OPELIKA, Ala. (WRBL) – A Florida man accused of killing his biological daughter, known colloquially as the Opelika Baby Jane Doe, is back in court Wednesday, March 22nd.

50-year-old Lamar Vickerstaff faces felony murder charges for allegedly killing his biological daughter, Amore Wiggins. His wife Ruth Vickerstaff, who is not Amore’s biological mother, is charged with failing to report a missing child.

On Wednesday’s preliminary hearings for both defendants, a judge will determine if there is sufficient evidence to proceed to a Grand Jury for official indictments.

Lamar is being held at the Lee County Detention Facility without bail, while Ruth has been released on a $10,000 bond but must remain in Alabama. She has hired Zach Alsobrook as her attorney. He says she has cooperated fully with the police and shared all information she knows.

According to court documents, a witness statement puts Lamar in Opelika during the estimated time of Amore’s death between 2010 and 2011. Additionally, we learned he 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, Fla. to meet with Lamar. He 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,” stated court documents.

BACKGROUND

On January 28, 2012, Opelika Police responded to Brookhaven Trailer Park, located at 1775 Hurst Street, in Opelika, Ala. 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 that October Jane Doe’s father was identified as Lamar Vickerstaff, Jr. He was born and raised in Opelika, Ala. before enlisting in the U.S. Navy.

WRBL, WHNT’s sister station, is in court and will continue to provide updates on the hearings.