On November 12th, 2001, the Goldsboro Police Department took a report of a missing 23-year-old black female, Felicia Dishelle Coleman. The reporting person stated she had not heard from Coleman and she never stayed away like this in the past.
This investigation was assigned to different investigators over the last 20 years since Coleman’s disappearance. The case remained open waiting for any identification information.
On December 6 of 2001, according to the report filed with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, human remains were located in the Bill Lane Boulevard area of Wayne County by hunters surveying the area for the hunting season. The remains were sent to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner for analysis. The initial analysis classified the remains as being from a younger black male. This classification of the remains did not match any existing missing person or death investigation. Wayne County detectives continued the investigation but were unable to identify the remains or identify any other evidence related to the human remains.
On January 10 of 2011, the Office of Chief Medical Examiner contacted the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and revised their initial findings to show that DNA testing indicates that the remains are actually from a black female in her mid to late 20s. Wayne County detectives suspended their investigation due to a lack of actionable leads.
In June of 2020, Investigator James Sturgill looked into the Goldsboro Police Department’s missing person matter with Felicia Coleman as a cold case. He contacted her family, obtained a DNA sample, and entered it into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS).
This week Thursday, Investigator Sturgill received notification from NAMUS that a match for Felicia Coleman was received. Her DNA was matched to remains sent to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office in reference to their death investigation in 2001.
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office provided assistance with information from the original investigative file from their 2001 death investigation.
This matter remains under investigation by the Goldsboro Police Department. Any determination as to cause or manner of death is still under investigation.
