Identified! NJ - Blairstown, Cedar Ridge Cemetery, 'Princess Doe', WhtFem 14-18, 36UFNJ, peacock skirt, Jul'82 - Dawn Olanick *charges* #2

[Springrain]

I honestly hope she is kept in the cemetery she is buried in and I'm glad it sounds that way. The townspeople of Blairstown demonstrated so much love and care for her in death. She can get a nice new headstone now showing her real name!

 

[carbuff]

Exactly, we have to look at these reconstructions knowing that there will always be discrepancies and they're never going to look exactly like how the person looked IRL. I still think NCMEC and Carl K did a good job with Dawn's reconstructions But I also like studying faces and portraiture, maybe I'm just more used to recognising facial features. I can understand people who don't see a resemblance between them.

Yeah, and I think it speaks to the need to continue to fun and improve reconstruction techniques. Cases do get solved from people recognizing a sketch or recon, yet too many agencies won't pursue it.

 

[Springrain]

Yeah, and I think it speaks to the need to continue to fun and improve reconstruction techniques. Cases do get solved from people recognizing a sketch or recon, yet too many agencies won't pursue it.

There was a discussion on another thread that was sort of about MEs incorrectly categorizing skeletal remains as belonging to different racial groups than they actually were, which of course in turn leads to reconstructions, if they are done, showing the decedent as another race entirely and probably not what they looked like at all. (Some examples: Julie Davis, Janet Lee Lucas, Stacey Boothe-Wilson)

Obviously this wasn't the case for Dawn, but I wish there was a better way to do them for skeletal remains is my point I guess. I guess this is sort of off-topic but just something I've been thinking about.

 

[carbuff]

There was a discussion on another thread that was sort of about MEs incorrectly categorizing skeletal remains as belonging to different racial groups than they actually were, which of course in turn leads to reconstructions, if they are done, showing the decedent as another race entirely and probably not what they looked like at all. (Some examples: Julie Davis, Janet Lee Lucas, Stacey Boothe-Wilson)

Obviously this wasn't the case for Dawn, but I wish there was a better way to do them for skeletal remains is my point I guess. I guess this is sort of off-topic but just something I've been thinking about.

Yeah, especially when the reconstruction goes for exaggerated, stereotyped characteristics.

 

[Angelcat13]

There was a discussion on another thread that was sort of about MEs incorrectly categorizing skeletal remains as belonging to different racial groups than they actually were, which of course in turn leads to reconstructions, if they are done, showing the decedent as another race entirely and probably not what they looked like at all. (Some examples: Julie Davis, Janet Lee Lucas, Stacey Boothe-Wilson)

Obviously this wasn't the case for Dawn, but I wish there was a better way to do them for skeletal remains is my point I guess. I guess this is sort of off-topic but just something I've been thinking about.

This makes me wonder if these reconstructions will become more difficult as bi- and multi-racial children become more common than in previous eras. I would love to hear the thoughts of someone experienced in this.

 

[Springrain]

This makes me wonder if these reconstructions will become more difficult as bi- and multi-racial children become more common than in previous eras. I would love to hear the thoughts of someone experienced in this.

As someone who is biracial I would too. I have always wondered what an anthropologist in the future would categorize me as!

 

[carbuff]

When I took a forensics course on line a few years back, we learned that most of the anthropological characteristics they look for are statistical. They look at the length of a shin bone and can extrapolate an eighty- or ninety percent chance of the person being in a certain height range. They can look at the shape of the eye sockets in the skull and conclude the skull likely belonged to somebody of Asian or African or European ancestry.

This article has a bit about it Identifying the ethnicity of a skull (Aside: looks like an interesting free course)

But that doesn't take into account a situation like Dawn's, where the face was so extensively damaged. The broken bones must have been like trying to put a jigsaw puzzle back together.

 

[Springrain]

When I took a forensics course on line a few years back, we learned that most of the anthropological characteristics they look for are statistical. They look at the length of a shin bone and can extrapolate an eighty- or ninety percent chance of the person being in a certain height range. They can look at the shape of the eye sockets in the skull and conclude the skull likely belonged to somebody of Asian or African or European ancestry.

This article has a bit about it Identifying the ethnicity of a skull (Aside: looks like an interesting free course)

But that doesn't take into account a situation like Dawn's, where the face was so extensively damaged. The broken bones must have been like trying to put a jigsaw puzzle back together.

I had no idea about things like shin bones being possible indicators of race! Thanks for sharing. Really makes me wonder how it can be estimated since there are so many of us multiracial folks out here.

Yes, poor Dawn was really attacked horribly by this monster that I have nothing nice to say about. Who knows, she may have gotten ID'd somewhat sooner if she was found in recognizable condition, though probably not.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Slightly OT from thread topic, but @GeneaoLisa teach basic skeletal identification methods at university level and made a thread explaining the bare basics:

Q & A on Forensic Identification of Skeletal Remains

So I thought I would offer some info that may be useful to websleuths! NOTE: I am NOT a forensic anthropologist. I am an Anthropological Archaeologist and I teach basic skeletal identification methods at the university level. Here is a brief lecture I put together for an introductory class...

www.websleuths.com

 

[carbuff]

Slightly OT from thread topic, but @GeneaoLisa teach basic skeletal identification methods at university level and made a thread explaining the bare basics:

Q & A on Forensic Identification of Skeletal Remains

So I thought I would offer some info that may be useful to websleuths! NOTE: I am NOT a forensic anthropologist. I am an Anthropological Archaeologist and I teach basic skeletal identification methods at the university level. Here is a brief lecture I put together for an introductory class...

www.websleuths.com

Oh thanks @Mrs. Badcrumble! That looks very useful. I'm sure I didn't do a very good job explaining. This will really help.

 

[carbuff]

I had no idea about things like shin bones being possible indicators of race! Thanks for sharing. Really makes me wonder how it can be estimated since there are so many of us multiracial folks out here.

Yes, poor Dawn was really attacked horribly by this monster that I have nothing nice to say about. Who knows, she may have gotten ID'd somewhat sooner if she was found in recognizable condition, though probably not.

It's quite debatable how accurate things like that are. The theory is that African bones are more robust and Asians less so, but is that anything more than historic prejudice?

 

[Springrain]

It's quite debatable how accurate things like that are. The theory is that African bones are more robust and Asians less so, but is that anything more than historic prejudice?

This is also very true & important to consider!

 

[carbuff]

This is also very true & important to consider!

It seems like LE wants to reduce everybody to a category that will tick a check box on a Namus form, while Dawn's case and many others show us that what matters is the unique individual who might be bi-something or multi-anything.

 

[MacPlus512]

Definitely lots to consider here for future investigations. With Dawn, we did know some of her demographics*, but let's think about another case in NJ: Atlantic Highlands Unidentified. We have just the skeleton and who knows if there were stereotypes and the like used.

* keep in mind it's not always obvious here either; I know plenty of people with mixes of backgrounds who don't look like what society might think <appearance> looks like

Perhaps when we do reconstructions, we can do them with multiple skin tones, hair types, etc. if we don't know those details. It would only be fair for investigators and also to the victim themselves.

What really gets me on the reconstructions of Dawn is that nobody really got her hair right--it was definitely wavy and was in one of those 80s layered styles. Maybe it was too messed up from everything, but you'd think during the reconstruction they could have analyzed that a little more.

In the future, I really hope we get away from outdated stereotypes like the bone example and can rely more on modern techniques. Let's use Dawn's skirt as an example. That seemed to be a key to breaking through here until this got solved. If something is regional, like that skirt likely was, it may help. We also have cell phone data now that may help with general areas, especially since so many people are carrying more than one device now (think smart watches).

Another thing you could use: if someone is found with money on them, check the federal reserve branches of the bills and mintmark of the coins. Living in Pittsburgh, the majority of the bills I get are from Cleveland, which puts me in a different area than someone who would have predominantly Philly bills.

 

[caradana]

This makes me wonder if these reconstructions will become more difficult as bi- and multi-racial children become more common than in previous eras. I would love to hear the thoughts of someone experienced in this.

Reconstructions will go the way of the horse & buggy: very helpful in their time, the best technology of what was around. DNA propensity will pass it (“there is a 74% chance that this victim had an overbite … there is a 98% chance this victim had blue eyes” … etc). I say this as someone who thinks the best horse & buggy was probably the one built right at the same time that Henry Ford fired up an engine, and who respects immensely the historical cases where reconstruction was game changing. JOHN LIST. The man who created that clay bust solved that case right on down to the glasses. It’s just that DNA is so powerful and so definitive - and this isn’t really a surprise to us - I remember a forensic science class i took in 1997 where we discussed Patricia Cornwall and hair follicles. The day has now come. Glory be.

 

[carbuff]

I have my doubts DNA will ever be that accurate--not that the facts won't be, but it still has to be translated to something that doesn't look like a character from a video game.

I like @MacPlus512's idea of showing the range of possibilities. If they had shown more than one possible hairstyle for Dawn, it might have helped someone recognize her--if the recons were ever shown in her area.

I suppose that's really one of the biggest issues, along with the quality of the representation--how to get a particular reconstruction in front of people who might recognize the person.

 

[Shamrock1]

Reconstructions will go the way of the horse & buggy: very helpful in their time, the best technology of what was around. DNA propensity will pass it (“there is a 74% chance that this victim had an overbite … there is a 98% chance this victim had blue eyes” … etc). I say this as someone who thinks the best horse & buggy was probably the one built right at the same time that Henry Ford fired up an engine, and who respects immensely the historical cases where reconstruction was game changing. JOHN LIST. The man who created that clay bust solved that case right on down to the glasses. It’s just that DNA is so powerful and so definitive - and this isn’t really a surprise to us - I remember a forensic science class i took in 1997 where we discussed Patricia Cornwall and hair follicles. The day has now come. Glory be.

That was the self-taught Frank Bender. Mesothelioma, unfortunately. The Girl with the Crooked Nose is worth a read. The bust “The Girl with Hope” is uncanny.

“A conjurer in clay, Mr. Bender was, he often said, as much psychologist as sculptor, divining — or so it seemed — features that skulls alone could not tell him: hair color, characteristic expressions or precise skin color, which he painted onto the finished sculpture.”
Frank Bender, ‘Recomposer’ of Faces of the Dead, Dies at 70 (Published 2011)
Frank Bender, ‘Recomposer’ of Faces of the Dead, Dies at 70 (Published 2011)

 

[caradana]

That was the self-taught Frank Bender. Mesothelioma, unfortunately. The Girl with the Crooked Nose is worth a read. The bust “The Girl with Hope” is uncanny.

“A conjurer in clay, Mr. Bender was, he often said, as much psychologist as sculptor, divining — or so it seemed — features that skulls alone could not tell him: hair color, characteristic expressions or precise skin color, which he painted onto the finished sculpture.”
Frank Bender, ‘Recomposer’ of Faces of the Dead, Dies at 70 (Published 2011)
Frank Bender, ‘Recomposer’ of Faces of the Dead, Dies at 70 (Published 2011)

SO happy you posted this. Bender was a genius.

 

[Tahlia Woodson]

What really gets me on the reconstructions of Dawn is that nobody really got her hair right--it was definitely wavy and was in one of those 80s layered styles. Maybe it was too messed up from everything, but you'd think during the reconstruction they could have analyzed that a little more.

This comment here reminds me of a post someone made on the Cali Doe (Tammy A) thread way back in like 2007 (?) or so. I can't remember it word for word but it was along the lines that the official reconstruction for her got her hair incorrectly styled, and she likely would've worn it feathered out and centred. And OP gave the main characters of the movie 'Little Darlings' (1980) as an example, because that's what was in style at the time. And then seeing photos of Tammy in person, she had that styled hair.

It's things like that that make me think how much we recognise people from their hair and just how they wore it.

Would giving Dawn's recons different hairstyles have made her recognisable though? Or would it have been confusing, providing different images of a single person? I think the idea of showing a range of possibilities might have been helpful, but I think it could also lead to confusion as to what she genuinely appeared like. Bah, this is all so much.

 

[Springrain]

Great points from everyone here! I like the idea of range of possibilities as well. You really do not know someone's race instantly. I myself am mixed Western European and Filipino, with pale skin, dark hair, and some Asian features. As I was discussing with a friend earlier today, at first glance, 10/10 times, people will assume I am either Russian/Ukrainian, OR half Asian (usually Korean or Japanese) and half white. Neither of those are accurate. I also live in an area with a very high Russian/Ukrainian population, and work in an area with an even higher one, and I have always wondered, would people finding my corpse think I was a Russian immigrant? Not impossible and while it would be an incorrect assumption, I can see how people would come to it. Especially if I had recently eaten Russian food (love pelmeni) before being murdered. Sorry for the tangent - all that to say, I think it's wise to use caution when estimating race and ethnicity and look at all possibilities.

On another note, in all honesty, I don't think most of Dawn's reconstructions were that off. Definitely not identical, which I think hair plays a big role in. If the recons were depicted with curly/wavy hair with bangs, they'd look a lot closer. None of them did, which is a big part in the disparities IMO. The NCMEC one was...not great, and neither was the police sketch from interviewing the Kinlaws, but to me, Carl's and the blonde one looked pretty facially similar to Dawn, just with the wrong hair. JMO.