5 chilling details about Michelle Busha case shown on The Friday the 13th Murders

The Friday the 13th Murders turns to the Michelle Busha case in the episode She Had No Name. The hour tracks how an 18-year-old traveler vanished, how a confession solved the crime, and how her name stayed unknown for decades.

With The Friday the 13th Murders bringing the story back into focus, the episode lays out a clear timeline and centers on the facts. The result is a stark look at a 1980 murder, an unclaimed grave, and a long road to identification.

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Case background for The Friday the 13th Murders

Michelle Yvette Busha left Bay City, Texas, after turning 18, calling home from stops that reportedly included Mississippi and Indiana in early 1980. Her family reported her missing on May 9, 1980. Later that month, a farmer found a young woman’s body near Interstate 90 in southern Minnesota. She was buried as a Jane Doe.

Michelle Busha traveled across states before contact with family stopped (Image via Pexels)

In 1988, former Minnesota state trooper Robert Leroy Nelson confessed while in custody in Texas, saying he had assaulted and strangled a hitchhiker while on duty; he later pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter tied to the Minnesota case, according to CBS News.

In 2014, the county exhumed the Jane Doe for DNA testing, and in March 2015, her remains matched Busha’s family, Reuters reported. Her name was restored, and her remains were returned to relatives.

Also read: What happened to Michelle Busha? Details explored following The Friday the 13th Murders episode 6

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5 key details shown in The Friday the 13th Murders

1) A patrol stop that ended in silence

The episode recounts how a young woman was seen getting into a patrol car near the Bricelyn overpass along I-90 and then disappeared. That sighting anchored the timeline that investigators later matched to Nelson’s patrol activity, per case files summarized in the show and news coverage.

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2) The killer was a trooper on duty

Nelson confessed that he put the victim in his cruiser, handcuffed her, sexually assaulted her, and strangled her with a cord, according to CBS News. He pleaded guilty in Minnesota while already serving time in Texas. The confession aligned with details that had not been public, which raised its credibility at the time.

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3) Jane Doe for 35 years

A DNA match in 2015 confirmed that Jane Doe was Michelle Busha (Image via Unsplash)

Although the case was solved by confession in the late 1980s, the victim’s identity remained unknown for decades. In 2015, DNA testing tied the Jane Doe to Michelle Busha of Texas, Reuters reported. That match closed a long-standing missing persons entry and changed a headstone from “Jane Doe” to her name.

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4) Graphic injuries that pointed to torture

The body showed signs of severe abuse. Fingernails were reportedly removed while she was alive, and her head was shaved except for a small patch. Those disturbing details, cited in investigative reporting by Reveal, match what the episode presents.

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5) A citizen’s campaign helped force movement

Blue Earth resident Deborah Anderson pushed for years to keep the case in public view, raise funds, and press for exhumation. Reveal reported that her efforts helped set the stage for the 2014 exhumation and the 2015 DNA match that identified Busha.

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Where to watch The Friday the 13th Murders

The Friday the 13th Murders streams on Max, Max via Amazon Channels, Discovery+ via Amazon Channels, Philo, Investigation Discovery, and Discovery+. It is available free with ads on Investigation Discovery and on Spectrum On Demand, and for purchase on Amazon Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home.

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Edited by Preethika Vijayakumar