CA CA - Watsonville, BlkFem UP14002, 28-52, severed head in shallow grave, gold tooth, Feb'57

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Female
Black / African American
Date Body Found: February 15, 1957
Location Found: Watsonville, California
Estimated Age Range: 28-52 Years


Case Information

Case Numbers
NCMEC Number: --
ME/C Case Number: 57-00651

Demographics
Sex: Female
Race / Ethnicity: Black / African American

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

Estimated Age Group: Adult
Estimated Age Range (Years): 28-52
Estimated Year of Death: 1956
Estimated PMI: --

Height: Cannot Estimate
Weight: Cannot Estimate

Circumstances
Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: February 15, 1957

NamUs Case Created: July 3, 2015
ME/C QA Reviewed: --

Location Found Map
Location: Watsonville, California
County: Santa Cruz County
GPS Coordinates (Not Mapped): --
Found On Tribal Land: --

Circumstances of Recovery:
A severed head was located buried in a shallow grave, wrapped in a paper grocery bag, in the Pajaro River Levee in Southern Santa Cruz County. The upper front tooth was gold.

Details of Recovery
Inventory of Remains:

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

Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Partial skeletal parts only

Physical Description
Hair Color: --
Head Hair Description: --
Body Hair Description: --
Facial Hair Description: --

Left Eye Color: --
Right Eye Color: --
Eye Description: --

Distinctive Physical Features
Item:

Description / Other distinctive physical characteristic:

- Gold upper front tooth​

Clothing and Accessories
No Information Entered



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



Someone has already clipped an article about this Jane Doe:

Watsonville, California Jane Doe - Newspapers.com

I wonder if Jane Doe is proven to be female, or if it's still assumed. Also, I thought the estimated age range NamUs operates with is a bit strange. Like, 28 to 52 just seems so random I wonder how LE/ME managed to narrow down to those numbers.

Pictures of Watsonville Jane Doe's teeth + gold tooth in this link
***PMS IN LINK***

 

[Dylansmom08]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Female
Black / African American
Date Body Found: February 15, 1957
Location Found: Watsonville, California
Estimated Age Range: 28-52 Years


Case Information

Case Numbers
NCMEC Number: --
ME/C Case Number: 57-00651

Demographics
Sex: Female
Race / Ethnicity: Black / African American

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

Estimated Age Group: Adult
Estimated Age Range (Years): 28-52
Estimated Year of Death: 1956
Estimated PMI: --

Height: Cannot Estimate
Weight: Cannot Estimate

Circumstances
Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: February 15, 1957

NamUs Case Created: July 3, 2015
ME/C QA Reviewed: --

Location Found Map
Location: Watsonville, California
County: Santa Cruz County
GPS Coordinates (Not Mapped): --
Found On Tribal Land: --

Circumstances of Recovery:
A severed head was located buried in a shallow grave, wrapped in a paper grocery bag, in the Pajaro River Levee in Southern Santa Cruz County. The upper front tooth was gold.

Details of Recovery
Inventory of Remains:

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

Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Partial skeletal parts only

Physical Description
Hair Color: --
Head Hair Description: --
Body Hair Description: --
Facial Hair Description: --

Left Eye Color: --
Right Eye Color: --
Eye Description: --

Distinctive Physical Features
Item:

Description / Other distinctive physical characteristic:

- Gold upper front tooth​

Clothing and Accessories
No Information Entered



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



Someone has already clipped an article about this Jane Doe:

Watsonville, California Jane Doe - Newspapers.com

I wonder if Jane Doe is proven to be female, or if it's still assumed. Also, I thought the estimated age range NamUs operates with is a bit strange. Like, 28 to 52 just seems so random I wonder how LE/ME managed to narrow down to those numbers.

Pictures of Watsonville Jane Doe's teeth + gold tooth in this link
***PMS IN LINK***

Here is a really interesting article I found about how forensics examines a skull to determine the sex of the person.
Identifying the sex of a skull

 

[aThousandYearsWide]

I wonder if Jane Doe is proven to be female, or if it's still assumed. Also, I thought the estimated age range NamUs operates with is a bit strange. Like, 28 to 52 just seems so random I wonder how LE/ME managed to narrow down to those numbers.

Pictures of Watsonville Jane Doe's teeth + gold tooth in this link
***PMS IN LINK***

I agree, and especially in cases where partial remains or only a skull is found.

There was a case that was recently ID'd that was originally thought to be a black female. It turned out to be a white male.
Missing man's remains identified in Columbia County 24 years after he disappeared | firstcoastnews.com

 

[victoriarobinson642]

And considering that this was also in 1957, I'm not exactly super confident.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

I wonder if Jane Doe is proven to be female, or if it's still assumed.

I was thinking about her being DNA tested. Hopefully she has been, and her gender and ethnicity is scientifically proven, but these are very old remains, and she was found in California.. I fear she's been cremated before such tests have been done.

 

[Dylansmom08]

I wonder if gold teeth where a common thing at this time? Seems like it would be a expensive procedure to have done. Also just thinking that at least now you don't see many women with gold crowns on their teeth I wonder if they did confirm some how it was a woman?

 

[DS2021]

Bumping

 

[Goecke]

Those pictures of her teeth look recent so hopefully she wasn't cremated like so many other UIDs in California.
Also, how the heck were they able to estimate her height and build from only her skull and mandible?

 

[heartanium]

Looks like the remains were initially thought to be that of a man. Not sure if they confirmed it was female by DNA.

Feb 16, 1957, The San Pedro News-Pilot, pg 1


Feb 16, 1957, The Oakland Tribune, pg 3


Chittenden Pass (I think?)

"[The skull] appeared to have been battered on both sides by some type of weapon."

"Judging by the jagged skin on the neck, they said the head was probably severed from the missing body by an axe."

Feb 17, 1957, The Santa Cruz Sentinel, pg 1



"The head may have been thrown from a passing box car, and the remainder of the body disposed of elsewhere along the track"

19 Feb 1957, The Californian, pg 11


Next article chronologically is the one posted in the 1st post.

26 Feb 1957, The Californian, pg 11

 

[Beccalicious]

Bumping