"Vernie" Mitchell, born Jon Mitchell, was the son of Shirley Mitchell (1948 - 1994). His headstone reads: "Jon "Vernie" Mitchell 1965 - 1976 Love, Mom & Dad Sisters & Bros."
Ten year old Vernie left home at 8 pm on January 28th 1976 to buy bread from a neighborhood store. His body was later found "mutilated with more than 80 cuts and stab wounds". He had been kidnapped, raped, and murdered. It turned out that the killer was a pallbearer at Vernie's funeral (see Man Charged in 1976 Killing) Also see Man convicted in 1976 sex assault, killing of 10-year-old Trenton boy loses another appeal to read a 2019 article about the case and the subsequent resolution.
The crime was featured on "Nightmare Next Door, Unknown Murder". Details about the appeal are located at: Man convicted in 1976 sex assault, killing of 10-year-old Trenton boy loses another appeal
Photos of old headstones, graves, and obituaries from around the world.
Grave markers or headstones (commonly referred to as graves) and newspaper obituaries provide valuable information for the family historian and researcher. Photos of information found in cemeteries no...
I'm a Founder of AncientFaces and support the community answering questions & helping members make connections to the past (thus my official title of Founder & Content and Community Support ). For me, it's been a labor of love for over 20 years. I truly believe with all of my heart that everyone should be remembered for generations to come.
I am 2nd generation San Jose and have seen a lot of changes in the area while growing up. We used to be known as the "Valley of Heart's Delight" (because the Valley was covered with orchards and there were many canneries to process the food grown here, which shipped all over the US) - now we have adopted the nickname "Capital of Silicon Valley" and Apple, Ebay, Adobe, Netflix, Facebook, and many more tech companies are within a few miles of my current home in San Jose (including AncientFaces). From a small town of 25,000, we have grown to 1 million plus. And when you add in all of the communities surrounding us (for instance, Saratoga, where I attended high school, living a block from our previous Mayor), we are truly one of the big cities in the US. I am so very proud of my hometown. For more information see Kathy - Founder & Content and Community Director My family began AncientFaces because we believe that unique photos and stories that show who people are/were should be shared with the world.