PA PA - Economy Borough, Beaver Co, WhtFem 40-80, UP13338, embalmed head, gray hair, Dec'14

[dotr]

"Law enforcement:

Red ball or redball, police slang for a high-profile case that draws media and political attention. Often used in the book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and the television shows based on it, Homicide: Life on the Street and HBO's series The Wire.
In the science fiction film Minority Report, the names of future homicide victims and perpetrators are engraved on wooden balls. If a ball is red, it means that the crime will not be premeditated.
"Red Ball", first episode on the sixteenth season of the long-running crime drama television series Law & Order

Military:

Red ball is used by the Air Force, typically on the flight line, to identify supply or service requests that are needed urgently to avoid mission failure. Orders for supplies or services identified as "red ball" are given highest priority, taking precedent over other more routine maintenance and service work."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_ball

 

[Magnum P.E.]

It's not legal in many states. If it's related to criminal activity it may fall under "fishing," which is generally not allowed, or invasion of the privacy of noninvolved people. Your DNA is still considered private, and investigators aren't allowed to just go rummaging through it just on the hope they'll find a connection.

Very interesting point there! I wish that the law would catch up to technology and allow familial DNA to be searched to identify remains. Anyone in that database has willingly put themselves in it to find relatives. Maybe a box could be checked on the submission form to allow matching to UIDs, I don't know. It would be a useful tool but like anything it has the potential to be misused and no doubt would be very quickly!

 

[passionflower]

Does anyone remember if LE said how long her head had been embalmed? How long she was in the weather?
I know she was found last year.
Do we know if her head was surgically removed from her body?
What is so odd to me,is no body and the balls in her eye socket. That is spooky.
If her hair is like the original drawing then I do think she was older. Looks like a roller set and older style. JMOO

 

[carbuff]

Very interesting point there! I wish that the law would catch up to technology and allow familial DNA to be searched to identify remains. Anyone in that database has willingly put themselves in it to find relatives. Maybe a box could be checked on the submission form to allow matching to UIDs, I don't know. It would be a useful tool but like anything it has the potential to be misused and no doubt would be very quickly!

Yes, it certainly seems like identifying someone is a different situation than a criminal investigation, and ought to have different laws.

 

[dotr]

In addition to the head being embalmed, the eyes had been removed, according to a press release from police Chief Michael O’Brien. Red rubber balls were put into the eye sockets and were covered with eye caps commonly used by funeral directors and embalmers.
The Chinese Embassy is investigating the origin of the rubber balls because they were made in China

. - See more at: http://www.thecranberryeagle.com/article/20151214/CRAN05/151219849/-1/CRAN#sthash.9Wai2UwZ.dpuf

Snip>
rbbm.

During a time frame about four to six months before her death, investigators suspect she was in an area “geographically consistent” with the Allegheny Mountains. This includes Pennsylvania counties in the mountains extending into northwestern West Virginia and northwestern Maryland.
The last three months of her life were spent in central and eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Ohio extending north along Lake Erie into New York at Lake Ontario.
Investigators think her death happened in this region.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

Looks like the largest cities in the area she likely lived in last are Cleveland, Erie, and Buffalo, if I am understanding this correctly. Does anyone know if media in those areas have picked up on this? If not, anyone on the board with contacts there needs to call in a favor and ask them to run it.

 

[haroldchasen]

If in fact this woman did die from , let's say congestive heart failure or a heart related ailment due to the meds found upon testing, and they've narrowed down the geographical area where she spent her last few months - maybe it would be beneficial for authorities to check with the major hospitals that are known for cardiac surgery / care in the areas ( upmc is one of the best around Pittsburgh, although there are others. ) and people travel to UPMC from several hours distance......and to check any Acute Long Term Care Facilities.

We recently almost lost my mother in law after heart surgery. She spent almost 2 months in Cardiac ICU at UPMC , then another 2 months plus at a "Long Term Acute Care Facility" . They specialized in ventilator weaning. We came thisclose to losing her , but the staff said she was a miracle and defied the odds.

Regardless, I live in this general geographical region and can tell you that there aren't an abundance of Acute Long Term Care Facilities that deal with the skill level needed for critical cardiac patients. For insurance purposes after about 6 weeks they wanted to move my mother in law from 1 long term acute care facility to another and said that the closest that could meet her needs was an hour from where she already was. That is just an example of how these specific facilities are not in every town on every corner.

A long term acute care facility is a specialty-care hospital designed for patients with serious medical problems that require intense, special treatment for an extended period of time—usually 20 to 30 days , often longer.

Long term acute care facilities offer more individualized and resource-intensive care than a skilled nursing facility, nursing home or acute rehabilitation facility. Patients are typically transferred to a long term acute care hospital from the intensive care unit of a traditional hospital because they no longer require intensive diagnostic procedures offered by a traditional facility.

This might explain her tests showing that she "lived in different areas " just prior to death.

Not to sound gruesome , but maybe if they won't release a photo of her head, they should show the actual photo to various medical workers that they interview.

 

[wfgodot]

The strange, sad quest to match a severed, embalmed head with its story

The strangest thing about the severed head wasn’t that it was discovered in the woods or that there was no sign of the body.

It was that the head almost appeared alive.
---

lengthy story -- good intro to the mystery -- at link above

 

[dotr]

The strange, sad quest to match a severed, embalmed head with its story


lengthy story -- good intro to the mystery -- at link above

Very interesting article, a few things come to mind.

No doubt already checked, but wondering if the woman had any makeup on her face, if she did, the makeup source might be traced, imo.
Might as well throw this thought out there too, but one is reminded of a " styling head " something that might be used by students practicing to be a hairstylist or makeup artist. A macabre one.
On that note, thinking of taxidermists and also of someone off who maybe... sorry..... really missed mom, if you get my drift.
speculation, imo.

 

[dotr]

Procedure, or practicing of it, gone wrong?
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/arti...ice-eye-shaving-still-part-daily-life-chengdu

After sharpening his razor, a barber holds open one of his customer’s eyes and draws the razor across the eye lid. This might sound like a scene in the nerve-wracking Spanish surrealist movie Un Chien Andalou, but it is a daily occurrence in Chengdu.

This is a traditional Chinese practice called “eye shaving”. Sichuan barber Liu Deyuan, 53, is one of the few barbers still known to engage in the practice today, Chengdu Business Daily reported.

After dipping his razor in clean water, Liu uses one hand to hold open a customer’s eyelid while holding his razor in his other hand. He then gently scrapes the razor across the inner surface of both eye lids.

Liu then pokes a thin metal rod with a smooth ball-shaped end beneath the customer’s eye lid and moves it around like a windscreen wiper.

 

[dotr]

Has this woman been suggested yet?
One eyebrow is "cocked"
Amelia Giuliotti
http://www.nampn.org/cases/giuliotti_amelia.html

 

[pukasonqo2]

Very interesting article, a few things come to mind.

No doubt already checked, but wondering if the woman had any makeup on her face, if she did, the makeup source might be traced, imo.
Might as well throw this thought out there too, but one is reminded of a " styling head " something that might be used by students practicing to be a hairstylist or makeup artist. A macabre one.
On that note, thinking of taxidermists and also of someone off who maybe... sorry..... really missed mom, if you get my drift.
speculation, imo.

this possibility has probably being investigated but, any chances it could be a medical school anatomy item? many people donate their bodies to science and some might be used by anatomy students to dissect


lupus est *advertiser censored* homini, non *advertiser censored*, non quom qualis sit novit

 

[carbuff]

If she died and they had her funeral, her family wouldn't have any reason to be looking for her. They'd figure she was safely cremated or buried or whatever, and that was that. So getting more publicity through the region is a good idea.

 

[haroldchasen]

This article includes some interesting details :

https://beavercountian.com/content/...-unidentified-mystery-head-of-economy-borough

* "FBI Forensics Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia that determined dirt and soil found on the head were not from the area where it was discovered.

A complete list of experts that have been consulted so far......

*"The Economy Borough Police Department, Beaver County Coronor’s Office and District Attorney’s Office listed the following experts and organizations who have conducted tests on the remains or otherwise assisted with the investigation to date:"

*it gives a really good timeline as well ( that resulted from the recent testing)

* and this map which really helps put together a visual of her last days.

 

[carbuff]

Her Namus image.

William Mayfield, a 32 year old MALE has been ruled out. :dunno:

A 32-year-old black male whose remains were found in July. I have no idea.

 

[haroldchasen]

I called the Economy PA police department and spoke to a detective today.

I mentioned to him that perhaps it would be beneficial to release a sketch of this woman with added weight.

When my mother in law was in cardiac care icu she was intubated and had a feeding tube. It ended up being an ordeal that lasted approximately four months.
She lost 50 lbs.

Some people with heart problems lose weight intentionally to get healthier , while others lose weight from being hospitalized.

Perhaps a heavier version of this woman might be more recognizable to those that knew her. Particularly if she lost the weight towards the end of her life.

When you lose weight, the first place that it is noticeable is in the face.

The detective was very friendly , and open to suggestions.

Maybe she was not ever overweight, but it's worth a shot.

 

[dotr]

Probably not connected, but just want to document, that this very elderly woman with a heart condition, went missing from a Vancouver funeral home in 2013.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/fa...+over+mother+missing+body/10839796/story.html

 

[dotr]

http://dailyjournalonline.com/news/...cle_3a7bb425-f0fa-5b3b-a6d5-0fc233136420.html

 

[carbuff]

Probably not connected, but just want to document, that this very elderly woman with a heart condition, went missing from a Vancouver funeral home in 2013.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/fa...+over+mother+missing+body/10839796/story.html

Sounds like they located her relatively quickly, but maybe a similar mistake happened that somebody tried to cover up? I dunno. It's very strange.

 

[PJFL]

BBM. This puzzles me even more. Also, not sure which articles, but other statements I've read were along the lines of: "No nearby graves had been disturbed," and "The head had not fallen off a truck since it was 30 feet off the road."

haroldchasen, :Welcome1:, and I love your avatar.

This article includes some interesting details :

https://beavercountian.com/content/...-unidentified-mystery-head-of-economy-borough

* "FBI Forensics Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia that determined dirt and soil found on the head were not from the area where it was discovered.

A complete list of experts that have been consulted so far......

*"The Economy Borough Police Department, Beaver County Coronor’s Office and District Attorney’s Office listed the following experts and organizations who have conducted tests on the remains or otherwise assisted with the investigation to date:"

*it gives a really good timeline as well ( that resulted from the recent testing)

* and this map which really helps put together a visual of her last days.