LA LA - Belle Chasse, WhtMale 16-17, UP88342, hanged, suicide note, Feb'75

[Mireille]

Throwing my two cents in as well.

The young man sounds very educated and intelligent in the letter, how he thinks and writes. He is clearly suffering from depression. This can come from a multitude of factors. So it is hard to ascribe it to things like sexuality alone. Other things that play into mental health is your actual diet, hormones, and activities that you do to keep you fit. Plus a plentitude of other things,

What is clear is that, he had for some time, been depressed about his situation and ended it. I am not sure if he is from out of state, or from the same state.

I will point out that; they thought he was 16-17, in part, due to that they could not find his fingerprints in any records. Such as prison, or military. Meaning if, he was 18, he would have been summoned serve in the military for a year which was common back then.

But what if he just, did not show up for it, or otherwise was not qualified to serve. Many sort of just, uh, skipped out on that during the times of peace and love. So I am tempted to believe that he might have been a smidgen older than 16-17. Maybe even younger as well.

 

[madamx]

Throwing my two cents in as well.

The young man sounds very educated and intelligent in the letter, how he thinks and writes. He is clearly suffering from depression. This can come from a multitude of factors. So it is hard to ascribe it to things like sexuality alone. Other things that play into mental health is your actual diet, hormones, and activities that you do to keep you fit. Plus a plentitude of other things,

What is clear is that, he had for some time, been depressed about his situation and ended it. I am not sure if he is from out of state, or from the same state.

I will point out that; they thought he was 16-17, in part, due to that they could not find his fingerprints in any records. Such as prison, or military. Meaning if, he was 18, he would have been summoned serve in the military for a year which was common back then.

But what if he just, did not show up for it, or otherwise was not qualified to serve. Many sort of just, uh, skipped out on that during the times of peace and love. So I am tempted to believe that he might have been a smidgen older than 16-17. Maybe even younger as well.

I always question the age, especially after the Daytona boy which in the beginning In 1972 they had him in his late teens to 21 and then they exhumed his body years later and came out saying he was younger as young as 11. So who is really to say. We can only hope the people that first identified him knew what they were doing ha! FL - FL - Daytona, WhtMale 2128UMFL, 11-21, near pond, denim jacket, May'72

 

[Richard]

Plaquemines Parish John Doe (1975)


Discovered
February 14, 1975
Unidentified for 46 years
Sex Male
Location Belle Chasse, Louisiana
Age 16-17
Race White
Height 6'
Weight 160 pounds
Body condition Recognizable face
Postmortem interval Hours
Cause of death Hanging
Plaquemines Parish John Doe was a teenager who committed suicide by hanging himself from a persimmon tree in Naomi near Belle Chasse, Louisiana. A lengthy suicide note addressed to his parents and the police was found in a sealed glass jar resting against the tree's trunk. Few details of this case are available.

Sources

• Plaquemines Parish John Doe at Find a Grave
• Lakeland Ledger
• Lakeland Ledger
• The Evening Independent
• The Times-Picayune
• The Times-Picayune
• Blog
• Text-only video
• Plaquemines Parish John Doe (1975)

 

[pol100gk]

I also think it's likely he was older. He was quoting Durkheim in his letter and that's typical reading for a college student. Not many high school students would be familiar with Durkheim. He had clearly thought a lot about the nature of being and his decision to end his life was not spontaneous. I would also not try to read too much into the letter in terms of sexuality or identity and start off with assuming it's a clear case of clinical depression. Severe depression makes you think that the world and those who love you are better off without you. This comes out loud and clear in his letter.

 

[carbuff]

He sounds typical of a certain kind of very intellectual high schooler, mostly boys, in the late 60s and early 70s when I was in high school. Intelligent, widely read, often cynical because they were aware how much more they knew than their teachers did. Think Holden Caulfield or Alex from a Clockwork Orange.

 

[Baudelaire]

Is this the one?
A Confederacy of Dunces - Wikipedia
Looks like it wasn’t published until 1980. Highly memorable book. Interesting parallels with the Belle Chase Doe and the book’s author- both highly intelligent, both had conflicted relationships with their parents, both died by suicide, both having written complex suicide notes. MOO
John Kennedy Toole - Wikipedia

Yes that's the one!

 

[its.evey]

Did any source mention his race/his hair color/ eye color? I know the sketch doesn't show him having a deeper skin tone, dark hair, and darkish eyes but there should be record of all this due to his PMI being a couple hours.

 

[PropaneYeeter]

Did any source mention his race/his hair color/ eye color? I know the sketch doesn't show him having a deeper skin tone, dark hair, and darkish eyes but there should be record of all this due to his PMI being a couple hours.

White/Caucasian with brown hair and brown eyes, according to early articles.

 

[annemc2]

Is this the one?
A Confederacy of Dunces - Wikipedia
Looks like it wasn’t published until 1980. Highly memorable book. Interesting parallels with the Belle Chase Doe and the book’s author- both highly intelligent, both had conflicted relationships with their parents, both died by suicide, both having written complex suicide notes. MOO
John Kennedy Toole - Wikipedia

One of the greatest novels I've had the pleasure of reading (three times now).

 

[its.evey]

White/Caucasian with brown hair and brown eyes, according to early articles.

thank you

 

[Baudelaire]

One of the greatest novels I've had the pleasure of reading (three times now).

3 times? I must read it.

 

[Baudelaire]

There was a case, and a book a while ago about 8 women being killed over a time period in Jeff Davis parish. No bearing to this case obviously but the author was a local Ethan Brown. He also writes for Medium.

Any chance another local can write Mr. Brown (who is an investigative journalist) and perhaps ask him to join us here or reach out to contacts he has about BCJD?

Dark Truth Behind 8 Sex Workers Murdered in the Bayou

 

[snowgoose]

bessie posted earlier that Mothe Funeral Home, the one that took care of his body, has records on microfilm in the City Archives dating from 1933 to 1991.

According to Family Search, the Family History Library in Utah has all the films, so someone from Salt Lake City could take a look at it (according to the same site the records go from 1923 to 1991). You can also request them at the New Orleans Public Library (here it says they are from 1912 to 1991) and at the St. Tammany Parish Public Library.

Earlier in this thread people discussed checking the Mothe Funeral Home records (held in several public libraries in New Orleans, St Tammany Parish, and Salt Lake City) for the possibility of locating Belle Chasse John Doe's grave or at least proving he existed. I read through most of the thread, but didn't see any follow-up. Did anyone ever try this?

If anyone can get to New Orleans, it shouldn't be too hard to access the records - you can usually view microfilm archives as a visitor without a library card, although you may need to make an appointment.

Currently, the New Orleans City Archives are offering expanded research services due to covid, so you may even be able to make an online request for John Doe's record without visiting the library. Info here: Research Guide

 

[Baudelaire]

Earlier in this thread people discussed checking the Mothe Funeral Home records (held in several public libraries in New Orleans, St Tammany Parish, and Salt Lake City) for the possibility of locating Belle Chasse John Doe's grave or at least proving he existed. I read through most of the thread, but didn't see any follow-up. Did anyone ever try this?

If anyone can get to New Orleans, it shouldn't be too hard to access the records - you can usually view microfilm archives as a visitor without a library card, although you may need to make an appointment.

Currently, the New Orleans City Archives are offering expanded research services due to covid, so you may even be able to make an online request for John Doe's record without visiting the library. Info here: Research Guide

You tell me. They say I need a roll nr, but at the same time they say not available online.

 

[snowgoose]

You tell me. They say I need a roll nr, but at the same time they say not available online.

That is confusing, but my guess would be that "closed to patron access" means you can't wander around in the collection area to choose the rolls you need; they will get them for you and either provide digital copies or prepare them for you to view when you visit.

The website doesn't list roll numbers but you could give the catalogue number mf GS36-220-265 and say you're looking for June 1975 (according to other posts in this thread that's when he was buried).

 

[Baudelaire]

That is confusing, but my guess would be that "closed to patron access" means you can't wander around in the collection area to choose the rolls you need; they will get them for you and either provide digital copies or prepare them for you to view when you visit.

The website doesn't list roll numbers but you could give the catalogue number mf GS36-220-265 and say you're looking for June 1975 (according to other posts in this thread that's when he was buried).

Screenshot taken. Already mailed them asking if digital remote access was possible. What I understood was that the whole Family History, Genealogy category of microfilm was only accessible upon patron showing up for appointment or having library card. But let's hope for the best.

 

[snowgoose]

Good luck!

In case it helps, there is more detail about the individual rolls in the Salt Lake City and St Tammany Library catalogues.
FamilySearch Catalog: Death records and obituaries, 1923-1991 — FamilySearch.org
St Tammany Parish Library System

Those two libraries have the Mothe Funeral Home records numbered in the same way, so IF New Orleans also uses the same reel numbers, then you're looking for (or asking a librarian to look for) these two rolls of film:

Reel# 1839032: Death records and obituaries no. 13054-13805 1973-1975
and
Reel# 1839033: Death records and obituaries no. 13806-14560 1975-1976

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

So “Belle Chasse is home to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, a Naval Air Station for the U.S. Navy Reserve.[2]”
Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans - Wikipedia

I have been researching Bayard Cousins’ family history this morning, and it made me wonder if he had spent a part of his childhood in Belle Chasse, however brief it might have been.

 

[its.evey]

Cousins has been mentioned before but other members have ruled him out. I think he is a good possibility as a match to this UID. The only thing is is that he wears glasses and no glasses were found with the UID. I checked Cousins' comparisons on Namus and the UID was not listed. It may not be because the UID isn't on Namus because there has been other cases where a UID was listed as a rule-out but its profile wasn't on Namus. His face shape, color of hair, and circumstances all match to the UID. Has anyone submitted Cousins?

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Just read this thread in one-go. I must strongly disagree with some earlier suggestions that he may have harmed someone or was a sociopath. He clearly wasn't, because he did have gratitude toward his parents and didn't want to hurt them. His feelings remind me of myself as a teenager - severe depression, leading to inability to feel connected, anger, and a sense of merely existing in emptiness.

I hope he'll get his name back.