UID Victim: Toddler's Mother, Peaches, found Hempstead Lake State Park June 1997 #4

[Ironbutterfly8]

There was another unidentified victim nicknamed "Cherries" due to a tat of such. Sarah Gilbert apparently had a cherries tat on her wrist, does anyone know if there is a significance to these tats? If any?

 

[Michael Sampson]

I wonder this is lake dr road in hempstead state park I just realize the tire impressions on the right of the picture

 

[coldcaser]

So I have a habit of putting long compilations of old commercials on in the background when I’m doing my research. I had one compilation on today that was from May 1997 on ABC. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard “Wamsutta” coming from the TV. About 40 or so pages back, someone did the excellent work of finding out the pillowcase that was with Peaches was “Wamsutta Supercale”. So this Wamsutta commercial aired just a month before Peaches’ murder. I know there was much speculation as to what stores sold Wamsutta in 1997. This Wamsutta commercial said their products could be found in Linens n’ Things which is a now defunct home goods store similar to Bed Bath & Beyond. Being an LI native I remember there being a number of Linens n’ Things stores before they closed.

At any rate, I thought I’d share this info as it does confirm at least one store where the pillowcase could’ve come from. I’ve long agonized over the thought that if they figured out where the pillowcase came from sooner, they could’ve figured out the store it was from, maybe what “batch” it was from in the factory based upon analysis of fiber stitchings for example. My point is, from just this pillowcase they could’ve extracted a ton of information that could’ve led to figuring out who bought this and maybe who killed her.

 

[GrayShadow]

I wonder this is lake dr road in hempstead state park I just realize the tire impressions on the right of the picture

I think it is difficult to say whether these tire tracks are significant or not. LE indicated they felt the death had taken place as much as three days prior to discovery of the torso. Yes, LE would mark this as possible evidence. The degree to which this was pursued or if tread pattern was actually valuable can be questioned. Even if the tread marks were identifiable down to a manufacturer type, without more implicating information, the tracks could very well have been some innocent party pulling over to ???. While suspicious, they alone do not provide enough 'evidence' of anything. That needs to be tied to additional investigative evidence.

 

[GrayShadow]

So I have a habit of putting long compilations of old commercials on in the background when I’m doing my research. I had one compilation on today that was from May 1997 on ABC....

Coldcaser - I fully agree that LE could have and SHOULD HAVE pursued this further. We do not know if and to what extent. Assuming they did, that apparently was in and of itself insignificant. If it was pursued and produced some evidence, that might be evidence LE wishes to keep close to the vest (either for investigative reasons or to protect).

 

[coldcaser]

Coldcaser - I fully agree that LE could have and SHOULD HAVE pursued this further. We do not know if and to what extent. Assuming they did, that apparently was in and of itself insignificant. If it was pursued and produced some evidence, that might be evidence LE wishes to keep close to the vest (either for investigative reasons or to protect).

Check out the Rosendo Rodriguez case sometime. There's a perfect example of how a UPC on a suitcase was used to link the suitcase (in which a victim was found) to the killer. The Forensic Files episode "Seeing Red" goes into pretty good detail about it. There's much to be learned from these seemingly tiny details.

I hope they did their due diligence, but I have serious doubts. However I do always try to keep in mind with any case that we aren't entitled to all the information LE knows. To tell us more than we should know about an active investigation would be massively detrimental and reckless on their part. Just because we don't know something doesn't inherently mean they're not doing their job or don't have any information.

 

[Hudson13]

I’m new to websleuths as of today. And after reading one of the above threads. I was looking around and possibly found the type of towel and type of bedding that was in the plastic container. As the thread said earlier. They believed it was a Wamsutta Superscale pillowcase. It’s just my opinion. But I think they were both made by Wamsutta. I’m still learning and haven’t figured out how to post a picture. But if you look up, Vintage Wamsutta Fabric Coordinate Valencia 80’s pattern. You will see what I’m talking about. Also I believe the towel is Wamsutta brand as well. Also from around the same time period as the bedding. I believe the color is burgundy or slate rose for the towel.

I don’t know if this helps out anything but I figure I would post it anyway. Thanks.

 

[coldcaser]

I’m new to websleuths as of today. And after reading one of the above threads. I was looking around and possibly found the type of towel and type of bedding that was in the plastic container. As the thread said earlier. They believed it was a Wamsutta Superscale pillowcase. It’s just my opinion. But I think they were both made by Wamsutta. I’m still learning and haven’t figured out how to post a picture. But if you look up, Vintage Wamsutta Fabric Coordinate Valencia 80’s pattern. You will see what I’m talking about. Also I believe the towel is Wamsutta brand as well. Also from around the same time period as the bedding. I believe the color is burgundy or slate rose for the towel.

I don’t know if this helps out anything but I figure I would post it anyway. Thanks.

Is this what you found? Vtg WAMSUTTA FABRIC COORDINATE "VALENCIA" 80'S PATTERN 3 YDS BY 66" NOS HTF | eBay

If that isn't it, it's extremely similar. The bedding looks more 90s to me in terms of style, that color coordinated patterned stuff was popular at the time. Just my opinion though, could be wrong. You've done a great job find this! I'm always amazed at how much we can learn from the smallest details. If only it were still 1997, and we could find what store it came from, see when it was purchased, track down the name of the customer... If only.

Here's the pillowcase found with peaches and the bed set you found for comparison. And welcome to WS by the way!

 

[karmaskiss01]

I’m new to websleuths as of today. And after reading one of the above threads. I was looking around and possibly found the type of towel and type of bedding that was in the plastic container. As the thread said earlier. They believed it was a Wamsutta Superscale pillowcase. It’s just my opinion. But I think they were both made by Wamsutta. I’m still learning and haven’t figured out how to post a picture. But if you look up, Vintage Wamsutta Fabric Coordinate Valencia 80’s pattern. You will see what I’m talking about. Also I believe the towel is Wamsutta brand as well. Also from around the same time period as the bedding. I believe the color is burgundy or slate rose for the towel.

I don’t know if this helps out anything but I figure I would post it anyway. Thanks.

Awesome find welcome to Websleuths!

 

[GrayShadow]

Here's the pillowcase found with peaches and the bed set you found for comparison. And welcome to WS by the way!

I am not a photoshop expert, just play with it. I took your images, did some resizing, cropping, skewing, etc. The bedding found on EBAY image has a lot of reflection that masks the underlying material print. The pillowcase image is very small and enlarging it loses a lot of focus and clarity.

I offer this while acknowledging the whole question, "Did LE pursue this way back when? or is this 'water not just under the bridge but far out to sea" now?

 

[Hudson13]

I appreciate you guys posting those pics. I’ll figure it out eventually. And if you look up, Wamsutta Ultra Soft Micro Cotton bath towels slate rose. It looks just like the towel that was in the plastic container with Peaches. Once again I don’t know if this helps in anyway. But figured I throw it out there.

 

[GrayShadow]

I am not a photoshop expert, just play with it. I took your images, did some resizing, cropping, skewing, etc. The bedding found on EBAY image has a lot of reflection that masks the underlying material print. The pillowcase image is very small and enlarging it loses a lot of focus and clarity.

I just realized that the image I posted previously was not what I had intended. This one points out some of the obvious comparative areas.

 

[Mountain_Kat]

I wonder this is lake dr road in hempstead state park I just realize the tire impressions on the right of the picture

It's possible those tire tracks were from LE vehicles.

 

[CuriousKenna]

So I have a habit of putting long compilations of old commercials on in the background when I’m doing my research. I had one compilation on today that was from May 1997 on ABC. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard “Wamsutta” coming from the TV. About 40 or so pages back, someone did the excellent work of finding out the pillowcase that was with Peaches was “Wamsutta Supercale”. So this Wamsutta commercial aired just a month before Peaches’ murder. I know there was much speculation as to what stores sold Wamsutta in 1997. This Wamsutta commercial said their products could be found in Linens n’ Things which is a now defunct home goods store similar to Bed Bath & Beyond. Being an LI native I remember there being a number of Linens n’ Things stores before they closed.

At any rate, I thought I’d share this info as it does confirm at least one store where the pillowcase could’ve come from. I’ve long agonized over the thought that if they figured out where the pillowcase came from sooner, they could’ve figured out the store it was from, maybe what “batch” it was from in the factory based upon analysis of fiber stitchings for example. My point is, from just this pillowcase they could’ve extracted a ton of information that could’ve led to figuring out who bought this and maybe who killed her.

I think Walmart might even have been in it's infancy in that area at that time but Kmart and Sears were popular places to buy sheets back then and there's probably a way to get your hands on old catalogs. They would show the exact type of bedding if it were sold at those places. Figuring out when those colours were in trend might help narrow down a window in time.

 

[coldcaser]

I think Walmart might even have been in it's infancy in that area at that time but Kmart and Sears were popular places to buy sheets back then and there's probably a way to get your hands on old catalogs. They would show the exact type of bedding if it were sold at those places. Figuring out when those colours were in trend might help narrow down a window in time.

I don’t remember there being a Walmart on LI til the mid 2000s but I could be wrong. As for the other places and checking catalogues, that’s something I’m working on. I have some old Sears catalogues from the 70s and 80s, that gave me the idea. Those catalogues were huge and thorough. I’m going to start by looking for a Sears catalogue from 1997. I think I’ll probably have trouble even finding that but we’ll see. I just hope I don’t have to find and buy one for every year of the 90s!

 

[CuriousKenna]

I don’t remember there being a Walmart on LI til the mid 2000s but I could be wrong. As for the other places and checking catalogues, that’s something I’m working on. I have some old Sears catalogues from the 70s and 80s, that gave me the idea. Those catalogues were huge and thorough. I’m going to start by looking for a Sears catalogue from 1997. I think I’ll probably have trouble even finding that but we’ll see. I just hope I don’t have to find and buy one for every year of the 90s!

According to this newspaper article in the New York Times, Walmart was on Long Island in January 1995.

ABOUT LONG ISLAND; Putting Cheery Greeters at the Front Door (Published 1995)

As for getting your hands on those catalogues... I mean I'd contact head office of those companies and see if there's a hope in hell of of getting one because I'm sure they would request a proof before they were printed. Do they keep them forever, I don't know. Maybe the print company would because it's kind of like a portfolio. Some places bring in microfilm to the library to keep historical records of pricing from the past. If it were up to me, I'd check those places first.

But also, just call the wamsutta manufacturer and ask where they were sold on LI in the 90s. I'm sure they have some idea. Show them the picture. That might even be faster.

 

[Michael Sampson]

Does anyone know when the AMW episode aired? I never saw it. I lived down the street....there was more than enough news going around that ever warranted watching a quick segment on TV.

I would imagine if the killer called it would have been after the news broke that the tattoo had been traced back to the shop....otherwise how would they know who did the tattoo?

Its certainly a weird story. I just dont understand why the cousin or friend would have ever come forward to look for her. Also, if she got the tattoo with a friend on the way to a party, someone must have been watching the kid. Someone that cared enough for her and the child to do so I would imagine...I mean are we to believe that the killer simply dispatched everyone connected to her?

That's exactly what in was thinking if the aunt and her cousin seen her tattoo before why they never report her missing? If the mom called the tattoo artist back in 2012 why she never giving out peaches real name? That's sound like a selfish situation to me

 

[houndpounder]

There are plenty of hoaxers out there. Especially when it's a public story.

 

[FullMinder]

Peaches' case is now a part of the ViCAP system at the FBI. Her eyes and hair are listed as brown.

JANE DOE - LAKEVIEW, NEW YORK — FBI

Peaches' ViCAP profile
Age 16 to 30 years old
Hair Brown
Eyes Brown
Sex Female
Race Black
Scars and Marks The victim had a scar on her abdomen, possibly from a caesarean section, and a tattoo of a peach in the shape of a heart with a bite taken out of it and two, drips falling from it on her left breast.
Details:
On June 28, 1997, the dismembered torso of an unknown female was discovered inside a Rubbermaid container, with a red towel and a floral pillowcase, in a wooded area of Hempstead Lake State Park, Lakeview, New York. The date of death was estimated to be approximately three days before discovery. Both arms, head, and legs below the knee were severed and not recovered until 2011 in Jones Beach State Park. On December 13, 2016, DNA analysis found that an unidentified toddler recovered on Gilgo Beach was believed to be the child of this victim.



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[Al Ka]

Peaches' case is now a part of the ViCAP system at the FBI. Her eyes and hair are listed as brown.

JANE DOE - LAKEVIEW, NEW YORK — FBI

Peaches' ViCAP profile
Age 16 to 30 years old
Hair Brown
Eyes Brown
Sex Female
Race Black
Scars and Marks The victim had a scar on her abdomen, possibly from a caesarean section, and a tattoo of a peach in the shape of a heart with a bite taken out of it and two, drips falling from it on her left breast.
Details:
On June 28, 1997, the dismembered torso of an unknown female was discovered inside a Rubbermaid container, with a red towel and a floral pillowcase, in a wooded area of Hempstead Lake State Park, Lakeview, New York. The date of death was estimated to be approximately three days before discovery. Both arms, head, and legs below the knee were severed and not recovered until 2011 in Jones Beach State Park. On December 13, 2016, DNA analysis found that an unidentified toddler recovered on Gilgo Beach was believed to be the child of this victim.



Submit a Tip:
If you have any information concerning this person, please contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.



Submit an anonymous Tip online

All above is correct, except, as far as I am aware, Peaches skull was never recovered. In 2011 they have located only her extremities with jewelry still on, not far from her toddler's remains, who also had similar jewelry on.