Suicide of Joyce Marilyn Meyer Sommers

Joyce Marilyn (Meyer) Sommers, also known as the Christmas Tree Lady, was a formerly unidentified American woman who died by suicide in a cemetery in Annandale, Virginia on December 18, 1996. She was identified more than 25 years later on May 11, 2022. Life: Sommers was born to Arthur Meyer and Margaret Meyer and had four siblings. She was raised in Davenport, Iowa and later attended Iowa State University. Sommers then relocated to Los Angeles to work at a magazine. After she left the magazine, she taught second grade at a local Los Angeles elementary school. In the 1960s, Sommers and her mother had an argument when she felt that her mother was treating her terribly. Sommers then moved to Seattle and married but later divorced in 1977. She then moved to Tucson, Arizona where her siblings visited her. This was the last time they saw her. Her siblings later hired private investigator to locate her, but this failed. In the early 1990s, Sommers's brother traveled to Tucson in an attempt to locate her, only to find the trailer she had lived in abandoned. In it, he discovered a book, "The Target Child", written by Sommers. In the book, she wrote about her supposed abusive upbringing. Suicide: On December 18, 1996, a little after 9 a.m., workers at the Pleasant Valley Memorial Park Cemetery in Annandale, Virginia, discovered the body of a woman. She was found near the section of the cemetery where infants are buried. They then called police. It was discovered that she put a bag over her head and secured the bag with tape. She was wearing a red shirt, a sweater, blue pants, and an Eddie Bauer jacket. An 8 in (200 mm) Christmas tree and her backpack were found next to her. She was also found to be listening to a cassette tape using a tape player and headphones. Two notes were found with one saying, "Now I lay me down to sleep, soon to drift to the eternal deep. And though I die and shall not wake, sleep sweeter will be than this life I forsake." The second message read "Deceased by own hand. Prefer no autopsy. Please order cremation, with funds provided. Thank you, Jane Doe." Two $50 bills were found with her. One of the bills was for the cemetery, and the other bill was for the coroner. Authorities determined that she committed suicide by suffocation, but were unable to identify her. Investigation: The then unidentified woman, nicknamed the Christmas Tree Lady, was reported to be a Caucasian woman, had a height of around 5 ft 0 in (1.52 m), and was between 50-70 years old. Alcohol and valium was found in her system. Hoping to find a match, authorities looked at many nearby cases which involved missing people, but they failed. In 2000, a colored sketch of the Christmas Tree Lady was released. In January 2022, the Texas lab, Othram, conducted tests using DNA. The tests were made possible by donations. In May 2022, Othram discovered that a man, David Meyer, could be the Christmas Tree Lady's brother. After David Meyer looked at the drawing of the Christmas Tree Lady, he was not able to say whether or not she was his sister because the last time he saw her was decades ago. The detectives were then told to go to his sister, Clough. After seeing the drawing, Clough said that she was definitely Joyce. DNA was taken from Clough, and the Christmas Tree Lady was identified as 69 year old Joyce Marilyn Meyer Sommers. She was not reported missing.