I do see a strong resemblance between the sketch of Julie Doe and Fredericus, but JD's breast implants were discontinued in 1983 and if they are generally implanted within a year of their manufacture, the MP's birth year is 1978, making him entirely too young to be Julie.
Thank you for that touching message, Tabirey. I have a distant relative buried in our family plot; her headstone bears the name she chose after her transition and I think I'd like to learn her story.
Inspired by Tabirey's post, this is an open letter to anyone who believes he/she may be a relative of Julie Doe but has reservations about coming forward, just on the chance that they come across this thread. Kinda nervous typing this, and please, if anyone finds any mistakes regarding LE procedures/policies, point them out.
Dear Relative,
Please accept my heartfelt sympathy on the loss of your loved one. I don't know whether Julie left home before transitioning, left over disagreements over transitioning or was forced out over it, but for the purpose of this letter it's not my place to judge.
If Julie was forced out, whether you feel justified in your decision or are feeling guilt over it, again, no judgement. However, I appeal to you to help law enforcement identify her remains. There are many reasons for this.
Even if you did ask Julie to leave your home, if she was an adult at the time then no crime was committed. Nor is it a crime to cut off all contact with a family member and/or not report her missing, especially if you were out of touch and never knew she had disappeared. Many families of long-time missing persons are now making formal reports (or making fresh reports if the original report was lost in police records), long having assumed their relative was off on their own, and identifications are being made as a result.
Helping LE identify Julie doesn't necessarily mean you agree, personally or religiously, with her gender identity, but it may bring you some much-needed closure. It would also free up LE resources to identify other John and Jane Doe victims. Most importantly, if LE has Julie's real name, they may be able to trace her last known associates, which could lead to her killer facing justice. There may be other victims, transgender or cisgender women, out there, and the perp could very well still be out there and as young as his fifties.
On the Doe Network's "resolved cases" page, there are many long-time Does whose identity is now known to LE and contact has been made with their families, but their name has not been released publicly. If you contact LE and make this request, they should do the right thing and honor your wishes. Also, if money is a concern, you should not "owe" anything for Julie's burial site and many former Does remain in their original cemetery plots.
Again, it's a heavy decision to make but a lot of good could potentially come out of an identification, even if you chose not to make Julie's name public.
