Carolyn Celeste Eaton (October 1, 1964 – February 1982) was a formerly unidentified American teenager from Bellefontaine Neighbors, Missouri, who was found murdered along Interstate 40 in Williams, Arizona, on Valentine's Day 1982. The young woman had been last seen alive with an unidentified older man on February 4, 1982, at the Monte Carlo Truck Stop near Ash Fork, Arizona.
Despite initial efforts to identify her and solve her murder, the investigation into Eaton's murder became a cold case. In July 1984, she was erroneously identified as Melody Cutlip of Istachatta, Florida, a finding rejected by Cutlip's mother. Cutlip eventually returned home two years later and Valentine Sally became unidentified once more. Numerous efforts were made to determine her identity, including forensic facial reconstructions of her face.
On February 22, 2021, Eaton's identification was confirmed by investigators via genetic genealogy. Prior to her 2021 identification, Eaton was best known as "Valentine Sally" due to being found on Valentine's Day.
Discovery
On February 14, 1982, the decomposing body of a young woman was found by an Arizona state trooper searching for a tire that came off a passing truck. She was lying face down under a cedar tree along the Interstate 40 at mile marker 151.8 in Williams, Arizona. The victim was found dressed only in size 8 or 9 blue jeans with the brand name "Seasons". A white sweater with thin red or maroon stripes, a size 36c white bra, and a white handkerchief lay nearby. The victim's jeans had torn belt loops suggesting that she had been dragged 25 feet off the roadway to the site of her discovery. No shoes or socks were found with the remains.
Autopsy
Valentine Sally was estimated to be five feet four to five feet five inches in height and weighed between 120-125 pounds. Her eyes were described as blue by witnesses who saw the victim alive. The victim's hair was approximately 9.5 inches in length and either blonde or strawberry-blonde in color. Irregular and rough well-healed scars were found on the top of her left foot measuring 3.5 and 1.4 centimeters as well as a diagonal scar on the anterior (back) lower thigh measuring 3.5 centimeters in length. Moles were found on her chest above the right breast.
The medical examiner determined that Valentine Sally was murdered about 2 weeks prior to discovery. The cause of death couldn't be determined due to decomposition and insect/wildlife activity on her face, head, and neck area. However, the medical examiner believed that she died of suffocation or asphyxiation because her hyoid bone wasn't broken and there was no other trauma to her body. Valentine Sally's right ear was missing due to it being torn off by wildlife. The autopsy also revealed that a left lower molar (Tooth #19) had been drilled in preparation for a root canal about 1 week before the victim died. A dissolved aspirin was located in that tooth's cavity indicating that she still had issues with it. Teeth #1, 16, 17, and 32 weren't erupted.
Investigation
Sightings
According to the Doe Network, a Northern Arizona University student believed that he gave a ride to a girl matching Valentine Sally's description on February 2, 1982, near Cordes Junction. This girl told him that she came from Phoenix where she lived with friends and worked as a dishwasher there. She also said that she needed to go to New Jersey due to family problems and that she was planning to head to the Little America truck stop in Flagstaff to try and get a ride from a truck driver to the East Coast.
On February 4, 1982, a witness named Patty Wilkins saw Valentine Sally entering her family's Monte Carlo Truck Stop with a much older truck driver. Wilkins found it unusual that a teenager was outside at that time of the morning with an older man, so she asked the girl if she felt safe and if she felt like staying at the truck stop. Valentine Sally insisted on staying with the truck driver. The man ordered breakfast, but Valentine Sally refused to eat due to a toothache which concerned her companion. Wilkins crushed up an aspirin tablet into a powder and applied it on Valentine Sally's affected tooth. The girl is estimated to have died within hours of this sighting due to the aspirin still being on the tooth when she was discovered. Wilkins was able to identify Valentine Sally as the girl she had assisted when detectives showed her photos of the clothes found alongside the body.