Found Deceased NY - Samantha Humphrey, 14, was in the area of Riverside Park at night, Schenectady, 25 Nov 2022

[Twistinginthewind]

I wish there was more publicly available from LE at this point a month after Samantha's body was found, but here is some additional detail pending from a "source close to the investigation", so not confirmed by LEO:

"Pair Of Socks: A source close to the investigation tells Anya that early in the investigation police located a pair of socks in the same area where Samantha’s jacket had been found along the Mohawk River, and that DNA belonging to a person who was well known to Samantha was lifted from that pair of socks.

DNA: Three sets of DNA had already been linked to her jacket. One set belonging to Samantha and another to an adult male who is currently being held in the Schenectady County Jail on an unrelated matter. The owner of the third set of DNA has not been shared with News 10, and it is also unclear if it is the same DNA that belongs to the person connected to the socks."

Source: DNA on socks found in river match person well known to Samantha Humphrey

Thinking of Samantha and her loved ones, waiting to hear more on LE's continuing investigation soon. MOO

 

[Twistinginthewind]

Probe into death of Schenectady's Samantha Humphrey slows​

Cause of teen's death remains undetermined, police chief said​

Police probe into death of Schenectady teen Samantha Humphrey slows​

 

[Twistinginthewind]

I don't know what to make of the different wording used about the cause of Samantha's death, and so little detail in MSM regarding the case, but it must be heartbreaking for her family.

In the article I posted above it says "remains undetermined", and in this one it says "remains unclear" in the title, but in the body of the article it says:

"Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney confirmed that an autopsy report on Samantha Humphrey has been completed. According to the report, there was insufficient medical evidence to determine Humphrey’s cause of death."

Samantha Humphrey’s cause of death remains unclear

"insufficient medical evidence" -- what does that mean? Any thoughts from anyone? TIA

 

[bombardier]

I don't know what to make of the different wording used about the cause of Samantha's death, and so little detail in MSM regarding the case, but it must be heartbreaking for her family.

In the article I posted above it says "remains undetermined", and in this one it says "remains unclear" in the title, but in the body of the article it says:

"Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney confirmed that an autopsy report on Samantha Humphrey has been completed. According to the report, there was insufficient medical evidence to determine Humphrey’s cause of death."

Samantha Humphrey’s cause of death remains unclear

"insufficient medical evidence" -- what does that mean? Any thoughts from anyone? TIA

i can weigh in, im currently doing my rotation at the MEs office
If her remains are heavily decomposed (which id expect after 3 months in water) and theres nothing obvious like a gunshot wound, stab marks in soft tissue/clothing, positive tox, etc, theres simply not enough evidence on the body determine a manner or a cause of death. After that long in water, it would be very difficult to determine if she was dead before entering the water or drowned (since over time water will enter lungs stomach sinuses etc naturally).

 

[bombardier]

Some possible CODs that I believe they cant rule out based on the state of remains includes suffocation, strangulation, stab wound in soft tissue that has since rotted away, drowning, intracranial trauma, physical trauma that didnt cause broken bones, etc. Also unsure if they were able to do toxicology on her but an overdose that is now undetectable is also an option.

 

[Twistinginthewind]

i can weigh in, im currently doing my rotation at the MEs office
If her remains are heavily decomposed (which id expect after 3 months in water) and theres nothing obvious like a gunshot wound, stab marks in soft tissue/clothing, positive tox, etc, theres simply not enough evidence on the body determine a manner or a cause of death. After that long in water, it would be very difficult to determine if she was dead before entering the water or drowned (since over time water will enter lungs stomach sinuses etc naturally).

Thanks, @bombardier ! I must sit tight, I guess, hopefully more will be revealed from another aspect of her case, LE has ahold of.

JMO

 

[Twistinginthewind]

Some possible CODs that I believe they cant rule out based on the state of remains includes suffocation, strangulation, stab wound in soft tissue that has since rotted away, drowning, intracranial trauma, physical trauma that didnt cause broken bones, etc. Also unsure if they were able to do toxicology on her but an overdose that is now undetectable is also an option.

Thank you again, @bombardier.

So does this basically mean unless something was damaged on her skeleton (tissue holds no clues), like if she had a fractured skull, they won't be able to tell how she died and if there was any foul play?

In which case, they could assume she drowned on her own?

And just bumped her head and fell in the water -- i.e., under the hypothesis she had a fractured skull, they wouldn't be able to determine if it was inflicted or accidental?

TIA if you have anything to add or clarify.

I sure hope LE has some good leads on the people who were supposedly with her or around her that night, who they said early on had left their DNA on her jacket, IIRC.

<sigh of disappointment re investigation progress and justice delayed for Samantha>

I think there was (ETA could have been) some foul play ^^^^. MOO.

 

[bombardier]

Thank you again, @bombardier.

So does this basically mean unless something was damaged on her skeleton (tissue holds no clues), like if she had a fractured skull, they won't be able to tell how she died and if there was any foul play?

In which case, they could assume she drowned on her own?

And just bumped her head and fell in the water -- i.e., under the hypothesis she had a fractured skull, they wouldn't be able to determine if it was inflicted or accidental?

TIA if you have anything to add or clarify.

I sure hope LE has some good leads on the people who were supposedly with her or around her that night, who they said early on had left their DNA on her jacket, IIRC.

<sigh of disappointment re investigation progress and justice delayed for Samantha>

I think there was foul play ^^^^. MOO.

Basically, yea. The MEs is VERY hesistant to assume anything, because of course their verdict goes on the death certificate and has exteme legal ramifications. That's why they are saying "insufficient medical evidence" and putting COD as unknown, because they see nothing compelling on the body. They're also not stating a MOD (accident, homicide, etc) due to the lack of evidence.

If they saw something like a fractured skull and head trauma (used as an example), they could put the COD as 'cranial trauma' or smth while leaving the MOD 'undetermined'.

I wouldn't give up, though! I also think the circumstances are potentially suspicious. Even if theres no COD/MOD, I'm thinking the group of young people she was hanging with may talk (young people are not very good at keeping stuff to themselves). They can also correlate physical findings (ie skull fracture of unknown etiology) with witness anecdotes ("blank hit her with a rock and pushed her in the water") to make a more compelling case.

 

[Twistinginthewind]

Some possible CODs that I believe they cant rule out based on the state of remains includes suffocation, strangulation, stab wound in soft tissue that has since rotted away, drowning, intracranial trauma, physical trauma that didnt cause broken bones, etc. Also unsure if they were able to do toxicology on her but an overdose that is now undetectable is also an option.

Do you think they would be able to ascertain if there was roofie and/or alcohol in her bloodstream?

Or would they be equally "long gone" and undetectable than any other drugs that may have been in her system, if they did a tox screen?

TIA

 

[bombardier]

Do you think they would be able to ascertain if there was roofie and/or alcohol in her bloodstream?

Or would they be equally "long gone" and undetectable than any other drugs that may have been in her system, if they did a tox screen?

TIA

I looked into this briefly because I actually don't know much about toxicology (I just take it, I don't analyze it lol); the main problems of tox on a decomposed body is contamination and breakdown of those chemicals. It seems like if you have positive results from multiple sources (in this paper, hair and bone sample), you can come to some conclusions, but the actual 'levels' in the samples may not represent the dose the victim had in life.
Positive alcohol is especially hard to determine if it came from pre-mortem ingestion or as a product of decomposition, but it may be possible if you have blood to compare to urine/eyeball fluid (i doubt SH had either of those fluids remaining). Roofies tox (such as GHB which is the most common date-ra** drug of the moment imo) are very hard to determine because the body will naturally produce GHB post-mortem.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“A year has gone by. A young girl has been murdered and dumped in a river,” he said. “If a year has gone by and we haven’t figured that out yet, that’s very discouraging.”

“There has to be someone somewhere who knows something. It’s probably someone close to the violent person who did this,” he went on to say.

Father hopes billboards will lead to answers in Samantha Humphrey's death

The father of the 14-year-old girl who went missing and was later found dead has put up billboards along Erie Boulevard seeking tips to solve the case.

wnyt.com

 

[Jimmy518]

On Novemeber 25, 2022 in Schenectady, NY 14 yr old Samantha Humphrey was missing. She was last seen in riverside park where she was to meet with her ex bf. On February 22,2023 her body was recovered from the Mohawk River at the location where she was reported to be last at riverside park. To this day there has been no arrest and there is a $10000.00 reward. Here is the link Father hopes billboards will lead to answers in Samantha Humphrey's death

 

[Jimmy518]

<modsnip - quoted post was removed in merge cleanup>
I believe they found the puffer jacket she was wearing in the park. <modsnip>

 

[Upstatemaddy]

I really want to revive this thread. February will mark one year since her body was found two blocks away from my house. An arrest has still not been made, and Facebook groups created by her family does nothing but slander her other family members, bickering, and starting drama that has nothing to do with solving this case. Someone murdered a child and is still out on the streets, I feel like any support group or discussion created in her name is losing track of that and it’s really disappointing.

 

[zucchinibread]

Thanks for bumping this, @Upstatemaddy. I knew & taught Sam when she was young, maybe 6 or 7. She had such a turbulent and difficult childhood, and it's unfathomable that no one has been charged yet in her murder.

 

[Caring1]

February 22, 2024

SCHENECTADY — One year after the body of Samantha Humphrey was found in the Mohawk River near Riverside Park, family and friends of the deceased teen are still seeking closure on her disappearance and death.

Humphrey family seeks answers one year after teen's body found in river

Thursday marks the one-year anniversary of Samantha Humphrey's body being discovered in the Mohawk River.

www.dailygazette.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

In the year since Humphrey’s death, more than 3,000 people have joined the “Justice For Samantha Humphrey” Facebook page, where friends and loved ones share photos and stories of the teen.

“We have collected ten thousand dollars to start, but with your help we hope to increase that significantly,” Joy said. “Our goal is to increase the reward in $5,000 increments as possible.”

‘We Need Answers’: Death Of 14-Year-Old Schenectady Girl Still Mystery One Year Later

A year after Samantha Humphrey’s body was pulled from a river in upstate New York, her killer remains at large.The 14-year-old Schenectady High School sophomore was last seen on Nov. 25, 2022, near the city's Mohawk River. Her mother repor…

dailyvoice.com