Identified! NV - Washoe Co., WhtFem 156UFNV, 25-35, Sheep's Flat Trail, Jul'82 - Mary Edith Silvani

[KLCD620]

How far the killer has to run from the crime scene to his car parking lot (paved/unpaved) near the trails?

I'm sure the hikers were hurry to leave the scene of crime for getting out of the trails once they past her slump body over the log. It must be scary for them to be around/near the killer in the trails if they stay around much longer. You might never know what will happen.

Have the detective check out the military base for the names of servicemen & their spouse in 1982 as photo file records? Maybe few of them might notice her face as postmortem photo & knows her name as ID.

 

[punklove]

Regarding the reports of "she just looked asleep to us" sounds more to me like "I didn't want to get involved so I walked away and let someone else deal with it." Nevermind that she had a gaping gunshot wound in the back of her head that I'm sure had pooled blood. .

Sleepy just sounds like such a strange word for them to use, I wonder how many people saw her? I know that if I saw a woman walking in a strange way in the middle of my hike the word sleepy would never be something I was describe them. What made them think she was sleepy? Was she staggering? Talking and not making sense? Or are they saying that they saw her actually slumped over the log and felt that she was sleeping? It doesnt make sense they would think shes sleeping when shes actually slumping over a log, bleeding from any head wound is very heavy.

Was she only shot the one time? If so, the shot would have been fatal - she would have dropped the moment she was shot, if you notice in the photo it looks as though the exit wound is is on her left side (beside her eye). So if that was the only shot there would have been no way she was walking (looking sleepy or not) with a head wound like that.

You can see she has Livor mortis on her entire chin, around her nose and on the the left side of her forehead which leads me to believe that she came to a rest face down with the left side of her face on the ground (or wherever she landed)

Now the first time I talked to the officer he said he could not comment on a possible sexual assault or if one had occured. So we might not know why the top was pulled down.

Since she had jeans and a bathing suit on I would assume that her jeans would have to be removed in order for someone to sexually assault her, was there anything suggesting her clothing was removed?

As for possibly still interviewing witnesses I'm seeing if it is still possible. But I'm sure their names would not be released to me. But after almost 30 years, it could be hard to remember details. That's why I love microfilm newspapers. It's all there.

Have you thought about putting an ad online or in a local paper asking anyone that was in that area at that time to contact you if they remember anything weird?

As for gas station and restaurants, this area is about as secluded as you get. I'm trying to think of the closest gas station to there and back at that time I imagine they would be much farther away than now even.

I wonder how much they looked into this - if its in a remote area the it would seem more likely that the person that did this would have had to stop to get gas or eat.

 

[Charlie99909]

What I meant to type was sleeping. Not sleepy. I hate banging these out on an iPhone. Nothing to note that there even was a sexual assault.

I imagine there would be blood because she was shot in the head.

Right now I'm working on finding any names mentioned in old articles from that time and trying to trace them to current time.

She was laying on her left side with her head on a log, hence the appearance of her lips in that snarled look. The rigor mortis had set in and thus that was her face.

 

[yosande]

It's just a bit of frustration.

Having to think about turning to craigslist. I mean come on ya know? I'll locate a new white pages and look up some names from the article and who knows maybe mills lane is there?

I'm kicking myself. I never checked the weather report and it was on the opposite page from her picture in the paper.

But I always thought the beach I mean it's July and tahoe. I've been going there every week for a month and drive by sheep flat each time. It's chilling.

What if that's what they did as well, and one of them had to pee?
But several hundreds yards is a pretty far way to walk to do that, especially with it being so dark.

 

[Charlie99909]

What if that's what they did as well, and one of them had to pee?
But several hundreds yards is a pretty far way to walk to do that, especially with it being so dark.

I mean anything is possible. To get to the location you have to go down into the parking area and through it. Then connect with the path and then go east on the path about 200-275 feet. All said it is about 800 feet from the road to the site.

 

[carbuff]

That wide-open white gravel path is going to gleam like a beacon after dark, even if there's only starlight. Walking on it would not be difficult.

Assuming hikers in the west are similar to hikers in the east, it's not uncommon to see a hiker sacked out on a log or rock catching a nap. People get tired, especially at altitude. If it was indeed after dark, the blood probably wasn't obvious.

 

[punklove]

I mean anything is possible. To get to the location you have to go down into the parking area and through it. Then connect with the path and then go east on the path about 200-275 feet. All said it is about 800 feet from the road to the site.

When you went there did you take water or something to drink with you or would this be a hike that people tended to not bring anything?

 

[Charlie99909]

I didn't take water with me. It is like a 1.4 or so hike on mostly level surface. A light incline but nothing taxing at all.

 

[punklove]

Do you know what type of gun she was shot with?

 

[Charlie99909]

Ok folks, I figured it was time I post a refresher for everyone. All the info on the case in one location that way we don't have to go back and forth between pages.

Jane Doe

-Found on 7/17/1982 in the Sheep Flat area of Mt. Rose.

-She had been shot in the back of the head.
-Weapon caliber unknown.

Sheep Flat trail.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&s...48,-119.904099&spn=0.005404,0.009205&t=h&z=17

*Follow the path from the road down through the parking area (the small circular road just below the main road) and then take the left fork on the path. Follow it and roughly where the path says CO Road 340 again is the murder spot.

-Victim was 5'5"

-All clothes were common everyday clothing. Able for purchase in most stores.
-Bathing suit on under shirt.
-Bathing suit top pulled down.
-Unknown if sexual assault occurred.

-Possibly had given birth due to stretch marks on her stomach.

-DNA, dental and finger prints on file.

-Believed to be German due to her dental work and immunization scar on her arm.

- Age was believed to be in her late 20's to early 30's.

-She was found on the trail by a father and son and almost simultaneously by another pair of hikers.

-She had light foot traffic around her.

-Believed to have been "sleeping" on the ground when sighted by others.

-Her foot prints and another could be traced all the way from the road to the scene, then the other pair of prints followed the trail back to the road.

-Either knew her attacker or was held at gun point while walking down the trail.

-Very little light on the night of 7/16. Moon was a crescent.

-US Immigration was checked out.

-US Embassy was not.

-Not thought to work in a local casino.

-Could have been married to a US service man and "run off" as a cover for her murder.


These are the facts. I'm working on more questions for the detective, if more arise please add them here.

 

[punklove]

I dont remember reading several of these facts - I could have just overlooked them though, thanks for sharing them again. I do feel some of them point towards a different direction that I originally thought - I always assumed that she was a hiker (or was there hiking) but I really dont think so now.

*Follow the path from the road down through the parking area (the small circular road just below the main road) and then take the left fork on the path. Follow it and roughly where the path says CO Road 340 again is the murder spot.
.

&

Her foot prints and another could be traced all the way from the road to the scene, then the other pair of prints followed the trail back to the road.

Just my point of view - State Route 431 (Mount Rose Highway) is 24 miles long and is considered a 'Scenic Byway' (its longer but beautiful) - After a short distance State Route 431 leads you directly to SR 28, after about 10 minutes on SR 28 it runs directly into US 50. Us 50 is a MAJOR Link Here highway that stretches 3000 miles - all the way across the country. Also, it seems that a lot of truck driver hauling lumber attempt to use the mount rose highway to save time.

That being sad, I think its likely the UID was traveling with someone along 431and they stopped at co rd 340 (the parking lot) to be able to get out a bit and stretch their legs or go to the bathroom, after walking that short distance the person killed her then walked back to his car and more than likely drove to US 50 and was hours (and states) away before anyone new what happened.

 

[Charlie99909]

Mt rose highway is possible one of the worse roads to have a truck haul lumber, on the tahoe side it is a two lane road and very narrow, almost too narrow for my pickup. On the Reno side it is full of hairpin turns and steep grades. The says that truckers use Mt rose highway!? That's crazy. Highway 50 also connects in Carson city.

 

[punklove]

Mt rose highway is possible one of the worse roads to have a truck haul lumber, on the tahoe side it is a two lane road and very narrow, almost too narrow for my pickup. On the Reno side it is full of hairpin turns and steep grades. The says that truckers use Mt rose highway!? That's crazy. Highway 50 also connects in Carson city.

I thought it was weird too, the article implied that people would do that to save time but from the map it looks like that would actually be longer - considering you would have to be very careful.

I was reading that article again that you posted (I think that you posted, sorry if Im wrong) about all the crazy things happening there.

Are you going to go back? Id love to see photos of the highway, then pulling off into the parking area. Not to be morbid but if you were able to make a video of the walk from the parking area to the area she was found I think it would be neat to see. Is the area the same as it was then?

I think we should widen the area range we are looking at because I feel fairly certain that she was with someone on some sort of road trip and not from the area. Its obvious the person that did this had the intent of harming her..

Two sets of prints from the parking area ending at the place she was killed then one set of prints leading back to the parking area just seems to me that the intent was to kill her.

I know it says they feel her dental work was european but what exactly does that mean? If the motive wasnt sexual what was it? Another thing - since it was very dark that night the person had to have gotten quite close to be able to shoot her without missing first. How confusing this is!

 

[Charlie99909]

In the following months I want to film a 10 minute segment, kinda like unsolved mysteries. A reenactment with all the info in it. I'll include her post mortem and I want to put it online. Try to get people to view it.

It just snowed up there so it is very similar, also imagine how light it was up there with the snow on the ground reflecting what little moonlight came down.

I'm gonna borrow a school camera to do this.

 

[tamar]

Terrific idea Charlie! I would love to help you out in some way (we own a production company) so, if you need original music, or B roll, or voice-over, or editing, let me know!

 

[punklove]

There are a few things I dont really get about this case. Of course its possible that they do have the answers to these questions and just arent sharing them but Id like to know the following:

1) She was found within 24 hours of death, why can they not tell if she were sexual assaulted? Obviously its more than likely that she wasnt abused directly before her death due to her clothing still being in place (other than the bathsuit top) but it could be helpful to know if there were any signs of past abuse.

Sorry to be rude, but did they swap her mouth/facial/breast/private areas for DNA (or even just for seminal fluid)?

Its possible they parked and walked far enough that they would feel safe enough to have sex and she was killed in the act of getting dressed afterwards - she was described as looking slumped over as though she were tying her shoe - do you happen to know which way they mean? If you are walking through an area and need to tie your shoe you bend over and reach down to tie them, being killed while tying your shoe this way you would would fall directly down and end up with your legs from the knee below under you, the heels of your feet would be under your bottom.

If she were getting redressed it would be much more likely that she found somewhere to sit (the log) sat down and then put her shoes on - if she were killed when doing this she would most likely fall to the side, almost in the fetal position. It really doesnt make much of a difference, Im just curious.

2) Why do they use the word "Possibly" in regards to her having children? A simple examination would prove 100% either way, the stretch mark paired with the 4-5 inch abdominal scar seems to point to her having a child, though you could get both of those from a tummy tuck as well.

3) Were prints that were found along side of hers male or female? Did they preserve the print? You can get a estimate on the persons weight/size by their print, you can also figure out what sort of shoes that person was wearing.

 

[punklove]

It just seems so strange to me that a woman in her late 20's that police feel rather certain has had a child didnt seem to get all that much media focus?

I hate even bringing it up but I do wonder if she were a prostitute, I was just reading over her clothing and noticed something strange. Of course she could have just been homeless.

-Lee Rider blue jeans - size Medium.
-Yellow tennis shoes - size 6.

In 1982 Lee Rider jeans in size medium is a size 10/12, She weighed 112 pounds, that would be a size 6 at the most. This link shows you the difference between a size 4 and size 10/12 - if would be like the girl on the left wearing the girl on the rights pants.

Her shoes were a size 6 - she was 5'5, the typical shoe size of someone thats 5'5 is 7.5 through 9. The brusing on her toe could be due to forcing her feet into much too small shoes.

So that made me wonder where she got the clothes (if they are, in fact, not hers) - if you buy new or second hand clothes you would buy what fits best and you would certainly buy shoes that were too big instead of too litte.

BUT if you were given clothing you take whats given to you, a lot of places put togther bags of clothing for homeless people and just pass them out which leads to people wearing ill fitting clothing/shoes.

An interesting news article from lake tahoe:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8227880.stm
A man and his wife have denied abducting California woman Jaycee Lee Dugard when she was a child and holding her in their home for 18 years.
Phillip and Nancy Garrido denied 29 charges including kidnap, rape and false imprisonment when they appeared briefly in court in El Dorado County.

Ms Dugard was bundled into a car in the county in 1991 on her way to school. Police are also searching the Garrido home in Antioch for clues to several prostitute murders. Several bodies in the unsolved murders were dumped near an industrial park where Mr Garrido worked.

 

[Charlie99909]

Once again you bring some interesting facts to the table punklove, well done. I'm going to email the detective today about the clothing. That's something that can't be overlooked.

The thing with the sexual assault is there is in place privacy policies regarding all investigations. Reason being the police want to keep some things quiet or even want something later when someone confesses they can provide details that only law enforcement knows. If law enforcement does not want to disclose some information I won't press the issue.

For me this case is about giving her name back to her, but if we nail the sob who killed her it's even better.

 

[Charlie99909]

Terrific idea Charlie! I would love to help you out in some way (we own a production company) so, if you need original music, or B roll, or voice-over, or editing, let me know!

That would be fantastic! I will let you know once I finish. I'm hoping to start very soon.


Punklove, Phillip Garrido cannot be considered a suspect as he was incarcerated during 1982.

 

[carbuff]

The shoes are interesting, but a size 6 isn't that small for a woman her size. A little below average, but not a lot. It does make me wonder if that was the size she wore before being pregnant.

I'm not sure the jeans are not that far out of line. I know that at certain times of the month (ahem) the bloating I experienced sent me into at least a size larger jeans. Or maybe she just liked her jeans looser. Somewhat oversize jeans is also a common practice with dancers etc. who wear a size that can be pulled on over their tights without taking time to change. And if she'd had a child, her hips and waist might be larger than you'd expect for someone her size. Or they might have been from earlier, when she was still losing pregnancy weight.

As for tying my shoe -- I sit down to if at all possible, if I can find a log or rock beside the trail. Especially if my feet are hurting.

I'm starting to have this mental picture of the guy marching her down the trail, holding her closely with one arm while holding the gun against her with the other. Then telling her to sit down, and executing her.