


Baldock Woman, or ‘The Girl in the Afghan Coat’
On February 18th, 1975, at approximately 6:15am, a young woman died after being struck by multiple vehicles, near Baldock, Hertfordshire, England. She was dubbed Baldock Woman - or Baldock Jane Doe - and was also given the name ‘The Girl in the Afghan Coat’, due to the coat she was wearing when she died.
Jane Doe had last been seen alive at around 5:30am, the same morning she was killed. She had hitched a ride with a milkman, awake early delivering milk. She told him her name was ‘Ann’ or ‘Anne’ and that she was planning on hitchhiking to London. She spoke with a foreign accent and appeared to be in distress, seeming either scared or worried. This was the last confirmed contact she had with anyone, before she died.
She was described as a white woman, between 17-25, 5’3” and of thin build. She had fair, shoulder length hair and hazel eyes. In the original reconstruction, her hair is depicted as curly/wavy, though the most recent depictions show her as having straight hair. Additionally, Jane Doe had several significant identifiers: a pierced right ear, a wart on both of her abdomen and her left leg, as well as a scar on her right leg.
At the time of her death, she was wearing: a brown Afghan coat which became the basis of her nickname, a brown leather waistcoat, a ‘Chelsea Girl’ brand blue cotton blouse, a white cotton floral blouse, black jeans from the French brand ‘Prisu’, a ‘Levi’ brand mini skirt, a chiffon lace scarf which was worn as a wrap, and ‘Prova’ brand tights. When found, she carried no ID and wore no shoes.
In 2010, a new facial reconstruction was created and a brand new appeal for information was launched. The reconstruction was circulated in several newspapers across the UK. After seeing this appeal, a man named David Liversedge came forward; he claimed he had met her while hitchhiking on London’s North Circular during a thunderstorm, and that the woman had lived with him and his wife, Barbara, in Bedfordshire for six months in 1972. She told them her name was Odile Ludic, but was unsure of the exact spelling. It was believed she was in her early 20s at the time. She often spoke of a mother and a sister, as well as several friends and a boyfriend whom she claimed to spend a lot of time with. Whilst living with the Liversedge’s, she worked for Plug International in Henlow, Bedfordshire. She also regularly visited Stotford Social Club, and said she had friends in Newquay, Cornwall. Eventually, she moved from Bedfordshire to Cambridge.
In 2025, Locate International — a UK-based charity doing excellent work to identify UK Does — discovered a newspaper article from November 25th, 1972, detailing a house fire at a bedsit where a French student named ‘Odile Ledoux’ was residing. The forename and age matched what David had told them, as well as the information in regard to her living in Cambridgeshire. At the time, Odile had been attending the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology (now known as Anglia Ruskin University), where she was studying English. Locate International are currently investigating this case, with appeals active in both the UK and France.
It’s worth noting that it’s unconfirmed that Odile Ludic/Odile Ledoux are the same person, and also that the Odile living with David and Barbara Liversidge is actually Baldock Jane Doe. Websleuths seem sceptical of the match, especially as the Baldock Woman told a milkman — the last person to see her alive — that her name was Ann(e). If she was scared or worried in the time leading up to her death, it’s possible she may have been running from someone, and was using a fake identity.
One other interesting thing to note is the single ear piercing. In the sixties and seventies, a single ear piercing on a woman was seen as a sign of rebellion. The typical trend was to wear clip-on earrings, but young women at the time, aiming to rebel against societal norms, would often pierce their own ears. It was prominent in the punk and hippy subcultures, amongst others. The specific style of coat Jane Doe was wearing was also extremely popular with the hippie movement, in the seventies and into the early eighties. It’s very possible that she was a member of this specific subculture, and may have had friends also within this movement.
There are no known exclusions in this case. Locate International are actively investigating leads in both the UK and France.