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

[Tony1902]

I will make a valiant Luddite attempt. Two of the articles are about him. Another two are about a mother coming from out of state to view the body, so I believe it must have drawn attention nationally if it made its way to a Wisconsin paper. He wasn’t her son.

I have put in a call to the Orleans Parish Coroner and had to leave a voice mail. One of the articles mentions the detective Dominick Verdi, who is deceased. He discusses sending the young man’s body to the Orleans Parish Coroner for an autopsy. FACES only has the death certificate. That’s all the library could give me.

 

[Tony1902]

OK I tried, did not get it, so I cheated and sent them to CarlK to post

 

[CarlK90245]

Times Picayune Feb 18, 1975 - Pg 1

 

[CarlK90245]

Times Picayune Feb 18, 1975 - Pg 2

 

[CarlK90245]

New Orleans States-Item Apr 2, 1975 - Pg 1

 

[CarlK90245]

New Orleans States-Item Apr 2, 1975 - Pg 2

 

[Sweetluv]

Thanks Tony1902 and Carl for posting!!

 

[pol100gk]

Thank you for sharing and for putting all this work in. I am not sure we can eliminate Charley Wallace. His mother seemed to have been in two minds.

 

[Tony1902]

Thank you for sharing and for putting all this work in. I am not sure we can eliminate Charley Wallace. His mother seemed to have been in two minds.

One can read her confusion. I quite liked @Baudelaire’s clues pointing to Bayard Cousins. I’m not sure I’ll ever hear from the Orleans Parish Coroner, and the death certificates are only available 50 years post-mortem. It’s inly 47 for this young man. I would dearly want to get his age pinned down.

 

[Tony1902]

Oh many many thanks Carl for helping this crone

 

[Kiranerys]

Is that an actual section of the note in the victims handwriting?. Could it still possible to match it from this article if there is ever a sample to compare it to?

 

[carbuff]

Thank you for sharing and for putting all this work in. I am not sure we can eliminate Charley Wallace. His mother seemed to have been in two minds.

Yeah, I agree. Death distorts features and it's entirely possible that she couldn't quite recognize him.

But I couldn't find him listed in Namus, Doenetwork, or Charley Project.

 

[Tony1902]

Is that an actual section of the note in the victims handwriting?. Could it still possible to match it from this article if there is ever a sample to compare it to?

It is alleged to be. No one in Plaquemines Parish is of an age to verify and the investigating detective is deceased

 

[Kiranerys]

Yeah, I agree. Death distorts features and it's entirely possible that she couldn't quite recognize him.

But I couldn't find him listed in Namus, Doenetwork, or Charley Project.

I can't find any mention of him searching google.

How is it possible that the dentals matched, the scar in the mouth matched, he looked like Charley but it wasn't him?. I know the report says a scar was missing on his knee but maybe it was faded and hard to see?. This just feels to me that his mother was clinging on to that tiny bit of doubt sue to a slight distortion of his features in death

 

[Tony1902]

I forgot the thank NOLA librarian of special collections, Brittanny Silva

 

[Kiranerys]

It is alleged to be. No one in Plaquemines Parish is of an age to verify and the investigating detective is deceased

It's quite distinctive, I am sure someone who knew him would recognise it.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

If Charlie Wallace graduated HS in 1971 he likely would have been about 22 in Feb 1975. I guess there was enough uncertainty about the 16-17 estimate for him to still be strongly considered. It seemed an uncanny match to his circumstances. Maybe his mother, after reading the note and wanting to respect his wishes, declared it wasn't him.

Too bad the dentals and fingerprints for BCJD have been lost.

 

[Kiranerys]

I think I've found obituaries for Charlie Wallace's parents,both say they were proceeded in death by their son Charles. That's about as far as I've got

 

[annemc2]

Was Charlie introspective and withdrawn like the letter writer? Had Charlie experienced unique advantages, privileges, and experiences? It sounds like he was very intelligent as evidenced by his grades and exam score but would Charlie write something so staid and formal? Would he be the type to read the works of Durkheim? Were the clothes found on the UID typical of something Charlie would wear (down to mismatched socks)?

Charlie's mom's account of his drug use and new friends make it seem like he might have been more impulsive and social than the letter writer. The suicide was obviously methodically planned and executed (unlike Charlie's jumping out of a window). I just don't get the feeling that the letter writer's reference to lingering for "years under care" is a reference to residential substance abuse treatment.

It's almost as if the ruling out of the body as Charlie's by his mom doesn't take into account other attributes of the UID that we can surmise from the note and from the careful planning of the suicide. We hear details about Charlie's physical characteristics but not much about his mannerisms and personality.

 

[Kiranerys]

If Charlie Wallace graduated HS in 1971 he likely would have been about 22 in Feb 1975. I guess there was enough uncertainty about the 16-17 estimate for him to still be strongly considered. It seemed an uncanny match to his circumstances. Maybe his mother, after reading the note and wanting to respect his wishes, declared it wasn't him.

Too bad the dentals and fingerprints for BCJD have been lost.

I'm a bit confused because the first part of the article says Charlie was 19 but the second part said he graduated in 1971?