LA LA - Belle Chasse, WhtMale 16-17, UP88342, hanged, suicide note, Feb'75 #2

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It’s entirely possible that he was never reported missing by family too. Again hundreds of families, lots of kids went missing around that time, many aren’t reported missing, records lost, etc. Genetic genealogy would likely solve this one, if the body could be found. Or if the location of the body is given up to close the case.

Cousins and Wallace are EXCELLENT potential matches, I’m personally onboard with Cousins.
But one of their mothers went to see Doe’s body and didn’t identify him as her son, and maybe that’s a good indication to look elsewhere but keep them both in mind as matches.
Undoubtedly, this young man was intelligent, cared about his family enough to say goodbye. If he was 16-17 that’s a child committing suicide. That’s enough for LE to investigate - right??

However, I agree with everyone on here that he must have been college age, based on the writing.
I’m looking through census records to see if anyone from that time period had a son with a dob on Feb 14 around the area. Family search has been awesome they have lots of records from Belle Chasse specifically.
We’re all trying to accomplish the same thing, no point in having a forum for discussion if nothing can be offered up
 
cenazoic said:
Yes, Belle Chasse as well; I was just writing a simplified answer.

I’m simply suggesting you review what’s already been done by many Websleuthers over the years.

I’m not optimistic because even if you (or anyone) comes up with really compelling missing person (and people have; see: Bayard Cousins and Charles Wallace) there’s ultimately no way to prove his identity. Cousins and Wallace are still missing, and we don’t have their DNA (although I think Cousins may have a living sibling?).

So even if the coroner/LE could be convinced to dig up BCJD’s grave, there’s no DNA to compare him to, unless they decided to do genetic genealogy on him, which is unlikely due to his status as a suicide rather than homicide victim. (Not to say it couldn’t happen, just that it’s extremely unlikely.)

Obviously, I still follow this case so I must not consider it a completely lost cause, but at the same time I’m not holding my breath.
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Lyle Stevik committed suicide, was later identified due to a lengthy investigation, DNA and family never reported him missing. Suicides are investigated all the time.
 
Of course, I noted that. However, for BCJD in particular, there’s just a lot working against his identification - it’ll be 55 years in 2025, loss of records, more current (ie pressing) cases in a notoriously poor state, etc. Just my opinion.

Regardless of that, the reason I’ve encouraged you to look at past research done is because a) fresh eyes are always a good thing, and b) to save you some time so you don’t go down well-travelled trails.

Anyway, it’s starting to ‘feel’ like you’re taking my lack of optimism as somehow personal to you, and it’s not at all. Knock yourself out! I’m sure we’ll all be interested to hear what new things you find! :)
 
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Amateur Web Sleuth said:
It’s entirely possible that he was never reported missing by family too. Again hundreds of families, lots of kids went missing around that time, many aren’t reported missing, records lost, etc. Genetic genealogy would likely solve this one, if the body could be found. Or if the location of the body is given up to close the case.

Cousins and Wallace are EXCELLENT potential matches, I’m personally onboard with Cousins.
But one of their mothers went to see Doe’s body and didn’t identify him as her son, and maybe that’s a good indication to look elsewhere but keep them both in mind as matches.
Undoubtedly, this young man was intelligent, cared about his family enough to say goodbye. If he was 16-17 that’s a child committing suicide. That’s enough for LE to investigate - right??

However, I agree with everyone on here that he must have been college age, based on the writing.
I’m looking through census records to see if anyone from that time period had a son with a dob on Feb 14 around the area. Family search has been awesome they have lots of records from Belle Chasse specifically.
We’re all trying to accomplish the same thing, no point in having a forum for discussion if nothing can be offered up
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Neither Mrs Cousins or Mrs Wallace went to Mothe Funeral Home to identify the body they had there. There is a hand written list of people who went to the funeral home on thread #1
 
Courtaine said:
I suggest you read the entire two threads before 'correcting' anybody. Thank you, and thank you for taking an interest.
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original thread #1 my post is 370 just to show how long I’ve been on this with theories and READINGGGG THE THREAD

Wallace’s mothers article is #625, #626 with newspaper proof

I’ll wait for an apology… ;)
 
Courtaine said:
Hi Romulus
I think his skin tone is too light for Hispanic, i keep circling back to the coroner and the funeral home, if he was of Hispanic descent it would have been noted there.

I think we have the right candidates in our top two or three. I still can't get into my Namus account, I've locked myself out because I failed to remember my favorite food. So I cannot put forward exclusions on the list.

I checked Bayard Cousins investigator, it's a woman called Kirsty or Kristy I think, the contact detail page has been moved so I don't know how to get hold of her now to forward PJD's page on Namus to her along with this thread.

I'm also waiting to hear back from a YouTube channel that does John and Jane Does as to if she is interested in adding PJD to one of her videos. Hold thumbs. God Bless all.
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Try!
 
Doe Network

3832UMLA - Unidentified Male​

ALT TXT

Reconstruction of Victim

Date of Discovery: February 14, 1975
Location of Discovery: Belle Chasse, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana
Estimated Date of Death: Recent
State of Remains: Recognizable face
Cause of Death: Suicide by hanging

Physical Description​

Estimated Age: 16-18 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 5'10"-6'0" Estimated
Weight: 150-160 lbs, Estimated
Hair Color: Brown, short
Eye Color: Brown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Slightly protruding front teeth

Identifiers​

Dentals: Not available
Fingerprints: Not available
DNA: Not available

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Maroon & yellow long-sleeved Puritan knit shirt; blue Arrow pants with a brown belt; one grey & one dark blue socks; no shoes
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Discovery​

A couple driving through the woods on a farm road between Highway 23 and the Mississippi River, found the body of the decedent hanging from a limb of a persimmon tree, a bedsheet tied around his neck.

Against the tree was a jar full of note paper. Inside was a suicide note addressed to his parents:

"Mom and Dad,

You have provided be excellent advantages and privileges and experiences. I am extremely grateful for all of your sacrifices, time and support. I am now repaying you with an arrogant act. In this light, I do see it as criminal. I can only hope that you see that it was me who caused it.

I never did develop into a real person and I cannot tolerate the false and empty existence I have created.

It is best if I cease to live, quietly, than risk that later I will break and shatter by violence or linger years under care. I implore you to see a psychiatrist in order that you might understand my death and my life. Ask thoroughly about what I was and you will see that it is not tragic that I am gone but more natural than if I continued.

I was born with a definite pervasive melancholy. What frustrated me most in the last year was that I had built no ties to family or friends. There was nothing of lasting worth and value. I led a detached existence and I was a parody of a person-literally and figuratively. I didn't tell jokes-I was a joke.

I am a bomb of frustration and should never marry or have children. It is safest to defuse the bomb harmlessly now. I do not want to bother with being a "reformed and cured" person limping through life. I am this self-centered.

I am no longer interested in the world and know that it is not interested in me. When you stop growing you are dead. I stopped growing long ago."

The decedent cited the writing of Emile Durkheim, a philosopher and psychologist. He also added this aside to authorities:

You are bound to preserve domestic peace and order. If you pursue who I was (and spend hundreds of dollars) you will accomplish little. There are no legal consequences of my death or any kind of entanglements. All that can happen is that you will shatter the domestic peace and order of two innocent lives. Do not deprive them of the hope that their "missing" son will return. Let me be, let it be as if I wasn't ever here. Simply cremate me as John Doe."

There are no surviving reports/records from either the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office or Coroner's Office. At the time of discovery, the decedent's fingerprints had been circulated to police across the country.

Investigating Agency(s)​

Agency Name: LSU FACES Laboratory
Agency Contact Person: Unknown
Agency Phone Number: 225-578-4761
Agency E-Mail:faces@lsu.edu
Agency Case Number: LSU 22-05 / 117-15-979

Agency Name: Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office
Agency Contact Person: Unknown
Agency Phone Number: 504-564-2525
Agency E-Mail: Unknown
Agency Case Number:Unknown

NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: UP88342

Information Source(s)​

NamUs
LSU FACES Lab
The Memphis Press-Scimitar - Mar. 26, 1975
 
clorenc said:
This is the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, right? I always thought the base might be a clue.

He must’ve been familiar with the area, but he couldn’t have lived there recently or he would’ve been recognized. Maybe our young writer lived there for a few years as a child and had a sentimental attachment to the place.

I believe Bayard Cousins’s father was a naval aviator. If I recall, the possibility of him being stationed at this base had been discussed earlier in one of these threads.

(Interestingly, think Charlie Wallace’s father might’ve also been a pilot — but in the Air Force, not the Navy.)
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Yes it is…sorry I’m just now replying
 
My sister lives very nearby where this happened and I’ll be there next month for a week…I will definitely try to visit or find near the location where he was discovered! So much has changed EVERYWHERE around the area since he was found - well except for the swamps!

Yes, there is a military base very close to the location and the area where he chose he had to have some familiarity of the land! As for how he got there I know that he had to be in some sort of a transportation - hitchhiked is most plausible since it was common for that era and the person who gave him a ride probably didn’t think anything of it after dropping him off! He may have also known about this area but was from somewhere else along the gulf coast and he hitchhiked there with multiple drivers or maybe even a bus that he rode into NOLA!

He was cremated after multiple parents made their way down to see if they could identify the body as the child that they’re missing and searching for - he was eventually eliminated as being a number of men!

I’m actually torn between wondering if this theory I thought about could be true or not…this guy wanted his remains and identity to remain anonymous and unidentified by everyone- the public and especially his parents BUT what if his parents knew that he had left home for some valid reason (school, work, etc) but they later realized that they hadn’t heard from him or even worse they discovered a news report about an unidentified man who committed suicide only to realize that it was him. Now, if this did happen and knowing it was him and his wishes to remain unknown then they ultimately decided to honor it and never let anybody know his identity! I know it sounds crazy but they have allowed him to forever remain a topic of discussion for being unidentified….

Theories or not I don’t think he we’ll ever know his true name or identity because of the lack of DNA and after Katrina a lot of valuable evidence was either lost or destroyed in SO many cases! For cases like this I will always hold out hope that someday a small detail or clue will emerge and just instantly solve it…
 
Hello everyone :)

As you can probably see this is my first post on websleuths, i didnt know about this site until recently (and to be fair it makes sense as i try to avoid topics around true crime as its not good for my fragile mental health), but i ended up here after making some not too wise decisions that lead down a rabbit hole about UID’s, remembered this boy after initially watching a video about him a few years ago (it was posted here in the first thread, I believe the channel is named Dark Curiosities), read this thread in one day and… well here I am, coming to terms with the fact I don’t think I’ll ever get this man out of my head for reasons that i wont clog up this post with but at the same time im sure are very relatable to you all and others who have come across this case.

I know theres only so much speculating can do and whatnot in regards to this case, but I thought it was important to readdress the extra pieces of the note the Plaquemines Gazette had, that was posted earlier in the thread, I’ll quote the extra bits below just incase it saves anyone some time and hassle…

“I followed a secondary existence while never attending to primary needs - now it is too painful to reform.”

“You could not have brought in psychologists because psychiatry is purely cooperative and voluntary. I would have rejected any help because I would not accept that my personality needed to be changed or changed in that manner.”

I know its just one source and it seemed to have gotten lost along the way as people continued to discuss the overall note afterward, but i just feel the need to mention it again incase it helps in any way at all. Also hope this post is formatted ok as I am on mobile.
 
lazuli said:
Hello everyone :)

As you can probably see this is my first post on websleuths, i didnt know about this site until recently (and to be fair it makes sense as i try to avoid topics around true crime as its not good for my fragile mental health), but i ended up here after making some not too wise decisions that lead down a rabbit hole about UID’s, remembered this boy after initially watching a video about him a few years ago (it was posted here in the first thread, I believe the channel is named Dark Curiosities), read this thread in one day and… well here I am, coming to terms with the fact I don’t think I’ll ever get this man out of my head for reasons that i wont clog up this post with but at the same time im sure are very relatable to you all and others who have come across this case.

I know theres only so much speculating can do and whatnot in regards to this case, but I thought it was important to readdress the extra pieces of the note the Plaquemines Gazette had, that was posted earlier in the thread, I’ll quote the extra bits below just incase it saves anyone some time and hassle…

“I followed a secondary existence while never attending to primary needs - now it is too painful to reform.”

“You could not have brought in psychologists because psychiatry is purely cooperative and voluntary. I would have rejected any help because I would not accept that my personality needed to be changed or changed in that manner.”

I know its just one source and it seemed to have gotten lost along the way as people continued to discuss the overall note afterward, but i just feel the need to mention it again incase it helps in any way at all. Also hope this post is formatted ok as I am on mobile.
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Welcome to Websleuths @lazuli ! Thank you for caring about this young man and for joining us here to remember him. If you ever need a break to care for your mental health, we will understand, and we will welcome you back when you're ready.

Thank you for posting the additional parts of the note. IMO it's important to remember all of the note and how it may fit together with other clues. JMO
 
April 2023
madisontramel.medium.com

The Boy in the Tree: a Tragic End in Louisiana

A teenager ended his own life in 1975, the only clue to his identity is a note he left behind.
madisontramel.medium.com madisontramel.medium.com

Excerpt:

This other section is titled “Why you should not feel responsible”

I was born with a definite pervasive melancholy…

My brain always worked at cross-purposes to my real development. I refused to express any emotions or deal with people on a social basis. In effect, I refused to accept that I was an animal and that I needed social ties…
 
FromGermany1 said:
April 2023
madisontramel.medium.com

The Boy in the Tree: a Tragic End in Louisiana

A teenager ended his own life in 1975, the only clue to his identity is a note he left behind.
madisontramel.medium.com madisontramel.medium.com

Excerpt:

This other section is titled “Why you should not feel responsible”

I was born with a definite pervasive melancholy…

My brain always worked at cross-purposes to my real development. I refused to express any emotions or deal with people on a social basis. In effect, I refused to accept that I was an animal and that I needed social ties…
Click to expand...

Thanks for including this, I don’t know how I missed it when I was just contemplating those specific words just a few moments ago in my head, specifically being an animal needing social ties… :)
 
MamaSleuth5 said:
Welcome to Websleuths @lazuli ! Thank you for caring about this young man and for joining us here to remember him. If you ever need a break to care for your mental health, we will understand, and we will welcome you back when you're ready.

Thank you for posting the additional parts of the note. IMO it's important to remember all of the note and how it may fit together with other clues. JMO
Click to expand...

Thank you MamaSleuth5, your kindness is appreciated and means alot more than you know. :)

I also agree how its important to remember all of the note, though I completely understand why it would have been missed/forgotten compared to what most sources give about it. I do personally think some of the info contained could rule out or atleast point in the right direction to certain theories.

In that particular newspaper too the article and particularly the note, was cut off and going to continue on ‘page 10’, but it seems that part of the newspaper hasn’t been found or uploaded online yet. With what extra information this newspaper provided it makes me wonder just what else was written that could be valuable to us…
 
the family of Charles Wallace Jr. came from Tennessee to see if John Doe was their missing loved one. Charles, who was 19 at the time, disappeared from a Memphis, TN home for teenagers with drug problems. His mother confirmed that John Doe was not her son, however Charles’ dental charts did match John Doe’s. - from the medium article linked previously.
1726695090915.png

Um... people do look different in death... what if his mother was mistaken or in denial?
 
Audrina said:
the family of Charles Wallace Jr. came from Tennessee to see if John Doe was their missing loved one. Charles, who was 19 at the time, disappeared from a Memphis, TN home for teenagers with drug problems. His mother confirmed that John Doe was not her son, however Charles’ dental charts did match John Doe’s. - from the medium article linked previously.
View attachment 532131

Um... people do look different in death... what if his mother was mistaken or in denial?
Click to expand...

My condolences, may your aunt rest in peace. Alot of people do think he might be older than estimated, I also think he might be as well, coming from someone who is babyfaced and still gets ID’d.

There is alot of things supporting the idea its Charles, initially when reading the thread my first assumption was that it was him, although now I’m keeping an open mind. As for his mother… it is a pair of shoes I never want to be in, as much as I would like to understand what have been going through her mind at the time. I could understand that her decision could be discredited. Even if it wasn’t, to be in that situation of having to come to terms that your son may have killed himself… To be in that situation in general must be quite distressing and incredibly uncomfortable, and on top of that, judging from how detailed one of the news articles was about it, having media present likely didnt help her mental state at all.

But at the same time… I’m not a mother, and perhaps they really would recognise their childs face when they see it. Overall its quite mystifying, I hope Mrs Wallace has found peace.
 
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