CA CA - Van Nuys, WhtFem UP4117, 24-33, @ Sepulveda Flood Basin, Jul'87

[Vern]

*Bump!*
Jane Doe 53 has been unidentified for over 31 years.

452UFCA

Still curious about this connection, though! Any updates?

While researching this current case, I ran across this article on another deceased whose hands were severed in California 1987. I'm wondering if this is part of the series (dismembering of hands/arms being the possible link between the cases)they refer to?

Jane Doe murder victim finally identified 3 decades later thanks to forensic technology: Sheriff

IIRC, there is also a case of a brave young woman who survived an attack an attempted murder, having her arms severed and being left for dead. She managed to save herself and make her way up to the road where she was rescued by a passerby. I need to google it - IIRC, a perpetrator has been arrested for this particular crime ... but I can't remember if it was in same time period.

Mary Vincent Speaks Out: 'He Destroyed Everything About Me.'
Name of the brave survivor: Mary Vincent / attacked in 1978 in California
Perpetrator: Lawrence Singleton.
He was paroled for that crime in 1987 ...
By 1990, he had moved back to Florida. In 1997 he was arrested at his home with a murder victim inside - Mary Vincent travelled to Florida to testify against him in that case. he died of cancer in 2001 while incarcerated.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

While researching this current case, I ran across this article on another deceased whose hands were severed in California 1987. I'm wondering if this is part of the series (dismembering of hands/arms being the possible link between the cases)they refer to?

Jane Doe murder victim finally identified 3 decades later thanks to forensic technology: Sheriff

I see the Singleton connection has already been made in Tracey Hobson's (formerly Anaheim Jane Doe) thread (last post):

Identified! - CA - Anaheim, WhtFem Skeletal 22UFCA, 15-19, off Riverside Fwy, Aug'87 - Tracey C Hobson

Mary Vincent Speaks Out: 'He Destroyed Everything About Me.'
Name of the brave survivor: Mary Vincent / attacked in 1978 in California
Perpetrator: Lawrence Singleton.
He was paroled for that crime in 1987 ...
By 1990, he had moved back to Florida. In 1997 he was arrested at his home with a murder victim inside - Mary Vincent travelled to Florida to testify against him in that case. he died of cancer in 2001 while incarcerated.

Such a horrifying story! I wouldn't be surprised at all if he's responsible for more murders. He was a vile creature.

I just wanted to mention that Mary Vincent became an artist and is doing well, despite of her ordeal.
The Amazing Survival Story Of Mary Vincent

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

July 21st marked the 34th year of Van Nuys Jane Doe 53's discovery.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Bumping with Van Nuys Jane Doe 53's NamUs page:

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

#UP4117
Female
White / Caucasian
Date Body Found: July 21, 1987
Location Found: Van Nuys, California
Estimated Age Range: 24-33 Years


Case Information

Case Numbers
NCMEC Number--
ME/C Case Number1987-06991

Demographics
Sex: Female
Race / Ethnicity: White / Caucasian

Possible First Name: --
Possible Middle Name: --
Possible Last Name: --
Nickname/Alias: --

Estimated Age Group: Adult
Estimated Age Range (Years): 24-33

Estimated Year of Death: 1987
Estimated PMI: --

Height: 5' 3"-5' 7"(63-67 inches) , Estimated
Weight: 120-150 lbs, Estimated

Circumstances
Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: July 21, 1987

NamUs Case Created: September 10, 2008
ME/C QA Reviewed: --

Location Found Map
Location: Van Nuys, California 91411
County: Los Angeles County
GPS Coordinates (Not Mapped): --
Found On Tribal Land: No

Circumstances of Recovery:
SUBJ F0UND WRAPPED IN A PLASTIC TARP L0CATED IN THE BUSHES 0FF THE R0ADWAY AT BURBANK BLVD W 0F W00DLEY AVE IN VAN NUYS

Details of Recovery
Inventory of Remains:

-One or more limbs not recovered
-One or both hands not recovered
​

Condition of Remains:
Not recognizable - Partial remains with soft tissues

Physical Description
Hair Color: Brown
Head Hair Description: Shoulder length light brown
Body Hair Description: --
Facial Hair Description: --

Left Eye Color: Brown
Right Eye Color: Brown
Eye Description: Brown

Distinctive Physical Features
Item
Description
Scar/mark

-Scar on abdomen​

Clothing and Accessories
Item
Description
Clothing

-Light Sky Blue Homemade Dress,
-Tan Bra size 34C
-Tan Slip
-Tan Panties

-On the Body​

Footwear

-BLK HEEL 0PEN T0E SH0ES

-On the Body
​

-----------------------------------------------------------------



I've been wanting to tag @othram in this case for a long time. One of her femurs was saved and is (hopefully still) kept as evidence while the rest of the body was cremated.
I hope VNJD53 is taken into consideration since she has been sadly forgotten by the rest of the world.

 

[branmuffin]

I'm confused as to how they could ascertain she had brown eyes. According to Namus page she was partially decomposed. Was she wearing tinted contact lenses? Because if she was, there are possibly blue, green, or gray eyed missing persons out there who would not be considered.

Thinking about the terrifying ordeal that Mary Vincent went through, did her abductor cut off her arms on the off chance she could be identified through fingerprints or was that just some fetish he had? If she had no tattoos or seemed unlikely to have a record, no one can be ruled out.

Although I don't like the artist's rendering of the UID it does give us an idea of her face shape. She seemed to be quite slim in the face with pronounced cheek bones and an almost masculine square jaw. Her nose appears fairly flat with wide nostrils. Her eyebrows appear natural and she appears to have a slight overbite.

About the dress. I really don't like it when someone editorializes about clothing, deeming it out of style. Depending on who she was, she may have liked vintage clothing from the 60s or 70s. And because it was deemed home made does that mean it wasn't well sewn? It could have been made by a seamstress, specifically for that person. When they say peek a boo style do they mean an opening in the front that would reveal cleavage or do they mean a key hole neckline where the ties close the opening above the breast bone. Was it knee length, above the knee, mini length or a conservative mid calf length? Show us the damn dress! I've been trolling through vintage dress patterns from the 60s and 70s and there are so many different styles that transcend different eras. Here's a couple of examples of dresses from the 70s. One looks cool and fashionable the other frumpy enough to be a uniform in a family restaurant.



Was she wearing a half slip or a full slip? All her underwear was colour coordinated, all tan/beige. I presume because she was fully clothed she hadn't been sexually assaulted. Was she murdered by someone she knew?

 

[John/Jane Doe]

452UFCA

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

*Bump*

35 years as unidentified is fast approaching for Van Nuys Jane Doe 53.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Strange. Jane Doe's not listed at the LA county medical examiner-coroner's page, although they are listed as case owners and investigation agency on Jane Doe's NamUs page.

Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner

The new ME-Coroner's website is where you can learn about the department, your case, the services we provide and more.

mec.lacounty.gov

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Van Nuys Jane Doe 53 has been unidentified for over 35 years today.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

For the first time in two years, Van Nuys Jane Doe 53's NamUs was updated today, but I can't seem to see exactly what's been updated. Hazel Klug and Patricia Schmidt remains the only visible ruleouts (+ Sylvia Lourdes Standley, who was confirmed ruled out per post #9).

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

For the first time in two years, Van Nuys Jane Doe 53's NamUs was updated today, but I can't seem to see exactly what's been updated. Hazel Klug and Patricia Schmidt remains the only visible ruleouts (+ Sylvia Lourdes Standley, who was confirmed ruled out per post #9).

Van Nuys Jane Doe 53's NamUs was updated once again. That's twice in a relatively short period of time, after being still for a couple of years.
No visible changes this time, either.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Doing a little late-night sleuthing, and I came across this article that happened to turn twenty years this year.

The article describes Van Nuys Jane Doe 53's dress a "a baby blue, homemade “candy striper” dress" (along with the "peekaboo opening below the neckline"). The dress colour has also been described as "powder-blue" in the 2007 article in post #18.

The article also mentions that the initial investigation "had washed the victim’s dress, destroying a wealth of potential DNA evidence" (by 2002 standards, but what about today's standards, @othram?).

When Trail Goes Cold, Homicide Unit Turns Up Heat

Perhaps the only thing that stood out about "Jane Doe No. 53" was her unusual outfit--a baby blue, homemade "candy striper" dress and a pair of worn, black shoes.

www.latimes.com

"Perhaps the only thing that stood out about Jane Doe No. 53 was her unusual outfit --a baby blue, homemade “candy striper” dress and a pair of worn, black shoes.

There were no fingerprints to check or any relatives or friends to claim her body in 1987 when her body was discovered bound and decomposed in the dense vegetation along Burbank Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley.

It did not help that the original investigators had washed the victim’s dress, destroying a wealth of potential DNA evidence.

With little to go on and no obvious suspects, the unidentified twentysomething woman joined legions of other homicide victims--some anonymous, some identified--who faded into the yellowing pages of the Los Angeles Police Department’s murder books.

Despite the years since the “cold cases” were last pursued, they are receiving fresh attention from a new LAPD unit that uses modern technology, including tracking software, DNA evidence and databanks of fingerprints and ballistics records, to try to solve old crimes.
But even as it gets off the ground, the cold-case unit is threatened by a shortage of criminalists who review evidence and a rising crime rate that has some questioning why seasoned detectives are being used to solve old cases when new ones need attention.

(...)

In the case of Jane Doe No. 53, the first priority of LAPD Dets. Vivian Flores and Richard Bengtson is to find the dead woman’s family in the absence of the most basic forensic clues.

Not only are her fingerprints unusable, her dental records cannot be tracked down until family members come forward.
Luck also plays a role in solving old cases. (...)"



----------------


It seems to have been high hopes in identifying VNJD53 in the '00s, but 15-20 years later, she's not only still unidentified, but seems completely forgotten.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Van Nuys Jane Doe 53 was discovered 36 years ago today.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

The woman’s mutilated body was discovered on the morning of July 21, 1987, by a 32-year-old transient in the thick underbrush around the Hjelte Sports Center in the Sepulveda Dam basin area.

dumped her body in the park off Burbank Boulevard just east of Havenhurst Avenue, police believe.

bbm.

Just marked up the stretch where it is believed Jane Doe was found.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

A bump for Van Nuys Jane Doe 53

Jane “Van Nuys” Doe (unknown-1987) - Find a Grave...

"BIRTH: unknown
DEATH: 21 Jul 1987, Van Nuys, Los Angeles County, California, USA
BURIAL: Cremated, Location of ashes is unknown

The body of a woman between twenty-four and thirty-three was discovered in Van Nuys, Los Angeles County, California on July 21, 1987. Her body was wrapped in a tarp and some blankets after she had been strangled and the body was found weeks afterward. The victim had been strangled and had her arms severed at the elbows, preventing analysis of fingerprints. She had brown hair and eyes, had braces at one time in her life and also had some missing teeth and fillings in her mouth. She wore an "out of date" handmade-appearing dress, a bra, slip, underwear and mismatched shoes, one being a high heel and the other an open toed shoe. The female was about five feet eight inches tall and was at a weight between 110 and 120 pounds. Further physical examination indicated she had been pregnant at one point in life and had consumed cocaine before her murder. It is also possible that this case may be linked to serial killings in the area, but authorities are unsure. The female's body was eventually cremated."

 

[cvaldez1975]

why was she dressed like that in mismatched shoes? this case haunts me. her recon is so sad.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

why was she dressed like that in mismatched shoes?

It's weird, but not the only thing that raises questions in her case. I've always wondered why there's been an emphasis on the dress, yet a photograph, recon, or even a drawing of it has never been released to the press. I mean, if it was so unique, wouldn't a publication of it be logical? Someone could recognise it. Makes no sense.

Also the serial killings that she might be a victim of; it's -to my knowledge- never been specified which serial killings are referenced. I've tried to find out myself, but none actually fits the bill.

I've also noticed that according to the autopsy, Jane Doe had a previous pregnancy, but does that include actual birth?

 

[John/Jane Doe]

@Caring1 Hey could you post the current list of NamUs exclusions for this Jane Doe? I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Caring1]

@Caring1 Hey could you post the current list of NamUs exclusions for this Jane Doe? I would greatly appreciate it.

2 Missing Person Exclusions

 

[SimsGuy67]

Jane Doe looks like Patricia Van-Buskirk to me, but the eye color is getting me. How were they able to tell with "Partial remains with soft tissues?" Maybe the facial expression is skewing my opinion?

Patricia Van Buskirk – The Charley Project

	Van Nuys Jane Doe	Patricia Van Buskirk
Sex	Female	Female
Race	White/Caucasian	White/Caucasian
Age	24 - 33	31
DLC/DOD	June 21 - 28, 1987	April 27, 1987
Height	5'8	5'7
Weight	110 - 120 pounds	128 - 160 pounds
Hair Color	Brown	Blonde/Strawberry
Eye Color	Brown	Blue
Distinctive Features	Appendectomy scar, wore contact lenses, had a child, had cocaine in her system.	Had a child.
Circumstances	Found wrapped in blankets and tarp. Hands were cut off.	Believed to have left her family in the middle of the night.
Distance	Oxnard - Van Nuys	50 miles

There's really only three things I can't get by with this match. The eye color, contact lenses, and appendectomy scar are things you can't really mistake. I still can't help but see a resemblance between both women though.