Identified! CA - Delano, Hisp/Ntv Fem 59UFCA, 30-34, 'Shirley, Seattle' tattoo, Jul'80 - Shirley Ann Soosay

[Al Ka]

Jun 21, 2016 - Wilson Chouest - preliminary hearing at Ventura County Superior Court for murder charges of the two women and the fetus of the pregnant victim

- An investigator said a man confessed to killing a woman and directing others to clean up his bloodied vehicle

- the woman found on July 15, 1980, in the almond orchard had 18 stab wounds to the chest and upper part of the abdomen and a total of nine "defensive" wounds to both hands

- toxicology showed the woman had a blood alcohol level of 0.29 percent. When asked if the blood alcohol level increases as a body starts to decompose, Comparini said yes

http://www.vcstar.com/news/local/co...10-cf82-2c94-e053-0100007f47da-383899301.html

 

[cvaldez1975]

they need to get this case convicted, he was about up for parole!!!

 

[Al Ka]

Published 10/10 2016
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux is asking for the public's help with a local cold case where the victims have yet to be identified.
...
One of the women was found in an orchard on July 15, 1980, near Zerker Road and Merced Avenue in the Delano area. She looked Native American or Hispanic, age approximately 30-35 years, 5-feet, 4-inches tall, and weighed 115 pounds. She may have worked picking apples.

She had distinctive tattoos:

1) A heart with “Shirley” written inside of it and “Seattle” below it.
2) A rose with “Mother” above it and “I love you” below it.

And she may have been involved in an earlier car accident as there was a metal plate found in one of her legs.
...

In 2012, DNA tested by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office linked the suspect to her death.

Both women are thought to be from the Central Valley, Johnson said.
http://www.kerngoldenempire.com/news/tulare-county-authorities-seeking-help-with-local-cold-case

 

[JayFletcher6493]

bump.

 

[Springrain]

Agree that it seems possible Shirley might have been a girlfriend, that tattoo doesn't seem like a mommy tattoo to me.

I really wonder what her connection to Seattle was.

 

[carbuff]

She could have been a fan or friend of Shirley Muldowney, the drag racer who won her first Winston points title in 1977. I believe she won in Seattle to clinch the victory and it would have been a very big deal since a woman had never won drag racing's top title in its top category before.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Muldowney

 

[CarlK90245]

:bump: for Image revision:

 

[Springrain]

She could have been a fan or friend of Shirley Muldowney, the drag racer who won her first Winston points title in 1977. I believe she won in Seattle to clinch the victory and it would have been a very big deal since a woman had never won drag racing's top title in its top category before.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Muldowney

That is actually a genius thought!

 

[elizabeth92]

Hi everyone, I'm a reporter working on a story that aims to identify this Jane Doe. It's blown me away seeing the work web sleuth users have done on missing persons case. I see this board hasn't been updated/posted on in a while. Does anyone have any new leads/ suggestions for me? I've never worked a case where the victim is the one who needs to be identified. The defendant is about to begin trial for this Doe's murder, and no friends or family will be there for it which is heartbreaking. Please feel free to comment here or email me at olivialavoice@kget.com

 

[UnlicensedPI]

Her tattoos appear to be done professionally. I would imagine Shirley is the name of someone close to her. I think the best thing to do would be to circulate her picture in the area and on the "Lost and Missing in Indian Country" Facebook page (and similar pages). I didn't even see her poster on there

 

[WyomingSkyAngel]

Hi everyone, I'm a reporter working on a story that aims to identify this Jane Doe. It's blown me away seeing the work web sleuth users have done on missing persons case. I see this board hasn't been updated/posted on in a while. Does anyone have any new leads/ suggestions for me? I've never worked a case where the victim is the one who needs to be identified. The defendant is about to begin trial for this Doe's murder, and no friends or family will be there for it which is heartbreaking. Please feel free to comment here or email me at olivialavoice@kget.com

The victim might have been living a low profile life due to legal issues or addiction.

I know in this era a lot of migrant workers worked a circuit that went from the middle of CA up to Oregon, and sometimes into Western Montana for cherry picking season.

 

[carbuff]

Her tattoos appear to be done professionally. I would imagine Shirley is the name of someone close to her. I think the best thing to do would be to circulate her picture in the area and on the "Lost and Missing in Indian Country" Facebook page (and similar pages). I didn't even see her poster on there

Also in the apple-picking areas of Washington, since they think she might have picked apples and she has the tat with the "Seattle" label to indicate a possible connection there.

.

 

[carbuff]

Bumping the poster CarlK created

:bump: for Image revision:

 

[elizabeth92]

Thank you so much for this suggestion. Tattoo artists believe her tattoos were definitely done in a shop. But they also say it was very rare for women back in 1980 to have tattoos, especially ones with color. I've heard the only people back then getting tattooed were usually white bikers. Trying to trace back where she could've gotten the tattoos done has been difficult because of how much time has passed. However, there weren't many tattoo shops around then apparently.

 

[elizabeth92]

Her prints are not in the system so I don't think she'd ever been to jail, and there weren't any drugs in her system when she died, just alcohol. But it seems like she had to have been lying low if no one can identify her. It is absolutely baffling. She had clean clothes, clean hair, she looked like she took good care of herself.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

Thank you so much for this suggestion. Tattoo artists believe her tattoos were definitely done in a shop. But they also say it was very rare for women back in 1980 to have tattoos, especially ones with color. I've heard the only people back then getting tattooed were usually white bikers. Trying to trace back where she could've gotten the tattoos done has been difficult because of how much time has passed. However, there weren't many tattoo shops around then apparently.

Her tattoos are done in a traditional flash style, which is unfortunately very common and can make the artist hard to pin down. People have been getting tattooed since the beginning of humanity. At that time it was more closely tied with counterculture, but white bikers were definitely not the only ones getting tattooed. In the 1970s, several prominent female tattoo artists were beginning their careers. This article gives a great history of tattooed women in that time and lists two well-known female artists based out of the west coast. I wonder if they ever encountered our UID http://www.stmuhistorymedia.org/the-artful-way-to-equality-tattoos-and-women/

 

[WyomingSkyAngel]

The victim might have been living a low profile life due to legal issues or addiction.

I know in this era a lot of migrant workers worked a circuit that went from the middle of CA up to Oregon, and sometimes into Western Montana for cherry picking season.

I forgot to add Washington State hosts a lot of migrant worker communities too. Washington State is a huge producer of agribusiness products, nowadays we mostly think of tech & tourism when we mention that state...Just adding this.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

Growing up in the ‘70s in the Seattle area as teenagers, we were afforded a unique opportunity.Almost every year in the early fall, the local radio stations starting broadcasting “the call for laborers”....

if we wanted to pick apples, we had to go to the labor office in town.

​

http://allaboutthe1970s.blogspot.com/2010/04/growing-up-in-70s-in-seattle-area-as.html

Has anybody tried contacting the labor office? I wonder if they would have any records or recollection of her. Maybe her tattoos would be memorable to them.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

I have no idea if any of these would have been around in 1980, or even if she worked where she died, but here is a list of employers in Kern County in the fruit and tree nut farming industry. Maybe we could get in contact with them or research their histories for leads? www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/aspd...ogArea=0604000029&naicsect=11&naicscode4=1113

 

[cvaldez1975]

actually, she could def have been in jail. back then, the system was not automated and smaller counties with less $ don't upload old ones that haven't returned. I used to work in a small rural CA county jail (not far from Kern) , the old files were kept upstairs in a locked room. when someone was arrested we looked up their crim # for our county and if they hadn't been arrested in a long time we would have to go get their file from there. if they were frequent flyers we kept them downstairs. some never came back so there were a lot of dusty old files up there. also, her prints could have been accidently destroyed in the days before automation. the cards would all be together in her file, so losing them all wouldn't be hard.

Her prints are not in the system so I don't think she'd ever been to jail, and there weren't any drugs in her system when she died, just alcohol. But it seems like she had to have been lying low if no one can identify her. It is absolutely baffling. She had clean clothes, clean hair, she looked like she took good care of herself.