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NamUs #UP2071 / Doe Network 1125UFAZ
Demographics
Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White / Caucasian
Estimated Age Group: Adult
Estimated Age Range (Years): 24-40 (News reports say 30-45)
Estimated Year of Death: 1988
Estimated PMI: N/A (News reports say no more than 48 hours)
Height: 5'5" (65 inches), Estimated (News reports say 5'2" to 5'6")
Weight: 180 lbs, Estimated
Cause of Death: Unknown, probable homicide
Circumstances
Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: February 6, 1988
NamUs Case Created: May 11, 2008
ME/C QA Reviewed: N/A
Location Found: Arizona
County: Maricopa County
Circumstances of Recovery: A worker with the Arizona Highway Department picking up trash along Interstate 10 discovered the body of a woman roughly 600 feet from the westbound lane of the highway, near the Salome Road interchange, around 60 miles west of Phoenix. The body, which was decapitated, was meticulously wrapped in plastic garbage bags.
Detectives said that it appeared her killer made no effort to conceal the body, and estimated it had been there for no more than 48 hours at the time is was discovered. The woman was described a "motherly, homemaker type" by authorities, who speculated the woman might have been vacationing in Arizona during the winter.
Authorities put out a nationwide plea for information, encouraging people to check in with adult female relatives known to be vacationing in the southwest. Detectives in Arizona also contacted police departments in southern California for help in identifying potential witnesses traveling on I-10, which connects the two states, on February 4, 5, and 6, who may have seen something suspicious.
Inventory of Remains: Head not recovered
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Traumatic injuries
Physical Description
Hair Color: Unknown
Head Hair Description: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinctive Physical Features: Mole on the neck near the right collarbone, roughly 1/4 inch in diameter. Mild to moderate arthritis in the right knee and mild arthritis noted in the left knee. She is believed to have given birth at least once.
Clothing and Accessories
- None
News Coverage
"Decapitated body of woman found off I-10," Arizona Republic [Phoenix, AZ], 11 February 1988, B9.
The headless body of an unidentified woman was found Saturday in garbage bags near Interstate 10 about 60 miles west of Phoenix, and the Maricopa Sheriff's Office is seeking information about the woman's identity.
The Anglo woman was about 5 feet tall and weighed about 190 pounds, said Sgt. Mark Mullavey of the sheriff's homicide division. There were no identifying marks on the body, Mullavey said.
"We're in dire need of some help from the public" in identifying the woman, he said. "Her body was stuffed into garbage bags. She had been decapitated. The head has not been found."
The body was found by a state Highway Department employee about 600 feet from I-10 near the Salome Road interchange, Mullavey said. The woman may have been dead as long as 48 hours.
"Clues Sought in Arizona in Slaying of Woman," Los Angeles Times, 12 February 1988, II, 2.
Garden Grove Police Lt. Scott Hamilton said the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in Arizona contacted his department this week.
Hamilton said the woman had been dead about 48 hours when her headless body, wrapped in garbage bags, was found by motorists alongside the westbound lanes of Interstate 10.
Hamilton said sheriff's officials will be contacting other California police agencies in hope of finding someone who was traveling the busy highway between Arizona and California on Feb. 4, 5 or 6 and who may have seen something suspicious.
Pamela Manson, "'Similarities' probed in 2 decapitations," Arizona Republic [Phoenix, AZ], 19 February 1988, C5.
Two decapitations -- one in western Maricopa County about two weeks ago and the other in Los Angeles in 1985 -- show "curious similarities" and may be related, law enforcement officials say.
[...]
The corpse of the other victim, Diane Cole, was found wrapped in blankets in an alley near downtown Los Angeles on Oct. 1, 1985.
[...]
"Decapitations are not that common," a Los Angeles police detective said Thursday. "That alone raises our attention, and we will try to see if there are further similarities" (with other decapitations).
Both women were decapitated in a similar manner, and neither head has been recovered, said the detective, who asked to remain anonymous. He would not discuss details of how the women were decapitated.
The two also were similar in appearance, he said.
[...]
There are other "curious similarities" that police will not reveal, the detective said.
"Unidentified victim," Billings Gazette, 18 March 1988, 5B.
Arizona law officers trying to identify a homicide victim have asked people nationwide to check on the welfare of adult female relatives or friends vacationing in that state last month. The body of the 30- to 45-year-old woman was found 60 miles west of Phoenix along Interstate 10 on Feb. 6. Maricopa County sheriff's homicide detectives believe the woman was between 5 feet, 2 inches and 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighed between 190 and 200 pounds. The victim was decapitated, and her head has not been found. Homicide Detective Tom Shorts said the woman was not a transient or runaway, but was neatly groomed and a "motherly, homemaker type." Her nails were neatly manicured and her feet had no calluses. She probably had had children, Shorts said. The woman had no distinguishing scars, marks or tatoos, only a quarter-inch mole on the right side of her neck near her collarbone.
Tom Alex, "Arizona turns to Midwest for clues to body's identity," Des Moines Register, 18 March 1988, 2M.
Detective Tom Shorts of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department said officials wonder whether the murder victim was a winter vacationer, called a snowbird. Shorts said it is possible the woman was from Iowa or another northern state, which send thousands of residents to Arizona during the winter months.
[...]
The body was found meticulously wrapped in garbage bags at an undeveloped roadside area frequently used by truck drivers and persons driving long distances. There was no attempt to hide the body, he said.
"We don't know if we've got a serial killer or just what it was," he said. "We've checked with other departments that have had similar cases, but nothing has come of that either."
An autopsy showed the woman had no surgical scars or broken bones, he said, and the most obvious mark of identification is a mole on the right side of her neck near the collar bone. The body had not been tanned by the sun, Shorts said.
Investigators have conferred with officials from many states, the federal government and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in trying to identify the woman, Shorts said.
Demographics
Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White / Caucasian
Estimated Age Group: Adult
Estimated Age Range (Years): 24-40 (News reports say 30-45)
Estimated Year of Death: 1988
Estimated PMI: N/A (News reports say no more than 48 hours)
Height: 5'5" (65 inches), Estimated (News reports say 5'2" to 5'6")
Weight: 180 lbs, Estimated
Cause of Death: Unknown, probable homicide
Circumstances
Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: February 6, 1988
NamUs Case Created: May 11, 2008
ME/C QA Reviewed: N/A
Location Found: Arizona
County: Maricopa County
Circumstances of Recovery: A worker with the Arizona Highway Department picking up trash along Interstate 10 discovered the body of a woman roughly 600 feet from the westbound lane of the highway, near the Salome Road interchange, around 60 miles west of Phoenix. The body, which was decapitated, was meticulously wrapped in plastic garbage bags.
Detectives said that it appeared her killer made no effort to conceal the body, and estimated it had been there for no more than 48 hours at the time is was discovered. The woman was described a "motherly, homemaker type" by authorities, who speculated the woman might have been vacationing in Arizona during the winter.
Authorities put out a nationwide plea for information, encouraging people to check in with adult female relatives known to be vacationing in the southwest. Detectives in Arizona also contacted police departments in southern California for help in identifying potential witnesses traveling on I-10, which connects the two states, on February 4, 5, and 6, who may have seen something suspicious.
Inventory of Remains: Head not recovered
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Traumatic injuries
Physical Description
Hair Color: Unknown
Head Hair Description: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinctive Physical Features: Mole on the neck near the right collarbone, roughly 1/4 inch in diameter. Mild to moderate arthritis in the right knee and mild arthritis noted in the left knee. She is believed to have given birth at least once.
Clothing and Accessories
- None
News Coverage
"Decapitated body of woman found off I-10," Arizona Republic [Phoenix, AZ], 11 February 1988, B9.
The headless body of an unidentified woman was found Saturday in garbage bags near Interstate 10 about 60 miles west of Phoenix, and the Maricopa Sheriff's Office is seeking information about the woman's identity.
The Anglo woman was about 5 feet tall and weighed about 190 pounds, said Sgt. Mark Mullavey of the sheriff's homicide division. There were no identifying marks on the body, Mullavey said.
"We're in dire need of some help from the public" in identifying the woman, he said. "Her body was stuffed into garbage bags. She had been decapitated. The head has not been found."
The body was found by a state Highway Department employee about 600 feet from I-10 near the Salome Road interchange, Mullavey said. The woman may have been dead as long as 48 hours.
"Clues Sought in Arizona in Slaying of Woman," Los Angeles Times, 12 February 1988, II, 2.
Garden Grove Police Lt. Scott Hamilton said the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in Arizona contacted his department this week.
Hamilton said the woman had been dead about 48 hours when her headless body, wrapped in garbage bags, was found by motorists alongside the westbound lanes of Interstate 10.
Hamilton said sheriff's officials will be contacting other California police agencies in hope of finding someone who was traveling the busy highway between Arizona and California on Feb. 4, 5 or 6 and who may have seen something suspicious.
Pamela Manson, "'Similarities' probed in 2 decapitations," Arizona Republic [Phoenix, AZ], 19 February 1988, C5.
Two decapitations -- one in western Maricopa County about two weeks ago and the other in Los Angeles in 1985 -- show "curious similarities" and may be related, law enforcement officials say.
[...]
The corpse of the other victim, Diane Cole, was found wrapped in blankets in an alley near downtown Los Angeles on Oct. 1, 1985.
[...]
"Decapitations are not that common," a Los Angeles police detective said Thursday. "That alone raises our attention, and we will try to see if there are further similarities" (with other decapitations).
Both women were decapitated in a similar manner, and neither head has been recovered, said the detective, who asked to remain anonymous. He would not discuss details of how the women were decapitated.
The two also were similar in appearance, he said.
[...]
There are other "curious similarities" that police will not reveal, the detective said.
"Unidentified victim," Billings Gazette, 18 March 1988, 5B.
Arizona law officers trying to identify a homicide victim have asked people nationwide to check on the welfare of adult female relatives or friends vacationing in that state last month. The body of the 30- to 45-year-old woman was found 60 miles west of Phoenix along Interstate 10 on Feb. 6. Maricopa County sheriff's homicide detectives believe the woman was between 5 feet, 2 inches and 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighed between 190 and 200 pounds. The victim was decapitated, and her head has not been found. Homicide Detective Tom Shorts said the woman was not a transient or runaway, but was neatly groomed and a "motherly, homemaker type." Her nails were neatly manicured and her feet had no calluses. She probably had had children, Shorts said. The woman had no distinguishing scars, marks or tatoos, only a quarter-inch mole on the right side of her neck near her collarbone.
Tom Alex, "Arizona turns to Midwest for clues to body's identity," Des Moines Register, 18 March 1988, 2M.
Detective Tom Shorts of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department said officials wonder whether the murder victim was a winter vacationer, called a snowbird. Shorts said it is possible the woman was from Iowa or another northern state, which send thousands of residents to Arizona during the winter months.
[...]
The body was found meticulously wrapped in garbage bags at an undeveloped roadside area frequently used by truck drivers and persons driving long distances. There was no attempt to hide the body, he said.
"We don't know if we've got a serial killer or just what it was," he said. "We've checked with other departments that have had similar cases, but nothing has come of that either."
An autopsy showed the woman had no surgical scars or broken bones, he said, and the most obvious mark of identification is a mole on the right side of her neck near the collar bone. The body had not been tanned by the sun, Shorts said.
Investigators have conferred with officials from many states, the federal government and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in trying to identify the woman, Shorts said.
