Identified! MA - Provincetown, Race Point, 'Lady in the Dunes' WhtFem 27-49, UP11840, Jul'74 - Ruth Marie Terry

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I have identified a new possible suspect but need help with getting more information, more records. If anyone is good at this please let me know! I am compiling all of the information that I can find but need more before I put his name out there.
 
https://identifyus.org/en/cases/11840
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/119ufma.html

The Lady in the Dunes had extensive dental work and some teeth removed by the killer. Betty Roberts had dentures. I think that's enough to rule her out, unfortunately. She did look promising.

The lady's Namus page now includes all the reconstructions that have been done over the years. Also two ruleouts (we know this is incomplete).

The following people have been ruled out as being this decedent:
First Name Last Name Year of Birth State LKA

Frances Ewalt 1949 Montana
Vicke Lamberton 1949 Massachusetts

Dentures can be partial though and most people wouldn't know the difference. You can have dentures for only a few teeth, so that shouldn't exclude Betty Roberts at all. More so, the fact that we KNOW that Betty had a lot of visits to the dentist supports the UID having had a lot of dental work too. Maybe the killer didn't remove teeth, but the dentures and due to decomposition, the police were none the wiser?
 
Does anyone know if the case files can be obtained through the FOIA? Or are the records sealed?
The only way to find out is to submit the request and see what you get.

I'm guessing most of it is sealed due to being an active murder investigation. But you might get something.

Sent from my SM-T560NU using Tapatalk
 
Sorry I am new websleuths, I read in a few places that she might be from Ireland, do we know why they might suspect this?
 
Sorry I am new websleuths, I read in a few places that she might be from Ireland, do we know why they might suspect this?

There were quite a few Irish terrorists who took refuge in the US at that time, particularly the Boston area where there are many Irish immigrants who still have family in the old country. I don't know whether they had more evidence than her general appearance though.
 
Her dentals were showcased in 2 Dentistry Journals, although I have not been able to find which ones. Also, it says her dental records were sent in mass to dentists throughout MA, which doesn't make sense if they thought it was "New York Style", why didn't they distribute them in New York?
 
New York University School of Dentistry, has a clinic where the students getting ready to graduate work on your teeth. You are assigned to one student, usually go weekly, become part of the class until your dental work is finished. The Professors are high end "Park Avenue" dentists, they finish off your teeth. A lot of New Yorkers go there, It's probably less than 1/4 of the price you would pay a private dentist. In addition it is the latest innovation in dental science, artistry and cosmetic work available. When I was single I did it. I had root canal, a cap and a bridge put in, the few fillings I had that were silver were replaced with fillings that matched my teeth color. It was the first I knew they could even do that. It was amazing. For all of the topnotch work I had done, the fee was only $600.00. When my teeth were finished, my student asked me if I knew anyone one with bad teeth, he would do their dental work for free for his final exams.

I suppose if anyone saw my teeth at the time, especially my beautiful fillings it would be referred to as NY Style work, perhaps because the most modern work comes out of the learning clinics at the NYU Dental School. I ended up going there because my boss highly recommended it at the time, he said he went there growing up, he is now 75 years old. It was a great experience and I walked away with several thousand dollars worth of dental work for a mere $600.00.

https://dental.nyu.edu/aboutus.html See last tab "Patients" on top of page for clinic info.
 
Her dentals were showcased in 2 Dentistry Journals, although I have not been able to find which ones. Also, it says her dental records were sent in mass to dentists throughout MA, which doesn't make sense if they thought it was "New York Style", why didn't they distribute them in New York?

I think they thought that if she visited a dentist after she moved here, the dentist would have remembered her distinctive dental work.
 
Unless of course they had the work done at the NYU dental school. So many people use the clinic,back in the 70's nothing was was computerized.
 
I have submitted a request for the case files, including dentals, via the Freedom of Information Act, so we'll see if they release them!
 
I have submitted a request for the case files, including dentals, via the Freedom of Information Act, so we'll see if they release them!
How did you do this? I would love to do this with another MA Doe.
 
I went to the Massachusetts government website and they actually had a form template. You just fill it out and submit it to the records department. I couldn't find an email for them so I sent the request to Sheriff Lobur. She emailed me back and she forwarded it for me to be processed. I will let everyone know what they send me if possible!
 
Unless of course they had the work done at the NYU dental school. So many people use the clinic,back in the 70's nothing was was computerized.

Not just UNY, either. Most dental schools had and still have similar programs, though not necessarily such leading edge techniques.
 
'Jaws' may solve decades-old cold case of 'Lady of the Dunes' murder, Stephen King's son says

Joe Hill, the son of horror novelist Stephen King, said he believes a woman who appeared briefly in “Jaws” resembles the “Lady of the Dunes,” an unidentified murder victim from 1974.

Hill, who called “Jaws” his favorite movie, wrote in his blog he was watching the horror classic in 2015 when he saw something that made him “lunge” out of his seat "prickling with gooseflesh."

A woman who appeared as an extra in the Steven Spielberg classic resembled the unidentified “Lady of the Dunes” victim, Hill wrote.


1533043522079.jpg
 
There might be a member of the crew such as M/U,hair or costume department around who may still have photos of some of the extras that worked on the film. imo.
rbbm.
25 Things You Never Knew About 'Jaws'
"Resident extras were paid $64 to scream and run along the beach. And Jaws helped to triple Martha's Vineyard's tourist population in the years after its release."

"According to Spielberg, a prop arm looked too fake in the scene where Chrissie's remains are discovered, so a female crew member was buried in the sand with only her arm exposed to replace it."

New book takes another bite at
"That year, Jeffrey Voorhees played Alex Kintner, the young boy snapped from his raft and devoured by the famous great white shark. His friends all played extras."

"But the anecdotes and photos from hundreds of Martha’s Vineyard residents who worked behind the scenes during filming have been stashed away for decades in attics and memories across the island.

Now, a nearly 300-page book documents the impact of the film on the island and includes more than 1,000 photographs taken by local residents
and interviews with islanders and key Hollywood players."
 
On Location with Jaws
rbbm.
"On the afternoon of June 22, however, the skies darkened, bringing gusting winds and temperatures in the mid to low sixties, conditions hardly ideal for the backdrop of a festive holiday in the sun. Equally problematic were the scores of adult extras who began losing interest in lingering day after day on the frigid beach. “Each morning began with all the extras being lined up by the cabanas, then being placed at certain locations along the beach,” extra Andy Fligor recalls. “It was remarkable how well they kept track of everybody. But when extras failed to return the next day because of the cold or the really long hours, it was a problem. Except for the thrill of maybe catching a glimpse of themselves on the big screen, there wasn’t a whole lot of incentive for people over eighteen to keep hanging around in the cold all day, even at $2.50 an hour. One day, an unassuming couple were placed about thirty feet from where [Steven] Spielberg was directing, close to the water. When we came back the next day, the assistant directors announced, ‘Okay, everybody remember your locations.’ When all of the extras had placed themselves, Spielberg looked around, then pointed to a spot on the sand and said, ‘Where’s the couple that sat here?’ That happened quite a bit and was a real problem for continuity. It forced them to roll back further into the scene because they’d have to start the shots all over again.”
 
Mystery identity of 'The Lady of the Dunes' cold case murder from over 40-years-ago may be nearer to being solved after Stephen King's son says she may have been an extra in Jaws
  • Stephen King's son Joe Hill posed a tantalizing theory that could bring authorities closer to solving the mystery identity of 'The Lady of the Dunes'
  • He says he spotted what could be the woman while watching Jaws in a theater
  • The woman was found dead in dunes in Provincetown in July of 1974
  • Her hands were cut off and most of her teeth were removed making it nearly impossible to identify her at that time
  • However, 40-years-later, Hill says a woman in a brief Jaws scene fits her likeness
  • Hill took to his blog imploring people who were filming Jaws & in the area to look and see if they recognize the woman in the scene, and maybe close the case
  • Do you recognize the extra in Jaws? Email tips@dailymail.com
 

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