Identified! MS - Moss Point, BlkFem UP10369, 35-45, discovered by rabbit hunters, Dec'77 - Clara Birdlong

[Jake479]

doenetwork.org/cases/1247ufms.html
identifyus.org/cases/10369

 

[iulia]

https://eu.clarionledger.com/story/...n-sam-little-killed-serial-killer/2482507002/

Pascagoula police Lt. Darren Versiga stands with two composite images off Greenwich Road in Moss Point on January 7, 2019. The police image, right, is a woman who was dumped in a washout near a telephone pole on the street decades ago. Investigators believe the the woman, who has not been identified, was killed by serial killer Samuel Little. Little drew a photo of the woman he killed (left). Little acknowledged the composite sketch was likely the victim, who he said was from the Jackson area.

The serial killer, now imprisoned and in his late 70s, can't remember her name but recalls her figure and death with ease.

She lived in Gulfport but was originally from the Jackson area, the killer said.

She was attractive. She was in her early 30s, weighed about 130 pounds and had light skin and an ample bottom. Her hands were rough from her job as a pipe fitter at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula.

 

[carbuff]

Another article in the Clarion Ledger today: https://www.clarionledger.com/story...n-sam-little-killed-serial-killer/2482507002/

Updated Namus link: Unidentified Person Case

No ruleouts listed.

 

[msmamanana]

These unsolved murders are in a location he was known to be, and the women were similar to his other victims. He has not admitted to them.
Missing Shannon: Family Wants Closure | JFP Mobile | Jackson, Mississippi

 

[RookieInvestigator]

I found an interesting article...It also mentions a potential un-named transgender victim...Why did Samuel Little cime forward and take credit for all the murders...Does he want to become infamous or does he finally have a conscience???

ARTICLE

 

[Murkywaters]

1247UFMS

Three men rabbit hunting discovered the victim's skeletal remains in the vicinity of I-10 and Highway 63 (now Highway 613) before the I-10 road construction had been completed.

In 2018, convicted murderer Samuel Little confessed to murdering a woman in the area sometime before 1982. He described his victim as an attractive Black woman with a light complexion, who was employed as a pipe fitter at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula. He claimed she lived in Gulfport but was originally from Jackson.

He apparently met her at bar in Gulfport and shared a conversation with her. The pair later went to a boarding house the woman resided in. He described her as a "great person who would have made a wonderful wife."

He took the woman out to a restaurant in Carver Village later that night. He eventually strangled her and left the body in a wooded area off of a dirt road. The bar and boarding house described by Little have since been torn down.

Little elaborated that the woman he killed wore a wig and her natural hair was plaited underneath. Additional details he shared with officials were consistant with this unidentified person case, except for the fact that he was unable to remember the gold caps on her teeth.

Little has confessed to over 90 murders.

 

[Murkywaters]

This is the reconstruction Little says looks like the victim.

He may have found the body of a serial killer's victim. Now he needs to find her name.

After seeing the first few photos, Little said it wasn't her. Then he looked at another picture of the sculpture from an angle with a different wig. "This looks just like her. This picture right here," Versiga remembers Little saying.

One thing in particular leads Versiga to believe he's on the right path.

The anthropologist's notes said the hair on the body that was found was "plaited," and said it was an indication she probably regularly wore wigs.

During an interview, Little used the same word — "plaited" — to describe his victim's hairstyle. He said he remembers that she had a wig because it fell off when he strangled her.

 

[carbuff]

I found an interesting article...It also mentions a potential un-named transgender victim...Why did Samuel Little cime forward and take credit for all the murders...Does he want to become infamous or does he finally have a conscience???

ARTICLE

Apparently a Texas detective gained his confidence and was able to get information out of him. He remembers most of his victims in detail and derives sick pleasure in remembering the murders. He has a thread in the Serial Killers forum that has pointers to articles that detail events.

 

[iulia]

New article revealing reconstruction by Carl Koppelman. The new reconstruction is now on the NamUs too.

Recognize her? Artist reconstructs face of woman believed to be serial killer's victim

A forensic artist hopes his new reconstruction of the skeletal remains of a woman found north of Pascagoula can jog someone's memory and lead to her identification.

nvestigators think the body, which was discovered in 1977, likely belongs to an unnamed Jackson-area native that convicted serial Killer Samuel Little confessed to strangling.

Carl Koppelman used photo editing software to digitally reconstruct the victim's face, based off the contours of her skull. The California-based forensic artist's illustrations have helped solve multiple missing and unidentified persons cases.

 

[rosesfromangels]

New article revealing reconstruction by Carl Koppelman. The new reconstruction is now on the NamUs too.

Recognize her? Artist reconstructs face of woman believed to be serial killer's victim

As always, the incredible CarlK gives life to these Victims. I think the only way we will give her back her name is through familial DNA search.
Another used and discarded woman, seemingly by a prolific killing machine named Samuel Little. While this woman's life was viciously cut short, Little is relaxing with 3 hots and a cot in a California prison.

 

[RookieInvestigator]

I read somewhere that not all of the missing person and unidentified files loaded into NCIC were transferred to the NAMUS database...Perhaps this UID's missing persons report is among them...

 

[carbuff]

I read somewhere that not all of the missing person and unidentified files loaded into NCIC were transferred to the NAMUS database...Perhaps this UID's missing persons report is among them...

I've seen reports that as few as half of them were transferred. Each state's LE (and maybe local as well) had to take steps to make the cases available and in many states, they said "We just aren't going to bother because we don't have the personnel or the budget."

I know almost none of Massachusetts' cases are there.

 

[jbsb344]

I run this Jane does Facebook page and my husband is one of the investigators who have interviewed Samuel Little multiple times.

We do not believe she was ever reported missing. If she was reported missing, it was most likely discarded, lost or damage in a hurricane/flooding.

The lead investigator Darren has scoured all the local departments for any and all missing persons reports taken from 1975-now.

Samuel Little never wanted his victims to be Unidentified. To him they were “his” and he is being very helpful with “his” girls. (If that makes any sense) He has an extensive memory of the events leading up to and the murder it’s self but his memories of dates may be off. He did not live a traditional lifestyle that would allow him to keep up with the date and such.

Her DNA is in NAMUS and we are working with hoping to get the local sheriffs department on board to help fund the DNA sequencing to allow DNA Doe Project to help us identify her!

Sorry for any errors, I am on Mobile.

 

[jbsb344]

I have linked a story written by the Clarion Ledger about Escatawpa Jane Doe. In the article it talks about Carl's reconstruction and about her link to Samuel Little. The article also touches on me and our search for the identity of our Jane Doe.



Recognize her? Artist reconstructs face of woman believed to be serial killer's victim

 

[Liv27]

I live about 15 minutes away from Ingall’s Shipbuilding in Pascagoula. I have many close friends working there.

I was informed that Ingall’s H.R. does not have a public number and it’s fairly difficult to get into contact with anyone. Pascagoula P.D. is looking into that lead, though.

I’d like to bring up the fact that she was a black woman working in what was a mostly male field in the 1970’s. I’d hate this to be the case, but maybe her coworkers did not really notice she left because of her race.

 

[carbuff]

She has two exclusions on Namus

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

MP57405 Emma Henderson 09/01/1976 Orleans LA
MP19934 Alice Jefferson 07/04/1975 Christian KY

If she was a pipefitter, she would have had to belong to the union. I wonder if they might have any records?

 

[RookieInvestigator]

Francis Heath Wells

Wells, circa 1954 (approximately 20 years before her disappearance; more recent photographs are unavailable)

• Missing: 08/13/1974
• From: Crossett, AR
• Race: Black
• DOB: 07/09/1929
• Age: 45 years old
• H/W: 5'7, 100-120 Lbs
• Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionJeans and a yellow and purple plaid shirt over a green shirt.
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsAfrican-American female. Black hair, brown eyes.

Details of Disappearance
Wells was last seen in Crossett, Arkansas on August 13, 1974. She boarded a Trailways bus bound for El Paso, Texas, where she planned to visit relatives. She was supposed to come home the following Sunday.

There's no evidence that Wells ever arrived in El Paso, and her bus later took her luggage back to Crossett without her. She has never been heard from again. Wells left behind four children. Few details are available in her case.

WEBSLEUTHS

*Unsure of the condition of her teeth. The pics of Francis aren't clear.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Moss Point Jane Doe has been identified as Clara Birdlong.
After 44 years, Escatawpa Jane Doe is Identified

"The Othram genealogy team worked closely with Jackson County Sheriff's Office and specifically Investigator Matthew Hoggatt, to produce leads from the genealogical research. Investigator Hoggatt made contact with a genetic match who referred him to her 93-year old paternal grandmother, who was originally from Leflore County, Mississippi. The grandmother told Investigator Hoggatt her cousin Clara Birdlong, born around 1933, went missing from Leflore County sometime in the 1970’s. Another distant cousin in Texas said Clara went by the nickname “Nuttin,” and described her as a small woman who had a gold front tooth and wore a wig. The cousin also recalled Clara disappeared in the 1970’s.

Investigator Hoggatt found a woman in Leflore County who remembered Clara. She said Clara left Leflore County in the 70’s with an African American man who claimed to be passing through Mississippi on his way to Florida. Clara was never seen or heard from again."

Congratulations, @othram , you rule!

 

[YaYa_521]

May you rest in peace now, Clara.

Leflore Co to Moss Point, MS

Great job, @othram! Thank you for giving her name back.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Wow! Great news!