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

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3 missing (?) Women from MA that I can't find much info on, and as far as I'm aware they are not in doe or namus.

Marlene dedoming, missing sometime between 1968 - 1970

Paula harvey govoni
charlotte Lovelace. Both missing since 1971.

I don't know if any were ever found.

No links on these women either, only a blog post on wau
 
Cape and Islands DA opens doors to new use of combined DNA, genealogy

Apr 14, 2019

WEST BARNSTABLE — It has been nearly 45 years since Alyssa Metcalfe’s sister found the handless body in the dunes 2 miles east of the old Coast Guard station in Provincetown.

“It’s kind of always stayed with the family,” Metcalfe said recently at her home in West Barnstable. “There’s this, I don’t know, do you call it a kinship with the case?”

After all these years, Metcalfe and others still hold out hope that the woman known as “Lady of the Dunes” may one day be identified, and investigators are considering a new way of making that happen.

Prosecutors currently are examining a new method for the use of DNA evidence and genealogy to generate leads in cold criminal cases on Cape Cod and the Islands. The “Lady of the Dunes” is one of two cases that are primary targets of the effort, Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe said.

“We’re going to examine everything that we can with respect to what’s left of the remains,” O’Keefe said of the “Lady of the Dunes” case.

A different type of DNA profile is needed in the case, but a specialized lab may be able to extract what is needed, and investigators are currently looking into that possibility, O’Keefe said.

“We have gone through this process in another case,” O’Keefe said of the second case his office is working on, which he said he could not yet discuss publicly.

A meeting is planned in May for district attorneys and their staff from across Massachusetts and prosecutors from California and elsewhere who have expertise in the new use of DNA profiles from crime scenes or unidentified bodies, combined with genealogy family-tree building, to generate leads to find living suspects and identify dead, unnamed victims.

“We’re bringing Greg out here,” O’Keefe said about Ventura County District Attorney Gregory Totten, who was among six district attorneys involved in a prominent case in California where a living murder suspect was identified last year after a six-month effort based on a lead generated from DNA evidence he left at scenes of his alleged crimes, combined with the identification of a close relative through genealogy.

Totten and Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, both board members — along with O’Keefe — of the National District Attorneys Association, are leading workshops for prosecutors across the country on what is now being called genetic genealogy.

“From a law enforcement standpoint, it is a huge step forward that allows us to solve cases that historically we’ve not been able to solve through traditional law enforcement DNA technology,” Totten said.

Read more: New look at old 'Lady of the Dunes' mystery
 
So, I've actually had my eye on this case for some time. In a previous position I did investigating and now miss it, so I thought I'd see what I could get for information and take a stab at it. I've reached out to the FBI just inquiring if, during the time LOTD was found, was there surveillance on James "Whitey" Bulger. Of course, no response, but I'm hoping that maybe by someone there reading my email, it prompted someone to look into my question.
A couple weeks later (bringing the date up to this past Monday), I sent an email to the officer who is listed on the P-Town website, covering this cold case. I asked what is the public allowed to obtain (there is so much conflicting information, so I wanted to go straight for the facts.) I wanted to see clothing, where she was found, pictures...anything besides that black and white photo of here where all you can see is her backside and legs. With all the gory, disgusting photos on the internet nowadays, and the lesser of the 2 evils (for a family member) would be to see everything as opposed to never knowing...I just don't get it??
I read in one article that one arm was cut off at the wrist, and the other at (almost) the elbow. Yes, maybe someone wanted to hide her fingerprints, but what about having a tattoo on the arm where it was cut off at the elbow? Birthmark? Scar? It would be nice to know which arm was cut longer and then cross-reference it with other missing women. And what about the clothing that was found besides her? - it could at least be compared with other missing women...or even the woman suggest by Joe Hill?
All these questions come to mind, and I'm sure I'm not the first to ponder them - I don't understand why any of this isn't available?
Thanks for reading!! KO
 
ko1971 said:
So, I've actually had my eye on this case for some time. In a previous position I did investigating and now miss it, so I thought I'd see what I could get for information and take a stab at it. I've reached out to the FBI just inquiring if, during the time LOTD was found, was there surveillance on James "Whitey" Bulger. Of course, no response, but I'm hoping that maybe by someone there reading my email, it prompted someone to look into my question.
A couple weeks later (bringing the date up to this past Monday), I sent an email to the officer who is listed on the P-Town website, covering this cold case. I asked what is the public allowed to obtain (there is so much conflicting information, so I wanted to go straight for the facts.) I wanted to see clothing, where she was found, pictures...anything besides that black and white photo of here where all you can see is her backside and legs. With all the gory, disgusting photos on the internet nowadays, and the lesser of the 2 evils (for a family member) would be to see everything as opposed to never knowing...I just don't get it??
I read in one article that one arm was cut off at the wrist, and the other at (almost) the elbow. Yes, maybe someone wanted to hide her fingerprints, but what about having a tattoo on the arm where it was cut off at the elbow? Birthmark? Scar? It would be nice to know which arm was cut longer and then cross-reference it with other missing women. And what about the clothing that was found besides her? - it could at least be compared with other missing women...or even the woman suggest by Joe Hill?
All these questions come to mind, and I'm sure I'm not the first to ponder them - I don't understand why any of this isn't available?
Thanks for reading!! KO
Click to expand...
Thanks for posting and welcome to Ws ko1971!
 
ko1971 said:
So, I've actually had my eye on this case for some time. In a previous position I did investigating and now miss it, so I thought I'd see what I could get for information and take a stab at it. I've reached out to the FBI just inquiring if, during the time LOTD was found, was there surveillance on James "Whitey" Bulger. Of course, no response, but I'm hoping that maybe by someone there reading my email, it prompted someone to look into my question.
A couple weeks later (bringing the date up to this past Monday), I sent an email to the officer who is listed on the P-Town website, covering this cold case. I asked what is the public allowed to obtain (there is so much conflicting information, so I wanted to go straight for the facts.) I wanted to see clothing, where she was found, pictures...anything besides that black and white photo of here where all you can see is her backside and legs. With all the gory, disgusting photos on the internet nowadays, and the lesser of the 2 evils (for a family member) would be to see everything as opposed to never knowing...I just don't get it??
I read in one article that one arm was cut off at the wrist, and the other at (almost) the elbow. Yes, maybe someone wanted to hide her fingerprints, but what about having a tattoo on the arm where it was cut off at the elbow? Birthmark? Scar? It would be nice to know which arm was cut longer and then cross-reference it with other missing women. And what about the clothing that was found besides her? - it could at least be compared with other missing women...or even the woman suggest by Joe Hill?
All these questions come to mind, and I'm sure I'm not the first to ponder them - I don't understand why any of this isn't available?
Thanks for reading!! KO
Click to expand...

Welcome to WS!
All awesome questions! Please keep us updated if you hear anything back!
 
I'm honestly not sure why they ever looked at Whitey Bulger for this. It's not his MO at all. He was a hitman, he didn't commit "personal" murders. His motives were entirely political. I've never heard anyone accuse him of sexual assault either. He was quite a playboy, so I don't think he'd use an object if he was going to do that anyway. There are a lot of weird rumors about him floating around but IMO the source for a few seem to be former affiliates trying to do as much damage to his reputation as possible.

IMO, this woman's murder was not a hit.

Just my 2c.
 
UnlicensedPI said:
I'm honestly not sure why they ever looked at Whitey Bulger for this. It's not his MO at all. He was a hitman, he didn't commit "personal" murders. His motives were entirely political. I've never heard anyone accuse him of sexual assault either. He was quite a playboy, so I don't think he'd use an object if he was going to do that anyway. There are a lot of weird rumors about him floating around but IMO the source for a few seem to be former affiliates trying to do as much damage to his reputation as possible.

IMO, this woman's murder was not a hit.

Just my 2c.
Click to expand...

You might want to check out this book:

The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century
by Howie Carr
(Warner Books, 352 pages, $25.95)

There's a review here: Boston’s Brother Bosses | The American Spectator | Politics is too important to be taken seriously.

“I’M JIMMY BULGER AND I KILL PEOPLE.”

So did James “Whitey” Bulger introduce himself to Boston Herald reporter Paul Corsetti. Forget any romance about the rackets. Whitey Bulger made his career by murder. He did it personally and repeatedly. He got his hands right in the gore, cut up his own victims, pulled their teeth to avoid identification, and buried them. Through murdering some and ratting out others, he destroyed the old Winter Hill Gang, the Irish Mafia of Somerville. Then he did the same to the Italians in the North End. Together with his accomplice, Stevie Flemmi, he killed more than two score people in about 15 years, through 1985.

They didn’t limit themselves to crime rivals. They killed no-longer-useful girlfriends, for one, several times. And they had plenty of those. Both Flemmi and Bulger fancied raping teenage girls — and Whitey liked boys, too, from time to time.
 
carbuff said:
You might want to check out this book:

The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century
by Howie Carr
(Warner Books, 352 pages, $25.95)

There's a review here: Boston’s Brother Bosses | The American Spectator | Politics is too important to be taken seriously.

“I’M JIMMY BULGER AND I KILL PEOPLE.”

So did James “Whitey” Bulger introduce himself to Boston Herald reporter Paul Corsetti. Forget any romance about the rackets. Whitey Bulger made his career by murder. He did it personally and repeatedly. He got his hands right in the gore, cut up his own victims, pulled their teeth to avoid identification, and buried them. Through murdering some and ratting out others, he destroyed the old Winter Hill Gang, the Irish Mafia of Somerville. Then he did the same to the Italians in the North End. Together with his accomplice, Stevie Flemmi, he killed more than two score people in about 15 years, through 1985.

They didn’t limit themselves to crime rivals. They killed no-longer-useful girlfriends, for one, several times. And they had plenty of those. Both Flemmi and Bulger fancied raping teenage girls — and Whitey liked boys, too, from time to time.
Click to expand...
That's actually not accurate and I don't trust Carr to be a reputable journalist. In his trial, they testified Bulger would shoot or strangle his victims and then go take a nap. Flemmi or Weeks would pull their teeth and bury them, either in the basement or along the coast.

This article talks about the testimony of a forensics expert: At ‘Whitey’ Bulger trial, forensic expert describes remains found in secret graveyard in Dorchester in 2000 | Boston.com

Regarding the murder of Deborah Hussey: "Once she stopped breathing, the mobsters followed their normal post-killing routine. Bulger went upstairs to take a nap while Flemmi and another gang member dug a grave in the basement....Flemmi said Bulger often took naps after murdering people...While their boss rested, Flemmi and associate Kevin Weeks dug a hole in the dirt floor of the basement and buried Hussey's body there. Flemmi said he first removed the woman's clothes and some of her teeth, to make it harder to identify the body if it were found." This is Flemmi's testimony.
Boston home was death house for 'Whitey' Bulger victims: gangster

Here's a list of the known and suspected victims of Bulger and his manner and motive for killing each of them. Note he feared one girlfriend knew too much and the other was name dropping.
A look at the 19 murder victims in Whitey Bulger’s trial

IMO, Carr started the rumors himself and nothing has been substantiated since a large amount of the reporting has been done by Carr himself. Carr also wrote of Bulger, "Lifelong member of the Judy Garland fan club, often broke into tears at Jacque’s when ’Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ came on the jukebox. Recently spotted in UK karaoke bars lip-synching such Village People standards as ’YMCA’ and ’In the Navy.'" Do you really trust that he's not just out to smear Bulger and bolster his own publicity?
Whitey Bulger :: a friend of Dorothy’s?

It seems like the rumors were further inflated by the woman who claims to have found the Lady of the Dunes in order to promote publicity for her book.
Whitey Bulger, gays, and the Lady Of The Dunes murder mystery - masslive.com

Whitey Bulger was a well known, easily recognized, closely followed Irish Catholic so I think if he was actually hanging out in gay bars and hooking up with men, we'd know about it. I think the stories about him luring gay men to rob them because they were easy targets who wouldn't go to the authorities are probably closer to the truth. If he was in P-Town to hook up with men, why rape and murder a woman?

Bulger has been mythologized but based on the facts we have, he never committed a murder like this one. It reads more "serial killer" than "mob hit" IMO.
 
I'm mostly disagreeing with your characterization of Bulgur as this restrained political guy instead of the leader of a bloodthirsty pack who lived by raping and murdering anybody in their way. They made most of their money from extortion, strong-arming people and businesses. People all around the region were afraid to go into Boston for fear of being gunned down from being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or saying the wrong thing to an underling who took offense.

Provincetown isn't just gay men, you know. Lots of rich people and fancy houses, weekenders and daytrippers.

Yeah, a serial killer, like maybe one of the gang's bodyguards? I'd buy that. The line between "hit" and "personal murder" isn't very clear sometimes when you're talking about vicious killers.
 
P.s. sorry about being snitty here. I'm having bad memories of going into Boston work lunch and seeing the staff washing blood off the sidewalk where somebody was gunned down the night before as they left the restaurant. But I shouldn't take it out on other peop.e
 
@carbuff I'm not at all trying to say he was restrained. I think he took every opportunity he could to exploit others for his benefit. I'm saying he only killed people when he thought they betrayed him or when he would benefit from it. He killed people he thought were his enemies. There's a reason none of his known victims are unidentified.

I'm from the north shore but my family is from Dorchester and Roxbury. I grew up with a lot of stories. I understand the fear and respect for Whitey. No need to apologize.

The Lady of the Dunes was beaten, strangled, raped with a wooden object, partially dismembered, and her body was not concealed (as in, not buried or put into the ocean or hidden where no one would ever find her). To me, this doesn't sound like a mob killing. The rape with a wooden object part specifically makes me think of the classic impotent serial killer stereotype. Mob killings tend to just get the job done (gunshot or strangulation, make sure they're dead, do what you can to delay identification and bury them or leave them in public if you're sending a message). Violating the body after death makes me think there are other motives at play here, and that the murderer had to use an object because he wasn't able to do the act himself. It wouldn't surprise me if this murderer killed other women in the same manner. Maybe it was a vacation killing for the killer. I think we should look for similar murders in other parts of the country.
 
I have been following this case for a long time. I think that Frankie R. McGraw could be the Lady of the Dunes. I sent the information below to journalist, Mary Ann Bragg to pass on to Cape & Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe who has recently reopened the case. This is her article:
New look at old 'Lady of the Dunes' mystery
I have also sent this information to Margaret Press and posted this information to a Facebook Page, Provincetown in the 70s.

Frankie Regina McGraw.png
Lady Reconstruction.jpg

This is what was sent:

I have attached a photo of escaped prisoner Frankie Regina McGraw and a photo of the Lady of the Dunes. Notice the resemblance, especially the nose and chin. Her weight and height would also fit. Here is a link to the rest of her information: http://mdocweb.state.mi.us/OTIS2/otis2profile.aspx?mdocNumber=132913

Frankie’s mugshot is stamped with a 2004 date but she has been missing since May of 1974 when she escaped from a prison in Michigan for a second time. Here’s an article about her escapes: This Grand Rapids Woman Escaped From Prison Twice in the 70s

The prison she escaped from sent female inmates to a new prison, and I think that’s how the 2004 date got stamped on Frankie’s mugshot. She would have been fifty-three in 2004 and it’s obvious she is in her early twenties in the mugshot.

I had sent the photo to Detective Meredith Lobur of the Provincetown Police Department in August, 2017 and she agreed that the resemblance is uncanny. I also mentioned to her that new dentists train by working on prisoners and she said it’s a strong theory. I also sent the information to Trooper Gerald Donovan and he had said he would request dentals from the Michigan DOC.

I found out that Frankie’s maiden name is Perry and she gave up two children for adoption. They are looking for her online. I gave this info to Meredith Lobur and Gerald Donovan and hoped a DNA sample could rule Frankie in or out.

Also interesting, but probably a long shot, one of Tony Costa’s victims last name was Perry. I know Costa was already dead when the Lady was murdered, but Frankie may have been seeking out relatives and that could explain how she ended up in Provincetown if it is in fact her.
 
RuthMcCarty said:
I have been following this case for a long time. I think that Frankie R. McGraw could be the Lady of the Dunes. I sent the information below to journalist, Mary Ann Bragg to pass on to Cape & Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe who has recently reopened the case. This is her article:
New look at old 'Lady of the Dunes' mystery
I have also sent this information to Margaret Press and posted this information to a Facebook Page, Provincetown in the 70s.

View attachment 192604
View attachment 192607

This is what was sent:

I have attached a photo of escaped prisoner Frankie Regina McGraw and a photo of the Lady of the Dunes. Notice the resemblance, especially the nose and chin. Her weight and height would also fit. Here is a link to the rest of her information: http://mdocweb.state.mi.us/OTIS2/otis2profile.aspx?mdocNumber=132913

Frankie’s mugshot is stamped with a 2004 date but she has been missing since May of 1974 when she escaped from a prison in Michigan for a second time. Here’s an article about her escapes: This Grand Rapids Woman Escaped From Prison Twice in the 70s

The prison she escaped from sent female inmates to a new prison, and I think that’s how the 2004 date got stamped on Frankie’s mugshot. She would have been fifty-three in 2004 and it’s obvious she is in her early twenties in the mugshot.

I had sent the photo to Detective Meredith Lobur of the Provincetown Police Department in August, 2017 and she agreed that the resemblance is uncanny. I also mentioned to her that new dentists train by working on prisoners and she said it’s a strong theory. I also sent the information to Trooper Gerald Donovan and he had said he would request dentals from the Michigan DOC.

I found out that Frankie’s maiden name is Perry and she gave up two children for adoption. They are looking for her online. I gave this info to Meredith Lobur and Gerald Donovan and hoped a DNA sample could rule Frankie in or out.

Also interesting, but probably a long shot, one of Tony Costa’s victims last name was Perry. I know Costa was already dead when the Lady was murdered, but Frankie may have been seeking out relatives and that could explain how she ended up in Provincetown if it is in fact her.
Click to expand...
Excellent work! I have a good feeling about this one!
 
RuthMcCarty said:
I have been following this case for a long time. I think that Frankie R. McGraw could be the Lady of the Dunes. I sent the information below to journalist, Mary Ann Bragg to pass on to Cape & Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe who has recently reopened the case. This is her article:
New look at old 'Lady of the Dunes' mystery
I have also sent this information to Margaret Press and posted this information to a Facebook Page, Provincetown in the 70s.

View attachment 192604
View attachment 192607

This is what was sent:

I have attached a photo of escaped prisoner Frankie Regina McGraw and a photo of the Lady of the Dunes. Notice the resemblance, especially the nose and chin. Her weight and height would also fit. Here is a link to the rest of her information: http://mdocweb.state.mi.us/OTIS2/otis2profile.aspx?mdocNumber=132913

Frankie’s mugshot is stamped with a 2004 date but she has been missing since May of 1974 when she escaped from a prison in Michigan for a second time. Here’s an article about her escapes: This Grand Rapids Woman Escaped From Prison Twice in the 70s

The prison she escaped from sent female inmates to a new prison, and I think that’s how the 2004 date got stamped on Frankie’s mugshot. She would have been fifty-three in 2004 and it’s obvious she is in her early twenties in the mugshot.

I had sent the photo to Detective Meredith Lobur of the Provincetown Police Department in August, 2017 and she agreed that the resemblance is uncanny. I also mentioned to her that new dentists train by working on prisoners and she said it’s a strong theory. I also sent the information to Trooper Gerald Donovan and he had said he would request dentals from the Michigan DOC.

I found out that Frankie’s maiden name is Perry and she gave up two children for adoption. They are looking for her online. I gave this info to Meredith Lobur and Gerald Donovan and hoped a DNA sample could rule Frankie in or out.

Also interesting, but probably a long shot, one of Tony Costa’s victims last name was Perry. I know Costa was already dead when the Lady was murdered, but Frankie may have been seeking out relatives and that could explain how she ended up in Provincetown if it is in fact her.
Click to expand...
Fantastic sleuthing!
 
RuthMcCarty said:
I have been following this case for a long time. I think that Frankie R. McGraw could be the Lady of the Dunes.
Click to expand...
rsbm

It does look compelling but Frankie is already on the list of rule-outs on NamUs.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Edit to add: when I try to pull up Frankie's NamUs page, I get ...
Sorry, we couldn't find that page, or it is currently not accessible.
This could be that she's in there but, for whatever reason, the case file is not viewable to the public.
 

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