solved missing person case)
Buffie Brawley (solved murder)
Sara Nicole Hulbert (solved murder)
Lucille “Gretna” Carter (solved murder)
Symantha Winters (solved murder)
Guest reader
Tonantzín Carmelo
Tonantzín Carmelo is an award winning actress, voice artist, and choreographer playing lead and supporting roles for film, television, video games, theater and more. Her credits include a series regular as Paara on NBC’s La Brea, Touching Ground in the BBC Mini series The English, Kendra Daniels in the original video game Dead Space, and Shayla Stonefeather in the independent film Imprint. In addition, she has guest starred on a number of TV shows including The Rookie, Animal Kingdom, Undone, American Dad and Spirit Rangers.