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

[dotr]

Do they have DNA for these remains?

Special report: A woman’s severed head was found in the woods. Who is she?

The woman’s severed head lay in the woods, 10 yards off a rural road. Her mouth was open. Her eyes were closed. Her hair was gray and fluffy.

www.reuters.com

rbbm
''In the days after the head was found, authorities used cadaver dogs to scour the area. They also sought DNA from the woman, whose head had been embalmed. But those efforts yielded nothing. They uncovered no evidence in the forest, and the remains held no DNA; it had been destroyed by the embalming chemicals, authorities say.''

 

[azure]

Special report: A woman’s severed head was found in the woods. Who is she?

The woman’s severed head lay in the woods, 10 yards off a rural road. Her mouth was open. Her eyes were closed. Her hair was gray and fluffy.

www.reuters.com

rbbm
''In the days after the head was found, authorities used cadaver dogs to scour the area. They also sought DNA from the woman, whose head had been embalmed. But those efforts yielded nothing. They uncovered no evidence in the forest, and the remains held no DNA; it had been destroyed by the embalming chemicals, authorities say.''

I thought so. How frustrating. I wonder if any of the new DNA technology has succeeded in extracting DNA from embalmed remains.

 

[CCJD]

Do they have DNA for these remains?

From an article dated Dec 8, 2022:

The victim in this case remains a "Jane Doe," as investigators have not been able to identify the woman. While other victims would be able to be identified using DNA, traditional testing has been unable to be completed due to the embalming process that was done on the head.

---------------------------------------------

"We've been told by everybody that's done the testing for us that the sample was deteriorated by the embalming fluid," O'Brien said. "There's been a couple of labs who thought that they could get around that, with new technological advances in DNA sequencing, but they were unable to get the information as well. We've always had that hope that as time moves forward, and scientists work to improve all this stuff, that maybe we can get a DNA sample."

Increased reward temporarily offered for information on embalmed head found in Economy

Detectives are offering a large reward for information that will allow them to find some answers.

www.timesonline.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

WESTBY, Wis. (WKBT) -- A case involving an unidentified woman killed near Westby will be handled by a different provider of investigative genetic genealogy.

DNA Doe Project Credit: Catyana
According to investigators, blunt force trauma to her face rendered it unrecognizable. The woman's hands had been removed, presumably in an effort to conceal her identity, investigators said. It was only through work of reconstructing the skull for 3D facial technology by professors at Arizona State University that made an updated digital image possible. She was believed to be between 50 and 65 years old when she was killed.

Authorities including the Wisconsin DOJ were assisted by the "DNA Doe Project" until an update on their website on June 28 indicated, "This is no longer a DDP case and is being worked by another provider of investigative genetic genealogy."

The other provider has not yet been named. The Vernon County Sheriff's Office said the procedural move was made in conjunction with its DNA Task Force.

'Vernon County Jane Doe' homicide case moved to a different forensic genetic genealogy service

WESTBY, Wis. (WKBT) -- A case involving an unidentified woman killed near Westby will be handled by a different provider of investigative genetic genealogy.

www.news8000.com

 

[EmiliaRT007]

IMO, this woman's identity is not going to be found on any missing persons report, website or database. She was embalmed (her head was, I'm assuming the rest of her was, too). Her hair was styled. She had been prepped for a viewing, if not a full funeral. She may have donated her body to science. That wouldn't preclude her family/loved ones from having a viewing to pay last respects.

Whatever happened to her that led to her head being found in Economy happened after her family had said good-bye. And therein lies the mystery. Again, JMO and, of course, I could be wrong (wouldn't be the first time).

I agree with you on this one. If she was embalmed she was probably at a funeral home. She may have been prepped for a viewing.

I wonder what the heck her severed head was doing in Economy. Who would do that? And the red balls… the balls! I can’t seem to wrap my head around it. What even is this case?!

 

[bombardier]

The news article cited above suggests that, because it seems a lot of care was taken to disarticulate the skull from the spinal column, the goal might have been to get at her vertebrae. Not sure how much I buy that though, because it's not TOO difficult to remove the vertebral column from the back without disconnecting the head.
I have no idea why the head would be discarded or have rubber balls for eyes. If they were trying to impede ID why not just remove the eyes and leave it like that...
I'm actually doing a week at a funeral home next week to learn how to embalm. I'll ask if theres any situation where they would use a rubber ball (but I'm suspecting they'll say "wtf no")

 

[DS2021]

WESTBY, Wis. (WKBT) -- A case involving an unidentified woman killed near Westby will be handled by a different provider of investigative genetic genealogy.

DNA Doe Project Credit: Catyana
According to investigators, blunt force trauma to her face rendered it unrecognizable. The woman's hands had been removed, presumably in an effort to conceal her identity, investigators said. It was only through work of reconstructing the skull for 3D facial technology by professors at Arizona State University that made an updated digital image possible. She was believed to be between 50 and 65 years old when she was killed.

Authorities including the Wisconsin DOJ were assisted by the "DNA Doe Project" until an update on their website on June 28 indicated, "This is no longer a DDP case and is being worked by another provider of investigative genetic genealogy."

The other provider has not yet been named. The Vernon County Sheriff's Office said the procedural move was made in conjunction with its DNA Task Force.

'Vernon County Jane Doe' homicide case moved to a different forensic genetic genealogy service

WESTBY, Wis. (WKBT) -- A case involving an unidentified woman killed near Westby will be handled by a different provider of investigative genetic genealogy.

www.news8000.com

Wrong case.
WI - WI - Vernon Co, WhtFem 50-65,261UFWI, severed hands, dentures, May'84

 

[Susikatze]

From an article dated Dec 8, 2022:

The victim in this case remains a "Jane Doe," as investigators have not been able to identify the woman. While other victims would be able to be identified using DNA, traditional testing has been unable to be completed due to the embalming process that was done on the head.

---------------------------------------------

"We've been told by everybody that's done the testing for us that the sample was deteriorated by the embalming fluid," O'Brien said. "There's been a couple of labs who thought that they could get around that, with new technological advances in DNA sequencing, but they were unable to get the information as well. We've always had that hope that as time moves forward, and scientists work to improve all this stuff, that maybe we can get a DNA sample."

Increased reward temporarily offered for information on embalmed head found in Economy

Detectives are offering a large reward for information that will allow them to find some answers.

www.timesonline.com

Well that was a year ago, now it was recently possible to get DNA from charred and also from highly degraded and contaminated samples. I also believe that if you obtain a sample from drilling deeply inside the jawbone or even better, dental marrow, it should have been fairly unaffected by the embalming formaldehyde.

 

[DS2021]

I'm not seeing @othram tagged in here yet

 

[HmmMysterious]

Hoping this lady gets her name back this year

 

[Caring1]

7 Missing Person Exclusions

 

[truenoblesavage]

This case is going to be featured in the new season of Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix that premieres at the end of this month.

 

[lightofmine99]

This case is going to be featured in the new season of Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix that premieres at the end of this month.

Good news. Hopefully this sparks some new leads.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

This case is going to be featured in the new season of Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix that premieres at the end of this month.

Good. Maybe someone will recognize her.
I feel guilty that my gallows humor comes out concerning this case. Especially when LE said that she didn’t fall off the back of a truck, as the head was found over 30 ft from the roadway. As if a) someone has decided that the limit of a head rolling off a truck is 30 ft, and if it were 29 ft truckers should be questioned. And b) trucks driving around with embalmed heads on the tailgate is a thing. I dunno, I just shake my head (sorry).
Anyway, I hope she is identified. And I refuse to believe that usable DNA could not be obtained from her skull. I don’t think that bone is affected by the embalming solution.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

I was meeting with a funeral director today (on another matter) and it turns out she has a real interest in cold cases. She knew about this one. I asked her about embalming fluid affecting dna within bone. She said she did not think it does.

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

I was meeting with a funeral director today (on another matter) and it turns out she has a real interest in cold cases. She knew about this one. I asked her about embalming fluid affecting dna within bone. She said she did not think it does.

I wonder about DNA in hair being possibly unaffected by embalming as well. What a horrible thread here. I hope someone learns soon the identification of this woman!

 

[rosesfromangels]

What a gruesome thread. This poor woman. My best speculation is that her corneas were harvested, although I don’t know why rubber balls would be placed in the sockets.
Apparently this is a lucrative practice, and some jurisdictions don’t require family permission.

I really hope the sicko(s) responsible are apprehended and punished. So deranged.

Harvest of Corneas at Morgue Questioned

Corneas taken without survivors' permission are resold at huge markup by eye bank, which pays coroner's office a fee. The practice is legal, but critics cite ethical lapses.

www.latimes.com

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

What a gruesome thread. This poor woman. My best speculation is that her corneas were harvested, although I don’t know why rubber balls would be placed in the sockets.
Apparently this is a lucrative practice, and some jurisdictions don’t require family permission.

I really hope the sicko(s) responsible are apprehended and punished. So deranged.

Harvest of Corneas at Morgue Questioned

Corneas taken without survivors' permission are resold at huge markup by eye bank, which pays coroner's office a fee. The practice is legal, but critics cite ethical lapses.

www.latimes.com

Amateur opinion and speculation

Guessing so that her closed eyes would appear normal and not sunken during a viewing prior to a funeral? I think I’ve also read they may use cotton balls.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

Guessing so that her closed eyes would appear normal and not sunken during a viewing prior to a funeral? I think I’ve also read they may use cotton balls.

The funeral director I spoke with said they never use red balls, they have eye caps for that purpose. I looked them up, they look like giant contact lenses.

So, just spitballin’ ideas here….she looked like she was prepared for a viewing. She had red balls in her eye sockets, which a funeral director would not do. And of course, no one views just a head. No one has identified her, even though we have clear images.So, using Occam’s razor to get the simplest explanation that satisfies all known facts, here goes….1) She looks like she was prepared for a viewing because she was in fact viewed. 2) An unscrupulous person or people after the viewing removed her head from her body and the eyes from her head, to sell them. 3) The eyes were sold, but for some reason the head wasn’t. 4) It was discarded by the road where it was later found. 5) No one is looking for her because she was cremated, and any relatives assumed the head also was.

Additional note: I believe that chemicals associated with attempted resuscitation were found in her. Probably no foul play, and probably died under some kind of medical care (hospital, emts, something else…).
Anyone want to shoot holes in this, or have suggestions?

 

[kforbes862]

I agree thats probably the simplest explanation, and most likely imo