NH NH - Concord, Fem Skull, 13-18, UP103482, discovered prior to 1942 in pond, kept at home as souvenir, turned over to police, May 2023

[djanga]

Description:

In 2019, a woman turned over a human cranium to the New Hampshire State Police. She reported that her late husband had discovered the partial skull in the 1930s and had kept it his entire life.

The partial skull is believed to be from a young woman between 15-18 years old. Bomb pulse testing confirmed the young woman had likely died prior to 1942.

This case is in partnership with the New Hampshire State Police and the Forensic Anthropology Identification and Recovery Lab (F.A.I.R. Lab) at UNH.

Date Body Found:

2019

Race:

undetermined

Sex:

Female

Estimated Age:

15-18

Estimated PMI:

undetermined

Agency of Jurisdiction:

NH State Police
Detective Christopher Elphick
(603) 223-3856
christopher.elphick@dos.nh.gov

Pond Jane Doe from the Granite State 2019 - DNA Doe Project

dnadoeproject.org

 

[EmiliaRT007]

Came from the Seabrook Jane Doe. Wondering if SJD actually died around the same time that this girl did. I know that it was stated that SJD’s PMI was 2-10 years but she could have died much earlier. What if these two had some sort of connection? Possibly a serial killer. I can imagine some sicko going out of his way to kill young girls and sell their skulls as some sick souvenir. Interesting both skulls are of juvenile females. That seems a little suspicious to me. Two girls, one died in the 30s, the other possibly in the 80s but could be much earlier. “Could be earlier”. I’m wondering if SJD died around the same time as this Jane Doe. Possibly two victims of one killer or even relatives perhaps? So creepy…

 

[summergirl1]

I suppose it would have been less odd to keep human remains in the 1930s if you found them than today, but still. His keeping this did keep it from getting lost or misplaced over the years before modern technology, although it is too bad his wife didn't convince him to turn it in some time ago. I don't think they could have identified her back in the day, but who knows.

 

[EmiliaRT007]

I suppose it would have been less odd to keep human remains in the 1930s if you found them than today, but still. His keeping this did keep it from getting lost or misplaced over the years before modern technology, although it is too bad his wife didn't convince him to turn it in some time ago. I don't think they could have identified her back in the day, but who knows.

Probably not. Maybe the closest they could get was a clay reconstruction but those are never accurate. They’re also the stuff of nightmares. Weird that the skull’s just been in that house just chillin’. It hasn’t been confirmed that these people even knew who this girl was. Part of me can understand keeping a family member or old friend’s skull (with their consent). My uncle is a dentist and has my great grandma’s skull on display in his consultation room, simply due to her remarkable dentition. She also wanted that for when she died.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

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

www.namus.gov

Now in NAMUS

 

[djanga]

So now we know thst she was a homicide victim, as according to her Namus profile, the skull had a gunshot wound. So now I understand even less why this man did not bring the skull to the police. From Namus:

“The skull was reportedly found in an unspecified pond in Concord, NH in the 1930s and kept by the finder until his death in 2019. That information has not been verified. Anthropology exam determined that the skull is female and age is estimated to be between 13 and 18 years old. Ancestry is indeterminate. There is a gunshot wound in the skull.”

 

[Springrain]

I am glad she turned it over to police finally, but I have soooo many questions...

 

[victoriarobinson642]

I guess the presence of a gunshot wound means that this girl is from relatively modern times.

 

[MarziPanda]

All the possibilities I can find prior to 1940 are in their 20s or they're too young (children not teens). I suppose the gunshot wound doesn't necessarily mean homicide, she could have taken her own life and her skull ended up in the pond. But murder is much more likely if we're being realistic.

I would guess that either she wasn't reported missing (not uncommon for the time) or she was but the report has been lost/not uploaded online. Again not uncommon since the report would now be 80+ years old. Sadly once she is identified it's unlikely that anyone will be alive who knew her.

 

[djanga]

Interestingly they identified that she died prior to 1940ies using Bomb pulse testing. I never heard about it and don’t know how accurate it is

 

[alucardsdream]

Interestingly they identified that she died prior to 1940ies using Bomb pulse testing. I never heard about it and don’t know how accurate it is

According to Wikipedia, it's useful not only in forensics but also for determining what year certain wine was produced...

Bomb pulse - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[victoriarobinson642]

According to Wikipedia, it's useful not only in forensics but also for determining what year certain wine was produced...

Bomb pulse - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

In my field, I've also heard it use to test for certain art forgeries. Apparently, it's fairly accurate.

 

[alucardsdream]

In my field, I've also heard it use to test for certain art forgeries. Apparently, it's fairly accurate.

It makes sense, after reading the article. I guess I never really thought about the impact nuclear bomb testing would have had on just about everything.

 

[EmiliaRT007]

The 30s are still close enough where guns did exist. Bot sure if she was killed or rather she killed herself.

I guess the presence of a gunshot wound means that this girl is from relatively modern times.

 

[EmiliaRT007]

All the possibilities I can find prior to 1940 are in their 20s or they're too young (children not teens). I suppose the gunshot wound doesn't necessarily mean homicide, she could have taken her own life and her skull ended up in the pond. But murder is much more likely if we're being realistic.

I would guess that either she wasn't reported missing (not uncommon for the time) or she was but the report has been lost/not uploaded online. Again not uncommon since the report would now be 80+ years old. Sadly once she is identified it's unlikely that anyone will be alive who knew her.

Possible. She was an older teen, so she possibly was not reported missing. Back in those days I’m pretty sure it was more normal for teens to go out solo. <modsnip> I wasn’t even a latch key kid until I was maybe 14. I also have overprotective parents but still.

 

[Betty P]

Possible. She was an older teen, so she possibly was not reported missing. Back in those days I’m pretty sure it was more normal for teens to go out solo. <modsnip>. I wasn’t even a latch key kid until I was maybe 14. I also have overprotective parents but still.

It was very normal back then. It was possibly during the Depression years, too, when a lot of people disappeared.

Girls married at younger ages back then. She may have been a young bride who met with an unfortunate end at the hands of her husband. Her parents may have lived apart from them and didn't realize she was missing for a while. Few people had phones or cars, especially in rural areas. Her disappearance could have been explained by "she ran off with...". That excuse has been used in one form or another so many times.

In those days, young women also took work with other families as nannies, housekeeping, cooking, etc. A lot of women in my family did that during the Depression, even after.

 

[djanga]

I checked the google map of Concord, New Hampshire and it looks like there are many ponds there, I just can’t imagine he found a skull with a bullet hole in it in the pond and never reported it. I wonder how old this man was at this time, he must have been himself a teenager or a young adult.

 

[Betty P]

Description:

In 2019, a woman turned over a human cranium to the New Hampshire State Police. She reported that her late husband had discovered the partial skull in the 1930s and had kept it his entire life.

The partial skull is believed to be from a young woman between 15-18 years old. Bomb pulse testing confirmed the young woman had likely died prior to 1942.

This case is in partnership with the New Hampshire State Police and the Forensic Anthropology Identification and Recovery Lab (F.A.I.R. Lab) at UNH.

Date Body Found:

2019

Race:

undetermined

Sex:

Female

Estimated Age:

15-18

Estimated PMI:

undetermined

Agency of Jurisdiction:

NH State Police
Detective Christopher Elphick
(603) 223-3856
christopher.elphick@dos.nh.gov

Pond Jane Doe from the Granite State 2019 - DNA Doe Project

dnadoeproject.org

The article also says it was a partial skull. So, if found in a pond, it seems unlikely it would be a suicide. People don't swim out into a pond with a gun to shoot themselves. If they used a gun to shoot themselves while out on the pond, the gun would probably have been found, too.

This sounds like a murder, JMO. The victim's body was dumped in the pond. You have to wonder how it became a partial skull. There must have been a lot of damage to the skull.

 

[wary]

The article also says it was a partial skull. So, if found in a pond, it seems unlikely it would be a suicide. People don't swim out into a pond with a gun to shoot themselves. If they used a gun to shoot themselves while out on the pond, the gun would probably have been found, too.

This sounds like a murder, JMO. The victim's body was dumped in the pond. You have to wonder how it became a partial skull. There must have been a lot of damage to the skull.

That makes me wonder if it was really an obvious gunshot wound. In other words, is there any room to wonder if the person who kept it just thought that it’d been damaged in some other way.

 

[Betty P]

That makes me wonder if it was really an obvious gunshot wound. In other words, is there any room to wonder if the person who kept it just thought that it’d been damaged in some other way.

Possible? Or some people have odd taste and like to collect unusual things.