PA PA - Pittsburgh, Celadine St, UnkFem Adult, UP16151, skull in metal box, Aug'15

[Romulus]

NamUs UP 16151

https://www.identifyus.org/en/cases/16151

Unidentified Body (Unknown Sex & Race)

Found August 15, 2015 Allegheny County, PA
Body Condition: Not recognizable - partial skeletal parts only

Probable year of death: to


Vital Statistics
Estimated age: Unknown Age
Approximate Height: cannot estimate
Approximate Weight: cannot estimate
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Scars and marks: nothing

Clothing & Accessories
Clothing: nothing
Jewerly: nothing
Footwear: nothing
Accessories: nothing

Identifiers
Fingerprints: Fingerprint information is not available
Dentals: Dental information / charting is not available
DNA: Sample submitted-tests not complete

Case History: skull found located in a metal box on Celadine Street, Pgh 15201.

 

[madamx]

wow I had not heard of this one.. I just looked on the map its a weird dead end block with winding cement stairs. Google Maps


Reading this post reminded me of this one...
Unidentified Person Case

Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP16140 Unsure, Uncertain
Date Found September 30, 2014
Location Found CARNEGIE, Pennsylvania
County Allegheny County



ME/C Case Number 15COR07683
Demographics
Sex Unsure
Race / EthnicityUncertain

Estimated Age Group Adult
Estimated Age Range--
Estimated Year of Death--
Estimated PMI--
Height Cannot Estimate
WeightCannot Estimate

Circumstances
Type Unidentified Deceased
Date Found September 30, 2014

Location Found Map
Street Address NOBLESTOWN RD CARNEGIE, Pennsylvania
County Allegheny County

Circumstances of Recovery a human skull that was found by employees of Unipaper in 2004. Collier Township PD was called and eventually submitted the skull to the ACOME

 

[CCJD]

wow I had not heard of this one.. I just looked on the map its a weird dead end block with winding cement stairs. Google Maps

(OT) Not so weird if you live in the area. Pittsburgh steps are a thing here and they are, quite literally, everywhere. They were built around 100 years ago (give or take) as way for people to navigate the crazy terrain around here.

Pittsburgh Steps

 

[madamx]

(OT) Not so weird if you live in the area. Pittsburgh steps are a thing here and they are, quite literally, everywhere. They were built around 100 years ago (give or take) as way for people to navigate the crazy terrain around here.

Pittsburgh Steps

Omg CCJD thank you for posting this. I had No idea! When I saw the dead end street and the never ending creepy stairs in the woods w the abandoned looking house next to it.. well I thought it was odd..
The closest thing I ever saw to anything like that were the cement steps you find in the Bronx on different blocks that have hills but they usually don't wind so much. But anyway thank you CCJD for schooling me on the the Pittsburgh Steps!! Love it!!!

 

[CCJD]

This is where the skull was found: 56th Street steps

 

[madamx]

This is where the skull was found: 56th Street steps

oh so great you found and posted that because.. Thank you CCJD!!.I went on Google and posted it but still was confused!
So basically it sounds like someone just left the metal box w the skull on the steps..and there is no info on age or gender..so weird.

 

[CCJD]

So basically it sounds like someone just left the metal box w the skull on the steps..and there is no info on age or gender..so weird.

It's a female skull. DNA is available but dentals are not (according to the NamUs file I printed out prior to NamUs 2.0 when the biometric data got hidden).

 

[madamx]

It's a female skull. DNA is available but dentals are not (according to the NamUs file I printed out prior to NamUs 2.0 when the biometric data got hidden).

oh wow that is great.. well at least we know this one was a woman.. so glad you had printed it..wish they could provide a sketch.

 

[madamx]

(OT) Not so weird if you live in the area. Pittsburgh steps are a thing here and they are, quite literally, everywhere. They were built around 100 years ago (give or take) as way for people to navigate the crazy terrain around here.

Pittsburgh Steps

I actually just finished looking at All the steps on the page.. Amazing.. just thinking of all the thought and work that went into them. Not one is the same!..then I thought of how many people have prob tripped and fallen down some of those steps
thank you again CCJD. I really enjoyed that link. I never knew about the steps.

 

[CCJD]

oh wow that is great.. well at least we know this one was a woman.. so glad you had printed it..wish they could provide a sketch.

There may not be enough to have a sketch done. No dentals. Could be just the skull cap without maxilla & mandible. I'd think if the entire skull/head was there but toothless, that would have been noted on NamUs but it just says "not available" and if there were teeth, the M.E. would have had dental xrays and charting done.

 

[Romulus]

Namus change the sex: is female

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Bumping case up. It's a shame there is no estimated year of death.
Hopefully they are still working on this case. Maybe they could attempt to I.D. her with DNA.

 

[CCJD]

IMO, the year the skull was found is incorrect in NamUs. Back on 2/16/2017, I sent the following article to ACME's office. The article is from 2002, not 2015 as stated in NamUs.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (PA)
August 16, 2002
Skull found in box to be examined
Author: The Tribune-Review

Pathologists from the Allegheny County Coroner's Office are scheduled today to examine what appears to be a skull that was found Thursday in a metal box in Stanton Heights.

The examination will attempt to determine if the skull is real and if there are any clues to its identity.

A man walking on some city steps saw the box, opened it up and called police, investigators said.

Copyright (c) 2002, Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
Record Number: 86590

http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives
(subscription required)

Also found the attached article, from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, dated August 24, 2002:
24 Aug 2002, Page 46 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at Newspapers.com
(subscription required)

 

[ChatteringBirds]

@CCJD , how strange.
So do you have any thoughts or opinions about the case?
Why was this box left there?

 

[YaYa_521]

Terry went missing from the Highland Park area which, if I mapped it correctly, is within 5 minutes of Celadine St. It'd be nice to know the address of the phone she usually used when going out to make calls.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
PA - PA - Terry Slaugenhoupt, 28, Pittsburgh, 6 Jan 1991

 

[YaYa_521]

IMO, the year the skull was found is incorrect in NamUs. Back on 2/16/2017, I sent the following article to ACME's office. The article is from 2002, not 2015 as stated in NamUs.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (PA)
August 16, 2002
Skull found in box to be examined
Author: The Tribune-Review

Pathologists from the Allegheny County Coroner's Office are scheduled today to examine what appears to be a skull that was found Thursday in a metal box in Stanton Heights.

The examination will attempt to determine if the skull is real and if there are any clues to its identity.

A man walking on some city steps saw the box, opened it up and called police, investigators said.

Copyright (c) 2002, Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
Record Number: 86590

http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives
(subscription required)

Also found the attached article, from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, dated August 24, 2002:
24 Aug 2002, Page 46 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at Newspapers.com
(subscription required)

BBM
I'm a bit confused...was the metal box buried? The skull "had been buried for a long time" according to the attached article.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Bumping up case.

 

[madamx]

BBM
I'm a bit confused...was the metal box buried? The skull "had been buried for a long time" according to the attached article.

I took it like the skull itself was buried for a long time. But who is to really say. It would be interesting to know more about the box also. Were they any photos of the box?

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Bumping up case. Did they ever exclude anyone?

My guess is that someone dug up a legitimate grave, maybe in an old graveyard, kept the skull for awhile (people do odd things), and then decided to abandon it.

However it is possible a perpetrator did this to a victim, went and dug her back up, and kept it for awhile. But why would they then just abandon it on those steps? Unless it's because they either felt some remorse and wanted it found, or they weren't thinking rationally at the time.

It seems they aren't going to seek a PMI nor identity, and this one will remain a mystery. Although Othram has done similar cases...