Identified! PA - White Haven, 'Beth Doe' & Unborn Baby 169UFPA, 16-22, Dec'76 - #1 - Evelyn Colon

Yaya said:

I wonder what they base this statement on?
"She may have been of Mediterranean (Italian or Spanish) heritage."

Is it possible that she was of South Asian decent? Based on the fact her ears and nose had been cut off leads me to think it is possible. It is a common practice in some South Asian cultures for husbands to cut off the ears and nose of their wife if they believe they have committed adultery.

This womans body was treated with a great deal of anger and brutality.


The fact those body parts were not recovered at the scene may also lean toward this. I have read that husbands treat these as trophies and even give them to their own fathers as a show of authority over their wives. Sort of a means of bragging. I don't know if this is true. But it would tend to explain why the body parts were not found with the body. Could the husband have sent them home to the family?


I know this may be stretching... but it's just a theory.

Click to expand...

Turkish backing for honour crimes
By Sarah Rainsford
BBC News, Istanbul
"Twenty-five percent said that she deserved divorce, and 21% that her nose or ears should be cut off. "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4357158.stm
forum post concerning same
http://www.hannity.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-34890.html
***********************
"The bridegroom, who finds his bride broken up to his hands [i.e., not a virgin], may lawfully cut off her nose and ears and turn her away; . . . ."

". . .The least crimes are punished with mutilation of members. They cut off the nose, ears and sometimes the feet and hands of malefactors, nay, they are put to death by cutting off their heads. That defiling, which the Latins call violatio [=rape?], is not punished with death, but they think it enough to cut off the part which hath offended, to prove which, there needs only the woman’s oath if she hath the confidence to reiterate it thrice. The two last kings, Shah Abbas and Shah Safi, have been rather cruel than severe in their punishments as may be inferred from the examples we have already produced thereof, nay, they have so far been such towards some criminals that they have caused them to be tied between two boards and sawn asunder. Shah Abbas had sent into Spain one named Teinksbeg, who returning from his embassy and having not brought home all his retinue, and the king understanding the interpreter that his ill usage of them had caused many of his people to run away, he took the pains himself to cut off his nose, his ears and a good piece of flesh out of his arm, and forced him immediately to eat them bloody and raw as they were. . ."
http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/olearius/travels.html
********************
Normally I would have thought of a serial killer with trophy parts like ed gein (can't remember if I spelled the name right) or a contract hit wth those parts as proof of kill but the custom of some people from some countries in doing such mutilations for out of wedlock preg.'s etc. sounds more likely the more I think of it. Good catch yaya.

If it was an honor killing, then her family wouldn't report her missing. If anyone outside the family asked where she went, the family could say she went back to their home country.

So very sad.

H0NEYWEST said:

If it was an honor killing, then her family wouldn't report her missing. If anyone outside the family asked where she went, the family could say she went back to their home country.

So very sad.

Click to expand...

While we can't rule out anything, it seems to me that the reason this poor woman's nose and ears were cut off is that these are the most distinctive facial features. Without those features, it would be hard to know what she really looked like. Perhaps the killer(s) felt that by removing those features, their victim would never be identified.

As to the dismemberment, there have been quite a few killers over the years who have dismembered their victims. Sometimes it was done to make the body easier to discard, but most of the time it was done because they liked doing it.

In this case, maybe the killer was a butcher or a hunter, but maybe he was just good at it because he had a lot of practice on his victims, getting better at it each time he killed.

I found this article to be a bit chilling:
To read the rest of the article click the link.

In a futile effort to resist, the young woman sprawled out on the road, stretching her arms out in front of her on the baking summer asphalt. The man pulled her arms behind her back and deftly tied them to her ankles. Then he opened the trunk of the Buick, lifted her up, and dropped her in. He closed the trunk, made a U-turn at the intersection, and disappeared into the sunlit afternoon. It was over in the time it takes a traffic light to change from red to green.
http://victorhanson.com/articles/burton022005.html

Click to expand...

docwho3 said:

I found this article to be a bit chilling:
To read the rest of the article click the link.

Click to expand...

I found that article interesting but very sad... I have also been finding more and more evidence that this is also something that could happen in Latin countries... I had never known this until now. Very Sad.

It is interesting that this case has generated so many replies (25 in the past 9 days). Below is the origional post that I did of the same case on 28 October 2004. In over a year, there were no replies at all to it. I guess some folks can tell a good story and some of us just can't.

--------------------------------------------------------------
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL found 20 December 1976 WHITE HAVEN, PA

DOB: Jan 1, 1954 - 1960 (aproximate)
Found: Dec 20, 1976
Age when found: Aproximately 16-22
Age Now: 44-50
Sex: Female
Race: White
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5'4" (163 cm)
Weight: 150 lbs (68 kg)
Found: WHITE HAVEN, PA, United States

On December 20, 1976, the remains of this white female were found along the Lehigh River in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, under a bridge of westbound Interstate Route 80. It was determined that she had been dead less than 24 hours from the date she was found. Her year of birth was estimated between 1954-1960. She was carrying a full-term White female fetus. She had a small circular mole above her left eye, a mole on her cheek and a 5.5" scar on her left leg, just above the heel. Both photographs are computer-assisted facial reconstruction done by a forensic artist at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Facial features such as the nose and the hair style are an artist's estimation to complete the image. The "DOB" and "Age Now" fields are approximations.

ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST) or contact NCMEC Cold Case Review Unit at 1-877-446-2632, ext. 6235 or 6295

Pennsylvania State Police - 1-570-459-3890

Link
http://www.missingkids.com/missingk...earchLang=en_US

The case was actually talked about in a couple of threads recently, I know I mentioned it in the Blairstown Princess Doe thread (which Richard started, by the way). Things have picked up in this forum a lot in recent months!

Richard, I wish I had seen your original thread and this one would not be here. I just happen to see it in the thread "Cases that haunt you". I thought it was such an interesting case that it should have it's on thread.

With most threads I have been keeping up with I have come to realize it's not the telling of the story but the timing. It seems when things are slow in other threads you get a lot of new people posting.

Don't let it make your head swell, but I think you are a hell of a writer! :clap:
Not to mention... extremely interesting.

Hell... I'm turning into a RICHARD stalker. I come on and look to see if you have posted for the day just so I can read what you have come up with.

I've posted quite a bit on this story. I wasn't aware of the site and therefore not a poster until the last couple of months. So, Richard, maybe it is just an increase in "minds" rather than your rendition of the story.

LButler said:

I've posted quite a bit on this story. I wasn't aware of the site and therefore not a poster until the last couple of months. So, Richard, maybe it is just an increase in "minds" rather than your rendition of the story.

Click to expand...

I hope that nobody took any offense at my previous post about my "not being able to tell a story". I only meant it as a joke, not a criticism. I really cannot claim authorship of the "story" in my 2004 post, since I copied most of it from the Doenetwork, and only edited it slightly. I have probably posted a few duplications of other folks efforts myself.

My main thought about this and the reason for my post was to point out the large difference in response to the same case and information only a year later. I think that it may very well be a sort of focussing of the minds. Perhaps this will provide police with some possible leads or ideas - which in turn, may lead to the identification of the unknown girl and her baby. And that, really, is what this is all about.

I didn't take offense and probably no one else had either. I do think there has been a starburst of interest in stories such as this one. I think with shows like CSI .... we've all started thinking of all the cold cases that can potentially be solved now. Unfortunately, it's not so easy as when they wrap up a huge mystery in an hour on CSI (and we all know that, we just hope mysteries can be solved sometime) . Even cold case files (which I dearly love because it's real) is the result of many hours of investigating with a final coat of "luck" to wrap things up.

I found a picture of a chenille bedspread that might be a close match to the one Carbon County Jane Doe was wrapped in. The information stated that it was old and had been torn into three pieces. I thought by posting this picture it might jog someones memory... (if they see it). To see the photos of the real bedspread go here http://www.pennsylvaniamissing.com/pages/8/index.htm
They are at the bottom of the page and can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Yaya said:

I found a picture of a chenille bedspread that might be a close match to the one Carbon County Jane Doe was wrapped in. The information stated that it was old and had been torn into three pieces. I thought by posting this picture it might jog someones memory... (if they see it). To see the photos of the real bedspread go here http://www.pennsylvaniamissing.com/pages/8/index.htm
They are at the bottom of the page and can be enlarged by clicking on them.

http://www.filehigh.com/serve/3827/73644.jpeg

Click to expand...

It does appear very similar. Perhaps a search of old Sears, Wards, and Penney's catalogs might turn up another match which would provide a date for reference. A bedspread like that one was likely NOT used in a motel, but would probably have come from a private residence. Is it a single bed or double bed style covering?

I've been looking at this girl for a few days. Sheryl Ann Tillinghast

http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/1500dfny.html

I think the first photo of her (not smiling) looks somewhat like our Jane doe?

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=400049&orgPrefix=NCMU&searchLang=en_UShttp://www.missingkids.com/missingk...earchLang=en_US

I may be way off on this, but wanted to post it.

Another strange thing that came to mind, is that Sheryl was employed at the Wassaic State School in NY at the time of her disappearance. I wonder if the WSR on her hand could have been a reference to the school? Could the 2 numbers have meant something at the time she worked there?

Please ignore me if I'm grasping here, but I feel guilty when I don't post my ramblings. Who knows?

LButler said:

I've been looking at this girl for a few days. Sheryl Ann Tillinghast

http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/1500dfny.html

I think the first photo of her (not smiling) looks somewhat like our Jane doe?

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=400049&orgPrefix=NCMU&searchLang=en_US

I may be way off on this, but wanted to post it.

Another strange thing that came to mind, is that Sheryl was employed at the Wassaic State School in NY at the time of her disappearance. I wonder if the WSR on her hand could have been a reference to the school? Could the 2 numbers have meant something at the time she worked there?

Please ignore me if I'm grasping here, but I feel guilty when I don't post my ramblings. Who knows?

Click to expand...

Hey, feel free to ramble all you want!!!! (I'm the only one who gets smacked in the head for it...)

I'm very familiar with Sheryl's case. Remains of an unidentified female were found behind a house in Irondiquoit, NY, not far from where Sheryl is originally from (her family lived in Ontario County, near the Buffalo area, while the school is across the Hudson River near the CT border). The timing, physical descriptions, and circumstances all matched, but the NY State Police said the match had already been ruled out. No one could explain how, though.
To my knowledge, none of the pictures or descriptions of Sheryl mention the facial moles that the Jane Doe had. But, then again, my personal belief is that it never hurts to forward a possible match to LE.

:doh: I did want to address those moles. The report on the Jane Doe said that the moles (I guess they were very prominent on her) could have appeared during her pregnancy? I've never been pregnant, but I suppose something like a mole forming during that time is fairly common for them to even mention it?

shadowangel ... were those remains you mentioned ever id'ed? And, has it been recently? My point, would modern-day dna or other technology possibly provide better results? Just from your post, it's pretty strange if it wasn't her. Do you have any links on Sheryl's info? Thanks!!

LButler, I think they look very similar. The eyes/face look a lot alike. Also, the wt and ht very close. Also, the dates would be right. If for some reason she lost contact with family by choice after finding out she was pregnant. The dates of missing to dates found would be about 8 months if I did my math right. As for the moles, I wonder if some families would not remember if/where moles are. It says Sheryl had "regular contact" with family. That may have been over phone. Or it may have been somewhat estranged. I wouldn't rule it out just on moles. (I don't know where my sibling's moles are visible, although I talk to them several times a year). laini

What type of school is Wassaic State School? Could it have ever been called Wassaic State Reformatory?