ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Blood from an unidentified person could help detectives solve the killing of Ashley Oliver, a 17-year-old who disappeared from her family’s Bithlo home more than 21 years ago.
9 Investigates reviewed crime scene photographs with Orange County Sheriff’s Office cold case Detective Kevin Wilson, who believes evidence collected in 2005 could still help identify the person responsible.
Ashley disappeared July 6, 2005. Her skeletal remains were discovered years later in a wooded area off State Road 520.
Her case is part of Channel 9’s continuing coverage of unsolved cases.
Blood evidence offers another opportunity
Photographs from Ashley’s home show a damaged door and blood evidence in several locations, including a bedroom and a laundry hamper.
Investigators believe a struggle occurred inside the house. Among the evidence detectives are examining is blood found on Ashley’s underwear.
“There are pieces of blood that are her blood, and then there’s other items that have blood of an unknown person that we don’t know at this time,” Wilson said.
Detectives hope advances in DNA testing could help them make use of that unidentified blood. Identifying a potential suspect would also give investigators an opportunity to compare DNA directly with the evidence.
“If we can be able to get a suspect and possibly direct compare to that blood, it may be enough,” Wilson said.
Testing could take months, and there is no guarantee it will identify Ashley’s killer.
A kicked-in door and a missing teenager
Ashley was a junior at Timber Creek High School who worked part time at a local movie theater. She had a boyfriend and plans for her future.
On the morning she disappeared, she was home alone at her family’s house on County Road 13. Her brother left around 10 a.m. to fill out job applications, and other family members were at work.
“Ashley was supposed to stay at home by herself, and then they came back home and realized that the door had been kicked in, and she wasn’t there,” Wilson said.
Investigators initially considered whether she had run away. Her family insisted she had not, pointing to the purse, clothing and paycheck she left behind.
Detectives eventually ruled out her family members and boyfriend as suspects.
For her father, Wayne Kaiser, the loss meant missing milestones he had imagined sharing with his daughter.
“I’m never going to see her graduate, never going to see her get married, things like that,” Kaiser said.
A phone call that did not bring answers
The day after Ashley disappeared, a voicemail left for her uncle briefly raised hopes.
“This is Ashley. Call me back,” the message said.
Investigators traced the call to a pay phone in El Paso, Texas. The lead did not resolve her disappearance.
Electrical workers later discovered skeletal remains in a remote area off State Road 520. DNA testing confirmed they belonged to Ashley.
“It seemed like that was possibly a very desolate area to maybe dump a body by the suspects,” Wilson said.
Detectives still need information
No one has been arrested in connection with Ashley’s killing.
As detectives revisit the physical evidence, they are also asking anyone with information about her disappearance or death to come forward.
Anyone who remembers suspicious activity in Bithlo on July 6, 2005, or has other information about the case can contact the Orange County Sheriff’s Office at 407-836-4357.
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