Identified! CT - Darien, WhtFem 40-50, UP14546, skull near stream off hwy, Sep'94 - Patricia Hall

[Romulus]

NamUs UP 14546

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/14546


No Image Available

Unidentified White Female

Body Condition: Not recognizable - near complete or complete skeleton
Probable year of death: 1984 to 1994
Estimated postmortem interval: 10 years

Vital Statistics

Estimated age: 40-50
Approximate Height: cannot estimate.
Approximate Weight: cannot estimate.
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Skeletal findings: nothing

Clothing & Accessories

Clothing: nothing
Footwear: nothing
Accessories: nothing

Identifiers
Fingerprints: Fingerprint information is currently not available
Dentals: Dental information /charting is available and will be entered
DNA: Sample submitted-Tests not complete

Case History
Found near stream off Highway

 

[rats]

Just chiming in to say that Darien (where she was found) is a really pretty part of CT -- and a REALLY popular way for people to get to NYC.

 

[Romulus]

Mary Badaracco https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/303/0

Regina Brown https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/2018/2

 

[Dionysia]

Just chiming in to say that Darien (where she was found) is a really pretty part of CT -- and a REALLY popular way for people to get to NYC.

Yup, right off of I-95.


Angela Chiaramonte, missing from West Haven (30 miles east of Darien, also on I-95), last seen Jan 1990.
Age: 39
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/3350/50/

If we open the search to NYC, there are a lot of possibilities.

 

[carbuff]

There's a lot of truck, tourist, commercial, and illegal traffic the whole length of I95, Maine to Florida.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[carbuff]

Updated Namus link: Unidentified Person Case

No ruleouts listed.

 

[Melt71]

No updates visible in the case. I sure hope they are working on this elsewhere and just too busy to update Namus...

 

[victoriarobinson642]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Added to NAMUS today, reminds me of this Jane Doe.

 

[carbuff]

Updated Namus link: Unidentified Person Case

No ruleouts listed.

Nothing new.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Well, Brenda Kerber was found deceased, so it's not her.

 

[YaYa_521]

No exclusions.

 

[Romulus]

Yup, right off of I-95.


Angela Chiaramonte, missing from West Haven (30 miles east of Darien, also on I-95), last seen Jan 1990.
Age: 39
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/3350/50/

If we open the search to NYC, there are a lot of possibilities.

 

[othram]

The Othram team is now working this case: Who is Fairfield County Jane Doe (1994)?

 

[othram]

SOLVED!

Who is Fairfield County Jane Doe (1994)?

 

[dotr]

After 29 years, Fairfield County Jane Doe is Identified

After twenty-nine years, a woman, whose remains were discovered in Darien, Connecticut in 1994, is now known to be Patricia Hall, born June 4, 1962.

dnasolves.com

Patricia Hall, born June 4, 1962

"In September 1994, two teenagers discovered a human skull in a wooded area near a stream off of Interstate 95 in Darien, Connecticut. Investigators determined that the skull belonged to a white female who was between the ages of 40 and 50 years. It is estimated that the woman died as many as ten years prior to the discovery of her remains. No belongings or identifying characteristics were recovered and the identity of the woman was unknown.

In 2015, details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as case number UP14546. Since the discovery of the woman’s remains, law enforcement investigators have pursued various leads about her identity. Despite their efforts, the case went cold.

In 2023, in an ongoing collaboration aimed at solving the backlog of cold cases in Connecticut, the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner submitted forensic evidence to Otham's laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas. Othram scientists developed a suitable DNA extract from the evidence and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown woman. Othram's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to investigators.

In a follow-up investigation, Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner investigators made contact with potential relatives of the woman, and were able to obtain a familial DNA reference sample. That reference sample DNA was submitted to Othram for comparison against the DNA of the unidentified woman using KinSNP® Rapid Relationship Familial Testing. This information allowed law enforcement to establish that the human skull found in 1994 was that of Patricia Hall, born June 4, 1962.

Othram's costs for laboratory and investigative effort in this case were covered by DNASolves® crowdfund. We are so grateful to everyone that helped crowdfund this case and other DNASolves cases.''

 

[MarziPanda]

Seems she was a fair bit younger than the estimate. If she died the year she was found, she would have been 32. But she's estimated to have died up to 10 years prior, so she was possibly in her 20s. Another reminder not to focus too much on age!

I wonder when she was last seen/known to be alive? She looks quite young in the photo.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Looks like she lived in the area.

Her name was changed at some point...wonder why.

 

[DS2021]

The Cycle Date for her death record in Numident is 12/09/1994

NUMIDENT refers to the Social Security Administration's Numerical Identification System file.

Cycle date is the Date when the record was posted on the NUMIDENT.

NARA - AAD - Display Full Records - Death Files, 1936 - 2007 (Last Names H through J)

aad.archives.gov

 

[DS2021]

This is the 2nd doe ive seen today, that was seemingly declared dead (without a body) in the years after their death, but was never added as a missing persons in NamUs prior to their Identification.

 

[ifindedout]

I wonder just where she was found? "Found near stream off highway" isn't very descriptive, assuming the highway is I-95 (the Merritt Parkway to the north is outside the town's boundaries), as there are several streams within Darien. But there are two service plazas on 95 in Darien, the southbound one in the section of town named Noroton Heights, while the northbound one is 2½ miles to the north, not far from the center of town. Was she found by a stream near one of these rest areas? Was her body dumped there after being dragged from a car parked there?
Northbound:

I-95 Darien NB Service Plaza · I-95 NB Service Plaza, Darien, CT 06820

★★★★☆ · Rest stop

www.google.com

Southbound:

I-95 Darien SB Service Plaza · 1 West Ave, Darien, CT 06820

★★★★☆ · Rest stop

www.google.com