Bombshell
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The Journal Gazette-Fort Wayne, IN
May 26, 1992
Woman's death not foul play, coroner says.
Foul play is not believed to be the cause of death of woman whose badly decomposed body was found in the basement of a southeast-side home Friday. "We saw no fractures, no bullets, no evidence of foul play," Allen County Coroner Phillip E. O'Shaughnessy said following an autopsy
Saturday.
A contractor renovating a home at 3512 Reynolds St. found a pink gym shoe containing an ankle bone. That led to the discovery. The body is a white female between 20 and 25 years old with blond or light brown hair, O'Shaughnessy said. The body, wrapped in a furniture blanket, could have been in the basement since December, O'Shaughnessy said. "We think she was trying to keep warm,'"he said. "Unless we
have some clues, we'll have an open verdict on the cause of death". Authorities may perform drug tests to determine whether she died from an overdose, O'Shaughnessy said. The body was found lying face down in several inches of water, and investigators found evidence the woman might have constructed a makeshift bed in the basement, O'Shaughnessy said. The woman was wearing a Windcrest jacket. The color had washed out, but could be gray or light blue, O'Shaughnessy said. She was wearing a knit shirt with white stripes and dark cross-stripes. A gold braided chain and a gold looped chain with three stars were around her neck, O'Shaughnessy said.
Hello everyone,
This is my first time starting a thread and I'm not sure how to begin (go easy on me :facepalm. She is not in NAMUS, Doe Network, or any other database. She was found May 15, 1992 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
I have been in contact for several weeks with Detective Young of the Fort Wayne police department about this Jane Doe (her headstone at Lindenwood Cemetery reads "Mary Jane Doe"). He was able to find her file in archives and verify she is still unidentified.
The info in the above article is correct: white female, 20 - 25 years old, long blonde or light brown hair. She was wearing size 10 pink Reeboks, a Windcrest jacket size XL, sweat pants, and two gold necklaces (one possibly with stars). The cause of death was not determined. She may have entered the home in the fall of 1992 and was found in 6 inches of water. A reconstruction was not completed at the time and the only photos in her file are terrible Xerox copies, so any that may be available of her jewelry or clothing would not be helpful.
Today I learned Detective Young is comparing her to a missing girl from Florida. He was unable to give me her name, but did say she is on Findthemissing.org and aged 27. Maybe someone with better search skills than mine can find her. :blushing:
Detective Young is trying to locate the missing girl's dental records. If the records were destroyed, Mary Jane Doe will be exhumed. I will be speaking to him again next week, if anyone has questions or potential matches I will be happy to relay them to him.
Here is a link to her page on Find a Grave: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=unknown&GSfn=unknown&GSbyrel=all&GSdy=1992&GSdyrel=in&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=16541362&df=all#.V9v7yi30trc.gmail
Bombshell