Former coworker talks on Lamar Vickerstaff, father of Opelika Baby Jane Doe

OPELIKA, Ala. (WTVM) - Piecing together the story of exactly what happened to Opelika’s Baby Jane Doe.

Tonight we are learning more about the father of the child now identified as Amore Wiggins.

In January 2006, Amore Wiggins was born. Opelika’s Baby Jane Doe now has an identity after the unidentified skeletal remains were found at Brookhaven mobile home park in Opelika in 2012.

Her father, Lamar Vickerstaff Jr., was arrested for felony murder and his wife Ruth was arrested with failure to report a missing person. Authorities say Vickerstaff was born and raised in Opelika before enlisting in the U.S. Navy.

A veteran, who tells WTVM News Leader 9 he served with Vickerstaff, found out about the arrest online. He said the two men met while stationed in Virginia.

“I was stationed on the USS Ashland from 2007 to 2012 in north Virginia and I think he got to the ship I met him like mid to late 2009,” said Xavier Powell.

Xavier Powell served in the Navy with Vickerstaff from 2009 to 2012. He say Vickerstaff was his direct supervisor. Powell said he didn’t grow up with a father, and Vickerstaff became that father figure when working together.

“You know we spent hours together, at least 12 hours a day together. He did show pictures and stuff like that and be like … yeah that’s my grandbaby you know he always sounded real proud of her,” said Powell.

His granddaughter… is what Vickerstaff referred to his daughter Amore Wiggins as when talking about her to other service members.

“He seemed real proud when he spoke about her.. it wasn’t like that often because there was a point in time where I didn’t hear about her anymore,” said Powell.

Powell said there was a point where the talk of his family came to an end.

“We were all younger, I think he was like 38…37…38 and me and my friend group was probably like 22.. 23 years old and he was hanging out with us a lot more than usual. Drinking a lot and not going home, he spent a lot more time with us than at home with his wife. Which we thought it was odd at the time we didn’t think nothing of it we just assumed he was going through problems at home,” said Powell.

Powell says that happened around 2011.

According to detectives, Amore’s death was determined to be a homicide and believed to have occurred between the summer of 2010 and 2011.

“Me and my fellow shipmates, we still are trying to put the pieces together ourselves... you know its all a shock to us we all looked up to him,” said Powell.

They are currently being held at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office pending extradition to Lee County.

This case remains under investigation, and detectives need the public’s assistance in gathering additional details regarding Lamar and Ruth Vickerstaff’s relationship with Amore Wiggins and her time spent in Opelika, Ala. If you have any information, please contact the Opelika Police Department Detective Division at (334) 705-5220 or the Secret Witness Hotline at (334) 745-8665.

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