Kim Major

The charity now owned a large patch of downtown Ashland, including some vacant land and two old houses.

These houses, clad in yellow siding, were on 4th Street, right across the street from a laundromat.

Empty and abandoned, the houses sat decaying for years.

Until one September day, a 911 call was made from inside one of those houses.

It was the call that ultimately put the spotlight back on Ashland.

I wanted to ask Kim Major about the aftermath of that call, the minutes and hours after Jane Doe was brought into the Ashland Police Department.

What happens when you arrive at the station?

Jane Doe, as she would later be called by the police and the press to keep her real name from the public, was sitting in an empty interview room.

She was in her mid-thirties, thin and wearing a tank top and shorts.

Her appearance told the detective a story.

She had been beaten with cuts and bruises all over her face and body.

Major knew she needed medical attention.

Her brown hair was greasy, which told the detective that she hadn't showered in several days.

Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen, and her face was streaked with tears.

You could smell him?

I could.

Early in her career, Major worked for Ashland County in the Children and Families Department.

For three years, she investigated horrific abuse cases.

Then she joined the Ashland Police Department.

That was more than 20 years ago.