CA CA - Beddie Walraven, 27, Santa Ana, 1946

[CarlK90245]

NamUs UP Case 2468 https://identifyus.org/cases/2468

Date found: January 26, 1971
Estimated Age: 18-28
Race: Unsure
Sex: Female
Height: 61 inches (estimated)
Probable year of death 1961 to 1971
Body Parts Inventory Torso not recovered, One or more limbs not recovered, One or both hands not recovered
Body Condition: Not recognizable - Partial skeletal parts only
Location Found: 1.3 miles east of Baker, CA (San Bernadino County)
Circumstances: Jane Doe #07-71 was found as partial skeletal remains scattered in the desert east of the remote desert community of Baker, CA. The remains were determined to be those of a female adult probably no older than 40, between 5' and 5'4" in stature. Only the mandible contained dental information. Identification can only be confirmed with dental X-rays of the lower jaw. DNA is still being processed by CA DOJ-MPDP (reference #BK-05-000836). Investigation indicated that these could be the remains of a missing woman from Texas, Betty (AKA Bitty, AKA Beddie) Flemming (AKA Walraven). Reference DNA samples have been submitted.

Dental Comments: Lower Jaw Present - N0 MAXILLA,17,20,21,23-28 MISS P0STM0RT,0TH FRACT.

 

[CarlK90245]

Although there wasn't already a thread for this UID case, I thought this was an interesting story, so I started the thread with the Identified flag already set.

Solving one mystery opens the books on another crime

The year was 1946 and 25-year-old Beddie Walraven was something of a wildcat, a small-town girl from Texas married to a soldier serving overseas and shacked up with a career criminal in Santa Ana.

That's when things turned bad.

Walraven went missing. Her relatives called the FBI, but she was never to be heard from again.

A quarter of a century later, a man hunting for fossils stumbled upon some scattered bones in the Mojave Desert near Baker in San Bernardino County, a feral landscape that hides its secrets well.

...

In December 2005, highly degraded biological samples from the bones were sent to the state lab; it took scientists five years to develop a usable DNA profile. Meanwhile, coroner's investigators found two relatives of Walraven who provided DNA.

One of them is Police Chief Shawne Walraven of the DeKalb, Texas, Police Department.

"She was my great aunt," Walraven said Friday. "I didn't know I had a great aunt. Before they contacted me, I didn't even know she existed."

...

Chief Walraven's great uncle told him that Beddie was a "sweet girl" who was cheating on her husband with a man who was "mean as a rattlesnake." On a visit to Texas, they stole a $10,000 war bond from Beddie's parents and hightailed it to California.

"That's the last they ever saw her," Walraven said. "To this day, that war bond has never been cashed."

Read More:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-desert-mystery-20110806,0,6800864.story?track=rss

 

[Donjeta]

It's good to see a really old case get her name back, although the killer is probably dead already?

 

[CarlK90245]

It's good to see a really old case get her name back, although the killer is probably dead already?

The next-to-last paragraph in the LA Times article indicates that the alleged trigger-woman may be still alive.

And the alleged trigger woman? Up until a few years ago, Walraven said, a woman by the same name was living in Oregon.

On Thursday, a Santa Ana homicide investigator was assigned the case.

 

[sealevel]

Just saw this on the San Bernardino County Coroner's Press Release site:
http://www.sbcounty.gov/sheriff/coroner/pressrelease.asp

Coroner case # 71-37449 UP--On January 26, 1971, skeletal remains were found scattered in the desert near Baker, California. The remains were believed to be those of a female adult. In 1975 investigators from the Santa Ana Police Department contacted the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department reporting a suspect confessed to killing Betty Walraven (also known as Betty Flemming) in May of 1946, and transporting the body to the High Desert region of San Bernardino County. In December 2005, biological samples from the skeletal remains were delivered to the California Department of Justice DNA Laboratory in Richmond, California for processing. Over the next five years the scientists at the DNA Laboratory worked tirelessly to develop a useable DNA profile from the degraded remains. In the meantime, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Coroner Division investigators were able to locate two members of Betty Walraven’s family. DNA samples were provided by these family members and reference profiles were developed for comparison with that of the remains. On June 1, 2011, the California DNA lab director notified this Division that a DNA profile had finally been developed from the remains and were found to be match to Betty Walraven.[08042011 1720 SY]

 

[Donjeta]

The next-to-last paragraph in the LA Times article indicates that the alleged trigger-woman may be still alive.

I saw that but I interpreted it differently I guess. I read "was living until a few years ago" and continued the thought with "and then she died". But I suppose she could have moved and live elsewhere now.

It's 65 years ago so if she was 20 years old at the time she'd be 85 now. Could be much more. It could be she wouldn't be healthy enough to stand trial anyway.

 

[Ambercat]

If I am understanding this correctly, Ms. Wakraven was murdered in 1946, but when her remains were found, the estimated date of death was somewhere between 1961 to 1971. I wonder what caused such a discrepancy?

 

[Redwood146]

sigh... this shows how difficult it can be to match UID and missing people... the time frame for death is completely askew. I am not sure that I fully believe the lover's story about who killed Beddie, because the warbond was never cashed.....I wonder if beddie destroyed/hide the warbond so it could not be cashed and died as a result of this action.

 

[sealevel]

If I am understanding this correctly, Ms. Wakraven was murdered in 1946, but when her remains were found, the estimated date of death was somewhere between 1961 to 1971. I wonder what caused such a discrepancy?

I'm guessing that in 1971, the technology to date remains wasn't nearly what it is today, plus I believe the desert tends to preserve remains very differently than other environments. Kudos to San Bernardino County Coroner's office for being so persistent! I worked for the San Bernardino County Courts for a couple of years and it amazed me how large the county is. With the desert, the mountains, and the huge amounts of open space, it's long been a dumping site. The coroner's office makes such an effort to identify the remains and give them back to their families, and I really applaud their efforts.

 

[Cubby]

The year was 1994, and Kitty, 77, was lapsing in and out of consciousness in a nursing home in Grants Pass, Ore.

In her prime, the fair-skinned brunette had no problem attracting men, including her ex-husband, Liskie T. "Terry" Mabry.

But by the time she suffered the stroke that would kill her, Kitty was living alone, in a filthy house she shared with 87 cats. And during the older woman's final moments, it was left to her granddaughter, Becky Herrera, to pray for her grandmother's soul.

"At the end," Herrera says, "all she talked about was that she wanted to know Jesus before she died."

On her deathbed, Kitty was seeking some measure of redemption — for a past with Mabry that was as dark as any desert night.


http://www.ocregister.com/articles/mabry-319769-kitty-walraven.html

Very interesting article. Note timeline, video and slideshow on the right at above link.

 

[marycarney]

Wow! What a story.

 

[Lins1983]

Just read this for the first time!! How amazing!! You never know what secrets are in peoples past. Glad Beddie's family knows now.

 

[carbuff]

Wow, that's all totally bizarre. Rest in peace.