CA CA - Compton - Unknown White/Hispanic 45-75, UP136125, decomposed under railroad tracks w/faded photos, Dec 12, 2024

[JSolt1210]

Unidentified Person: NamUs #UP136125
Date Body Found: December 12, 2024
Location Found: Compton, California
Estimated Age Range: 45-75 Years

Case Information​

Case Numbers​

ME/C Case Number: 2024-19458

Demographics​

Biological Sex: Unsure
Race/Ethnicity: White/Caucasian, Hispanic/Latino
Estimated Age Group: Adult - Pre 80
Estimated Age Range (Years): 45-75
Estimated Year of Death: 2024
Estimated PMI: [none given]
Height: 5' 3"-5' 10" (63-70 inches), Estimated
Weight: Cannot Estimate

Circumstances​

Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: December 12, 2024
NamUs Case Created: January 7, 2025

Location Found​

Location: Compton, California 90220
County: Los Angeles County
Found On Tribal Land: No

Circumstances of Recovery:
The decedent was found severely decomposed under railroad tracks in Compton on 12/12/2024.

---

Details of Recovery​

Inventory of Remains: One or both hands not recovered
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Near complete or complete skeleton

Physical Description​

Hair Color: Brown
Head Hair Description: Brown with some gray hair
Left Eye Color: Unknown
Right Eye Color: Unknown

---

Distinctive Physical Features​

No Information Entered​

Clothing and Accessories​

Clothing:
Green t-shirt "Lee" - size XL
Black pants
Gray/Pink tennis shoes "Nike"
On the Body

Other:
Black wallet
$2 bills
Two wallet sized photographs
On the Body

 

[DoctorRose]

Does it make sense timewise for the couple to be the UID’s parents and the girl to be the uid’s daughter? I bet the couple can be found based on reconstructing their faces. The man in the photo in particular seems to have some striking features.

 

[JSolt1210]

Saw this case making the rounds on other sites but I couldn’t find a thread for it here so I decided to make one. (Please merge if one already exists.)

Just some observations:

The biological sex cannot be determined due to severe decomposition—the remains being almost completely skeletal. However, the gray/pink tennis shoes hints at the person being female, or at least someone identifying as such?

Also, the remains were found in December 2024, and yet despite the severe decomposition, the estimated year of death is given as also 2024. So does this suggest the person died near the beginning of 2024?

The detail that “one or both hands not recovered” stands out to me as a red flag. True, those extremities could’ve been scattered by wildlife, but it’s also possible that they were severed from the body in order to prevent identification, thereby indicative of homicide.

The photos are the most mysterious to me. They appear to be older style, almost like polaroids, suggesting the people in them posed decades ago. If the decedent is age 45-75, maybe they are one of the people in the photos. The $2 bills found in the wallet also sort of lean this way because the last time I had those in my wallet was decades ago.

However, polaroids have been making a bit of a comeback among younger generations recently. The second photo depicts a young woman, seated at a desk (in school?), wearing what looks like a face mask, suggesting the Covid pandemic. If this is true, then there’s no reason why the first photo can’t also be from around 2020 or after—even though the clothing and hair styles look a little dated to me. Besides, some “dated” fashion trends are making comebacks too.

Also, does the woman in the first photo look pregnant?

What do you all think?

 

[Sweetluv]

The first photo looks older..and yes, the woman looks pregnant. The second photo could be during covid. To me, I see another person behind her and there appears to be an exit sign..maybe this pic was taken in a classroom?

 

[PrairieWind]

I hope he can be identified. It is always sad when someone dies and his loved ones don't know.

 

[JSolt1210]

Does it make sense timewise for the couple to be the UID’s parents and the girl to be the uid’s daughter? I bet the couple can be found based on reconstructing their faces. The man in the photo in particular seems to have some striking features.

Yeah that does make a lot of sense to me.

The photo of the couple is more worn, suggesting it was taken earlier. The photo of the young woman, while admittedly looking like an older polaroid, is less worn, suggesting it's more recent.

Assuming the decedent is the woman in the older photo, she could've taken the second photo with a polaroid so the two would pair well together in her wallet. Alternatively, the younger woman (the daughter?) could've had her photo taken in the polaroid style as a gift to her mom for the same reason.

 

[Sweetluv]

I tend to think the top photo is mom and dad and the second photo is the daughter.

 

[JSolt1210]

The first photo looks older..and yes, the woman looks pregnant. The second photo could be during covid. To me, I see another person behind her and there appears to be an exit sign..maybe this pic was taken in a classroom?

Yeah I agree that the second photo looks like it was taken in a classroom. And you're right—near the Exit sign there appears to be a person, as if they were heading out the door, back turned towards the camera.

It also looks to me like the young woman has a black and blue bookbag behind her on the chair where she's sitting. It's either that or a light jacket.

 

[Sweetluv]

Only a wallet with a 2 dollar bill and 2 photos. Maybe this person was estranged from their family. The UID is prob one of the people in the first photo (?)

 

[Sweetluv]

Hand or hands not recovered...fingerprints were on file so the hands were removed to hinder identification?
But then why leave the wallet on the body?

 

[Trebor5591]

dbm - duplicate

 

[Trebor5591]

Saw this case making the rounds on other sites but I couldn’t find a thread for it here so I decided to make one. (Please merge if one already exists.)

Just some observations:

The biological sex cannot be determined due to severe decomposition—the remains being almost completely skeletal. However, the gray/pink tennis shoes hints at the person being female, or at least someone identifying as such?

Also, the remains were found in December 2024, and yet despite the severe decomposition, the estimated year of death is given as also 2024. So does this suggest the person died near the beginning of 2024?

The detail that “one or both hands not recovered” stands out to me as a red flag. True, those extremities could’ve been scattered by wildlife, but it’s also possible that they were severed from the body in order to prevent identification, thereby indicative of homicide.

The photos are the most mysterious to me. They appear to be older style, almost like polaroids, suggesting the people in them posed decades ago. If the decedent is age 45-75, maybe they are one of the people in the photos. The $2 bills found in the wallet also sort of lean this way because the last time I had those in my wallet was decades ago.

However, polaroids have been making a bit of a comeback among younger generations recently. The second photo depicts a young woman, seated at a desk (in school?), wearing what looks like a face mask, suggesting the Covid pandemic. If this is true, then there’s no reason why the first photo can’t also be from around 2020 or after—even though the clothing and hair styles look a little dated to me. Besides, some “dated” fashion trends are making comebacks too.

Also, does the woman in the first photo look pregnant?

What do you all think?

pregnant, yes it does look that way

 

[JSolt1210]

Hand or hands not recovered...fingerprints were on file so the hands were removed to hinder identification?
But then why leave the wallet on the body?

I'm not saying I think this was a homicide—I'm just thinking out loud. But if it was a homicide, maybe the killer didn't care about leaving the wallet as long as there was no ID inside?

Leaving the photos inside is also risky but maybe he figured one badly degraded photo and a second photo of a masked-up person wouldn't be enough to help identify the victim?

But you're right. Now that I'm typing it out, why go through the trouble of severing someone's hands so they wouldn't be identified, but leave a simple wallet behind.

 

[Sweetluv]

The description is generic..were one or both hands removed..or was it a case of animals scavenging? Also, that's true, maybe not a homicide, but natural causes.

 

[JSolt1210]

Also, the "EXIT" sign in the second photo... can that be used to date or trace the photo?

Most "EXIT" signs I see nowadays have a white (or transparent) background with the word in red letters. This one is the opposite: a red background with white letters. It kinda looks like an older style—even the font looks dated.

I still think the photo is from covid times because of the mask, but is that style of "EXIT" sign still common in schools? Admittedly, our schools here in the US aren't always the most up to date lol.

 

[Sweetluv]

I agree, most likely taken during covid, but maybe the room/exit sign is from an older building..
Also, her sweatshirt has a logo or something written on the front that I can't make out.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Adding my 2¢ as a photographer - film photography has kind of hit a second renaissance with young people lately. It wouldn't shock me if it was indeed post-2020.

 

[DoctorRose]

I think the top photo is the decedent’s parents, maybe while expecting him/her to be born. Maybe it’s the only picture he/she had of both mom and dad together.

 

[DoctorRose]

Also I think the second picture, the girls’ sweatshirt has flames on it with a word or letters underneath.

 

[JamesRUstlerIV]

Adding my 2¢ as a photographer - film photography has kind of hit a second renaissance with young people lately. It wouldn't shock me if it was indeed post-2020.

The instant photo looks to be Fujifilm Instax format which came out in 1998. It is certainly not Polaroid SX-70, 600, or Spectra integrated film as those would be way too large to fit into a wallet.