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

[theshadow45]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

I’m glad Belle Chasse John Doe has finally been officially listed somewhere. I think it will take the right person seeing his profile for him to be identified.

 

[Church]

I'm afraid they have confirmed the rest of the suicide note may be destroyed. In the NAMUS profile it specifically states:

"There are no surviving reports/records from either the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office or Coroner's Office."

 

[phantomstrider]

I’m glad Belle Chasse John Doe has finally been officially listed somewhere. I think it will take the right person seeing his profile for him to be identified.

I sadly dont think its likely he will be identified anytime soon he doesnt have dna fingerpints or dentals available. A lot of the records were lost in katrina and his exact burial site is unknown. His body might not even still be there due to the flooding from katrina.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

3832UMLA

Added to the doe network.

 

[Sweetluv]

Though he was finally added to Doe Network, the cause of death is listed as unknown and there is no mention of a hanging/suicide.

 

[phantomstrider]

Though he was finally added to Doe Network, the cause of death is listed as unknown and there is no mention of a hanging/suicide.

Im pretty sure his namus page doesnt mention it either.

 

[Sweetluv]

You are correct phantomstrider, info not mentioned on Namus as well.

 

[phantomstrider]

You are correct phantomstrider, info not mentioned on Namus as well.

I wonder if NCMEC can take on his case given his estimated age range.

 

[montani]

Hiya everybody. I am interested in the newspaper writeups that report that his fingerprints had been circulated across the country as mentioned very early in this thread. Many different papers in many different states have reported on this as well-- is there any chance of recovering fingerprints from an agency other than ones in Plaquemines Parrish? It strikes me as strange that there are no surviving actual photos of him either (post-mortem of course, and correct me if I'm wrong on this one.) I find it unlikely that photos were not distributed along with the fingerprints, even if they were not made public. It is also odd that some papers published more of his suicide note than others. What are the odds that that in its entirety was not mailed/sent elsewhere as well?

Times Picayune Feb 18, 1975 - Pg 1

@Tony1902 sent this clipping over to CarlK to be posted. As has already been discussed, it appears to feature a scanned-in snippet of his suicide note. It is a shot in the dark to question whether or not the whole note had been scanned? I do not have very much knowledge on how archival worked in that time so it is completely beyond me to try and find if any other papers or places have records of it. It makes me wonder if, somehow, on some film reel, a copy of the note still resides. I assume the paper that published the photo of the note would also have had the whole copy of it at their disposal to use what excerpts they see fit. (Again, correct me if I am wrong.) Is it possible to see archives from the papers (for example, sources such as the note) that extend beyond what was published publicly?

I do understand that the records pertaining to this case were lost in Katrina, hence why I am asking mostly for records housed in other places. What I imagine is that this is far too broad of a search to be useful, but I figured I would post anyway. Is there any way to trace what papers sent what where and the same for LEAs?

I have been following this case for quite some time now with no useful insight to provide myself and it has been amazing to see how much progress has been made in seemingly so little time. Great work everyone!

EDIT: Also, Tony-- (if you happen to read this) Did you ever hear back on what you were or were not allowed to discuss? I didn't see a follow up to it in this thread, but I may have overlooked it. Thanks!

 

[Tony1902]

No nothing. Everything I gave CarlK was from the NOlA parish library archives. They (newspapers) must have gotten the information from Plaquemines Parish Coroner’s office and sheriff’s department.
I’m too much of a Luddite to get what LSU library has on file-the original Belle Chasse newspaper article, which might have additional information.

One of the posters up-thread mentioned LaMothe funeral home and Westlawn cemetery. UIDs burials can often become forgotten/misplaced. The TOD can be fixed from the time a couple passing by noted nothing in the field to the time his body seen hanging from the persimmon tree. I have not heard back from the parish. It’s easy enough to use Katrina, it’s all gone.

 

[Tony1902]

Sorry it’s actually Mothe funeral home in Harvey LA. They are still active..I will try to call later, but I’m sure I’ll get nowhere. Louisiana is a ‘closed records’ state, making it difficult to obtain information regarding documents, certificates of any kind. I’m still working on the Old Metairie UID for which I do have documentation , but cannot post. There’s always a chance to do a FOIA for this young man, who had to have lived in the area, or frequented it. It was then quite out of the way.

I don't do google earth and I’d need to get a 9:5 map of the Belle Chasse area where he was found in a crop field. Then I’d have a better idea of exactly where he was found.

 

[montani]

Thanks for the prompt reply! And I see… I am not from LA, but I live close enough to drive down. Given the nature of it being a ‘closed records’ state, do you have to be a resident of the state to inquire about records at all? I would be willing to travel to the area for research purposes but I do not know if they will take well to a non-resident asking around.

I am unsure of how to access LSU’s archives, but I will look into it. Is it required to visit in person, or is there a website? If you have any advice on contacting them, please let me know.

I am also not 100% sure of what you mean by 9:5 map, but I will append screenshots of possible areas where he may have been found. I have seen reports of him being found in Naomi, as well as Alliance off of LA-23. The first file is an aerial view of the whole area, with Belle Chasse at the far north and Phoenix at the far south. The second attachment is Naomi enlarged, and the third is Alliance enlarged. The final two are historical satellite images of the area from 1985 (first one is Belle Chasse to the north and Phoenix at the south, second is Naomi at the north and Alliance at the south.) I cannot find satellite imagery any older than that. Please tell me if these are not what you needed or if you would like to see a different area and I will try a second time.

 

[carbuff]

Bumping the original post that started this thread. It contains more extensive quotes from the suicide note. The information quoted is from a newspaper in Wisconsin, which I think is where Charles Wallace is from?

@montani, I think you have a very good point about other LE agencies or newspapers possibly having fingerprints or a copy of the note. And I'm guessing that the towns where Wallace and Bayard Cousins are from would be the best place to start.

I ran across this while researching something else.

On Valentine's Day in 1975, the body of a 16-17 year old white male was found in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. He had committed suicide by hanging himself from a persimmon tree using a bedsheet. He was wearing a maroon and yellow knit shirt, blue trousers and unmatched socks. He was not wearing shoes. A jar laying against the tree trunk was filled with note paper.

He left a suicide note, addressed to "mom and dad" which read in part: "When you stop growing you are dead. I stopped growing long ago. I never did develop into a real person and I cannot tolerate the false and empty existence I have created".

He included this notation for the police who would eventually find him: "You are bound to preserve domestic peace and order. If you pursue who I was (and spend hundreds of dollars) you will accomplish little. There are no legal consequences of my death or any kind of entanglements. All that can happen is that you will shatter the domestic peace and order of two innocent lives. Do not deprive them of the hope that their 'missing' son will return . . .Let me be, let it be as if I wasn't ever here. Simply cremate me as John Doe."

He goes on to say "It is best if I cease to live, quietly, than risk that later I will break and shatter by violence or linger years under care. I implore you to see a psychiatrist in order that you might understand my death and my life. Ask thoroughly about what I was and you will see that it is not tragic that I am gone, but more natural than if I continued."

In a section entitled "why you should not feel responsible", the young man wrote: "I was born with a definite pervasive melancholy . . .what frustrated me most in the last year was that I had built no ties to family or friends. There was nothing of lasting worth and value. I led a detached existence and I was a parody of a person - literally and figuratively. I didn't tell jokes - I was a joke".

The suicide note is quite lengthy, and cites the writings of Emile Durkheim, a philosopher and psychologist. The young man said Durkheim called suicide "an inner direction of homicidal feelings against someone else."

He ends the note by saying "I am no longer interested in the world and know that it is not interested in me. When you stop growing you are dead. I stopped growing a long time ago."

On a separate scrap of paper, he wrote this note to his parents: "You have provided me with excellent advantages and privileges and experiences. I am extremely grateful for all of your sacrifices, time and support. I am now repaying you with an arrogant act. In this light, I do see it as criminal. I can only hope that you see that it was me who caused it."

This young man's description and fingerprints were circulated to police throughout the U.S., but he was not identified as of March 1975. I am hoping by putting this here on the cold case thread, it might trigger someone's memory about a missing young man.

This "John Doe" seemed to be intelligent and was extremely philosophical for a teenage boy. He refers to the advantages and privileges his parents provided, which could mean he was from a well-to-do family. There was no car found in the area, so he must have taken the bus or hitchiked to the wooded area where he ended his life.

If you are interested, the complete story is in the March 27, 1975 Post-Crescent, Appleton-Neenah-Menosha, Wisconsin.

If anyone knows anything about this young man, I'd love to hear it.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Bumping the original post that started this thread. It contains more extensive quotes from the suicide note. The information quoted is from a newspaper in Wisconsin, which I think is where Charles Wallace is from?

@montani, I think you have a very good point about other LE agencies or newspapers possibly having fingerprints or a copy of the note. And I'm guessing that the towns where Wallace and Bayard Cousins are from would be the best place to start.

Charles Wallace was from Lexington, TN, although he may have been living in Memphis before he went missing, so it's hard to say which LE agency might have received his prints. But I've wondered why a paper in Wisconsin was the primary source for the story. It might have been distributed to a large number of papers and that one just happened to be the one paper that kept an archive.

 

[carbuff]

Charles Wallace was from Lexington, TN, although he may have been living in Memphis before he went missing, so it's hard to say which LE agency might have received his prints. But I've wondered why a paper in Wisconsin was the primary source for the story. It might have been distributed to a large number of papers and that one just happened to be the one paper that kept an archive.

I stand corrected. Thanks.

The article is here if anybody has newspapers.com access The Post-Crescent from Appleton, Wisconsin on March 27, 1975 · 1

I can't tell whether it's the article we already have. Probably it's in the early posts somewhere.

 

[ctaylor]

It looks like it's already been clipped here, so should be able to see if even if not a newspapers.com member

Clipping from The Post-Crescent - Newspapers.com

 

[carbuff]

It looks like it's already been clipped here, so should be able to see if even if not a newspapers.com member

Clipping from The Post-Crescent - Newspapers.com

Thank you!

 

[Tony1902]

Merci @montani
Thanks that's exactly what I need. A 9:5 map is what historians, archaeologists, etc. use to detail areas. If Naomi Is around 16 miles south of Belle Chasse, then that's the area. The long narrow lots are from the Spanish and French colonial periods and are called arpents. The rear of the property would be at the river or bayou, entrance would be from a dirt road.

I was lucky enough to get copies of the Jefferson Parish coroner’s office records, but I cannot post them on the Old Metairie Jane Doe thread. However, this begs the question: Jefferson Parish HQ is in the West Bank, just like Plaquemines. If Jefferson still has their archives, why doesn’t Plaquemines?

Now I have to check on Naomi. As you can tell from the google images, it was a crop growing area, tomatoes, peppers, citrus and such.

 

[Tony1902]

And anyone with better internet navigational skills than I have, which are almost nil, LSU Special Collections has archived copies of the Belle Chasse Gazette. I would imagine it was the source of the original article, later picked up by the Times Picayune and the New Orleans States Item, then distributed elsewhere.

If the place where he died is indeed Naomi, I’d not consider Charles Wallace. That really was the back of beyond..I didn’t even know it existed. As a plant fanatic I would cross the river to get Creole tomatoe plants in Belle Chasse, or eat at Mosca’s in Westwego. Naomi, no, you’d blink and pass it by. No offense, but I don’t think I ever remembered it.

 

[breachtones]

To be honest, I didn’t even know about Charlie Wallace. IMO, if the dental records match, this should surely be a match. I kind of don’t understand how it isn’t. Maybe the mother wanted to honor his wish of being anonymous.