Netherlands Belgium, Liège, BlkFem, 35-45, in Cointe Park, charred skeletal remains, Aug'19

[Tristana]

On August 29th, 2019, the charred remains of a black woman were discovered in the park of Cointe, in Eastern Belgium.

She was of African descent (most likely Western or Central, judging by her face features). Her hair was braided and she had perfect dentals.

She wore a jacket. Its buttons had a "HCC" monogram, with the C's entertwined. Law enforcement thinks the buttons might have come from the French navy.

Picture 1 : 2020 sketch
Picture 2 : Details of the sleeves
Picture 3 : Buttons
Picture 4 : Exact location in Liège
Picture 5 : Location of Liège in Belgium

 

[Bit of hope]

02/19/20

LIEGE The police and the public prosecutor's office in Liège are calling for witnesses after the discovery of a female body last summer. On August 29, 2019, the partially charred skeleton of a woman was found in the Parc de Cointe, at the bottom of the Panorama, in Boulevard Kleyer in Liège.

Her identity and any circumstances remain unknown to this day. The robot photo artists of the Federal Police have tried in recent months to realize a portrait of the woman. This is a woman of African descent and she is said to be between 35 and 45 years old. The woman is short in stature and about 1.60 m tall. She has braided hair and perfect teeth.

At the time of finding she was wearing a vest with buttons with the logo 'HCC' on which the 2 'C'-s hook into each other, as it were. These buttons may have come from the French Navy. One of the garments had a sleeve fitted with 5 braided ropes.

Do you recognize this woman, or do you have more information about these facts, please contact the investigators on the free number 0800 30 300.

 

[Bit of hope]

08/31/2019
The body found is that of a woman who, late Friday afternoon, had still not been identified. The autopsy of this Friday did not show signs of a blow or a fracture. The criminal track is seriously considered by the prosecution of Liège.
https://lameuse.sudinfo.be/430716/a...0.1281203675.1604844586-1554872355.1604844586

There is also a video of the finding place in here. https://lanouvellegazette-centre.su...ne-cointe-portrait-robot-de-la-victime-etabli

I'm not sure I copied the video right.
<iframe src="//www.ultimedia.com/deliver/generic/iframe/mdtk/01515498/src/p58xz3/zone/43/showtitle/1/" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" hspace="0" vspace="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen="true"width="620" height="349" allow="autoplay; fullscreen"></iframe>

 

[Bit of hope]

I think HCC is associated with Brest (a navy base), strangely I couldn't find where it is standing for and only an antique button with this HCC pattern but the button is very different from this one. The ranking in the French navy doesn't have a five stripe pattern. I could only find that for some Fire departments f.i. in Canada and America. Maybe somebody with a French mother tongue can dig up more.

 

[Tristana]

I think HCC is associated with Brest (a navy base), strangely I couldn't find where it is standing for and only an antique button with this HCC pattern but the button is very different from this one. The ranking in the French navy doesn't have a five stripe pattern. I could only find that for some Fire departments f.i. in Canada and America. Maybe somebody with a French mother tongue can dig up more.

I'm a native French speaker (that's why my English is so clunky), and I thought about the Canada/America lead too. This case stuck with me because I live 20 minutes by car from Liège.

They didn't do isotopes for this woman afaik, so she might as well be an African-American person who came to Europe. Unidentified decedent cases in Belgium are extremely rare, so I thought "hey, maybe she was foreign ?".

 

[Bit of hope]

I'm a native French speaker (that's why my English is so clunky), and I thought about the Canada/America lead too. This case stuck with me because I live 20 minutes by car from Liège.

They didn't do isotopes for this woman afaik, so she might as well be an African-American person who came to Europe. Unidentified decedent cases in Belgium are extremely rare, so I thought "hey, maybe she was foreign ?".

No problem, I think you are doing OK with the English. Do you know where HCC stands for? Strangely I couldn't find an explanation of it in French. Or is it Latin? I'm puzzled by the vest she was wearing....it could be a red herring. The distance between Brest and Liege is approx. an 8 hours drive according to Google maps. If there is an association with the navy, how did she came from A to B?

 

[Bit of hope]

@Giuc0 would you be so kind to take a look at this case? Thank you upfront!

 

[Susikatze]

Also, has anybody looked into military styles of French speaking African countries? Maybe some have similar holiday uniforms? Its reminiscient of military button styles from European countries before 1918, so that is interesting.

Also, I remember that style of coat was pretty much in fashion maybe 10 years ago, I had a dark blue coat with similar buttons. There was no military connection at all, it just imitated military styles. Bought in a regular department store. So there may not be any military connection at all.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Bumping up case. I am not sure how to find out if there are any updates from the past year...

 

[Bit of hope]

The last thing about this case was posted on April 14, 2020. Still Unidentified.
https://www.sudinfo.be/id179068/art...-et-que-personne-ne-reclame-depuis-des-annees

These lifeless bodies found in Liège and that no one has claimed for years

A dozen lifeless bodies found in the Liège region have still not been identified and even less claimed. Yet, inevitably, these forgotten all have a story. In this period of confinement where all eyes are on the screens, the federal police are calling for witnesses to clarify matters in Liège.

“Each year, around fifty unidentified bodies or body parts are found in Belgium”, underlines Valéry Maréchal, principal inspector in the cell for missing persons. “If for the most part, an identity can be quickly given, for a few, it is not possible. In Liège, we still have quite a few to identify… ”

She is still up on the Belgium Federal Police website as of today. Onbekende vrouw - Luik As far as I can tell no additional information.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

How sad. That is more than I'd have expected. 50 per year

 

[annpats]

Why does the thread of this case say Holland? (And it's not Holland anyway, it's called The Netherlands.)

This unidentified deceased person was in Liège. That's in Belgium. A different country!


Just sayin'.....

 

[ChatteringBirds]

The person who created the thread might have chosen the nearest country, since there isn't a Belgium tag. Creating threads can be tricky.

 

[ApparentlyInDenial]

The buttons look very similar to the Roberto Cavalli logo.

 

[ApparentlyInDenial]

Also - thinking aloud: if a country has a five-strip military rank, chances are there'd be a hell of a noise if someone with that rank went missing.

 

[JennieM]

Identify Me: BEL07 - The woman in the park

Operation Identify Me: Seeking the names of unidentified victims of murder

www.interpol.int

INTERPOL Black Notice: Operation Identify Me - Police search for the names of 22 women murdered

Operation Identify Me is a public appeal to identify 22 women, believed to have been murdered in Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands, but whose identity was never found. Most are cold cases; women who died 10, 20, 30 or even 40 years ago. Despite extensive police investigations, these women...

www.websleuths.com

Operation Identify Me: Seeking the names of unidentified victims of murder
Case name: The woman in the park
Case code: 2023-BEL07

 

[JennieM]

• Date of death (estimated): Between March and August 2019
• Date of discovery: 29 August 2019
• Location: Belgium: Parc de Cointe, Boulevard Gustave Kleyer, Liège.
• Sex: Female
• Estimated year of birth: Between 1974 and 1984
• Estimated age: Between 35 and 45
• Height: 157 cm
• Skin tone: Very dark skin tone
• Hair colour: Dark (black), long, braided hair
• Eye colour: Undetermined
• Clothing: The woman was wearing a jacket with a monogram on the buttons with the letters ‘HCC’, with the Cs intertwined. It could be that the buttons are from the French navy. The sleeve of a garment had 5 braided ropes.
• Tattoos, birth marks, scars: Undetermined
• Jewellery: None

The case​

The city of Liège is located in Belgium, not far from the border with the Netherlands. In the south of Liège is the Parc de Cointe, a public park. On 29 August 2019, a passer-by discovered the partially charred skeleton of a woman in the vegetation next to the pathway. Her identity is still unknown.

Characteristics​

A two-dimensional facial reconstruction of the victim was made. It shows what the woman may have looked like during her lifetime.

She was between the ages of 35 and 45, about 1m57 tall and had a very dark complexion. She is presumed to be of African descent. Her long black hair was braided and her teeth were in good condition.

At the time of discovery, she was wearing a jacket with a monogram on the buttons with the letters ‘HCC’, with the Cs intertwined. It could be that the buttons are from the French navy. The sleeve had 5 braided ropes.

Contact
If you have any information regarding the possible identity of this person, please contact the Belgian national police via the form below.

You can also contact them and view this case on their national police website.

Identify Me: BEL07 - The woman in the park

Operation Identify Me: Seeking the names of unidentified victims of murder

www.interpol.int

 

[JennieM]

Identify Me: BEL07 - The woman in the park

Operation Identify Me: Seeking the names of unidentified victims of murder

www.interpol.int

 

[JennieM]

A two-dimensional facial reconstruction of the victim


Part of the sleeve with the 5 braided ropes


Jacket button with the 'HCC' logo


Location of the victim: in Parc de Cointe in Liège at the bottom of the Panorama

Identify Me: BEL07 - The woman in the park

Operation Identify Me: Seeking the names of unidentified victims of murder

www.interpol.int

 

[Bit of hope]

Also, has anybody looked into military styles of French speaking African countries? Maybe some have similar holiday uniforms? Its reminiscient of military button styles from European countries before 1918, so that is interesting.

Also, I remember that style of coat was pretty much in fashion maybe 10 years ago, I had a dark blue coat with similar buttons. There was no military connection at all, it just imitated military styles. Bought in a regular department store. So there may not be any military connection at all.

Yes, I agree. You should think the police looked into it more then just the sentence "'At the time of discovery, she was wearing a jacket with a monogram on the buttons with the letters ‘HCC’, with the Cs intertwined. It could be that the buttons are from the French navy. The sleeve had 5 braided ropes."

I searched for it and up-thread I posted:"The ranking in the French navy doesn't have a five stripe pattern. I could only find that for some Fire departments f.i. in Canada and America."

Fashion thing? Totally possible. I remember Adam and the Ants (years active 1977 - 1982) and steampunk military style (mostly mid-20th century) This kind of jackets were "hot".

It's a good suggestion to look into the French speaking African countries. I'm pretty sure though a military person serving isn't wearing the uniform jacket for the fun of it or at some party. It would be considered disrespectful.