citizen_sleuth
Verified family member - Orie Donald Esh thread
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NamUs #UP7205 / Doe Network 2244UMCA
Demographics
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White / Caucasian, Hispanic / Latino
Estimated Age Group: Infant
Estimated Age Range (Years): N/A
Estimated Year of Death: 1963
Estimated PMI: 1 Day
Height: 1'7" (19 inches), Estimated
Weight: Cannot Estimate
Cause of Death: Homicide by blunt force trauma to the head
Circumstances
Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: August 28, 1963
NamUs Case Created: May 19, 2010
ME/C QA Reviewed: N/A
Location Found: Indio, California
County: Riverside County
Circumstances of Recovery: In the afternoon of August 28, 1963, an 18-year-old boy was out walking his dog near Sena Drive and Avenue 51 when he came across the burned suitcase lying on the side of the road. The boy, who was deaf, attempted to report his findings to the police, but was unable to communicate with officers.
When police finally located the suitcase, which was described as a brown leatherette suitcase, they found the body of a newborn infant inside. The entire body was charred, and an empty one-gallon canister of gasoline was found nearby.
Officers initially believed the newborn boy had been alive for four days before he was killed, but an intact placenta found at the scene led them to conclude he had been killed shortly after birth.
An autopsy revealed that the baby boy died as a result of a skull fracture caused by either a fall or a blow to the head. His body was then placed in the suitcase, doused with gasoline, and burned.
Inventory of Remains: All parts recovered
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Charred/burned
Physical Description
Hair Color: Brown
Head Hair Description: Light hair
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinctive Physical Features: Placenta was present and unburned. Appears discarded at the same site the infant was found
Clothing and Accessories
- Brown leatherette suitcase (Near the Body)
- Empty one-gallon gasoline canister (Near the Body)
- Fragments of terry cloth (Near the Body)
News Coverage
"Burned Infant Found In Suitcase Near Indio," Desert Sun [Palm Springs, CA], 29 August 1963, 1.
A deaf mute found the burned body of an infant boy stuffed in a suitcase near here yesterday morning, then spent several hours trying to communicate the fact, according to the sheriff's office.
[...]
The white child was only four days old and apparently had been hit on the head, put in the suitcase, doused with gasoline and set afire, sheriff's investigators said.
Deputy Coroner Donald J. Mabbitt said this morning that a medical examination of the body is still in progress, but that findings so far indicate the infant probably was born under a doctor's care.
The deaf mute, Rudy G. Villa, 18, of Indio found the burned suitcase lying on the side of Sena Drive near the intersection of Avenue 51 early in the afternoon, but his difficulty in informing anyone delayed the report until 5 p.m., when Azu C. Petroza, also of Indio, made it, deputies said.
"Baby's Burned Body Found," San Bernardino County Sun, 30 August 1963, A11.
An autopsy, made by Dr. Rene Modglin, indicated the child died of a skull fracture due to a blow or fall, and was probably dead when the suitcase was set ablaze.
Modglin said the baby boy may have been four days old, but officers said that evidence found at the scene later indicated that it was newly born.
Officers said the boy was found in an abandoned subdivision three miles from Indio.
The body lay among burned scraps of terry cloth in what had been a brown composition and leatherette suitcase.
Beside it lay an empty gallon can which had contained gasoline.
Demographics
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White / Caucasian, Hispanic / Latino
Estimated Age Group: Infant
Estimated Age Range (Years): N/A
Estimated Year of Death: 1963
Estimated PMI: 1 Day
Height: 1'7" (19 inches), Estimated
Weight: Cannot Estimate
Cause of Death: Homicide by blunt force trauma to the head
Circumstances
Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: August 28, 1963
NamUs Case Created: May 19, 2010
ME/C QA Reviewed: N/A
Location Found: Indio, California
County: Riverside County
Circumstances of Recovery: In the afternoon of August 28, 1963, an 18-year-old boy was out walking his dog near Sena Drive and Avenue 51 when he came across the burned suitcase lying on the side of the road. The boy, who was deaf, attempted to report his findings to the police, but was unable to communicate with officers.
When police finally located the suitcase, which was described as a brown leatherette suitcase, they found the body of a newborn infant inside. The entire body was charred, and an empty one-gallon canister of gasoline was found nearby.
Officers initially believed the newborn boy had been alive for four days before he was killed, but an intact placenta found at the scene led them to conclude he had been killed shortly after birth.
An autopsy revealed that the baby boy died as a result of a skull fracture caused by either a fall or a blow to the head. His body was then placed in the suitcase, doused with gasoline, and burned.
Inventory of Remains: All parts recovered
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Charred/burned
Physical Description
Hair Color: Brown
Head Hair Description: Light hair
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinctive Physical Features: Placenta was present and unburned. Appears discarded at the same site the infant was found
Clothing and Accessories
- Brown leatherette suitcase (Near the Body)
- Empty one-gallon gasoline canister (Near the Body)
- Fragments of terry cloth (Near the Body)
News Coverage
"Burned Infant Found In Suitcase Near Indio," Desert Sun [Palm Springs, CA], 29 August 1963, 1.
A deaf mute found the burned body of an infant boy stuffed in a suitcase near here yesterday morning, then spent several hours trying to communicate the fact, according to the sheriff's office.
[...]
The white child was only four days old and apparently had been hit on the head, put in the suitcase, doused with gasoline and set afire, sheriff's investigators said.
Deputy Coroner Donald J. Mabbitt said this morning that a medical examination of the body is still in progress, but that findings so far indicate the infant probably was born under a doctor's care.
The deaf mute, Rudy G. Villa, 18, of Indio found the burned suitcase lying on the side of Sena Drive near the intersection of Avenue 51 early in the afternoon, but his difficulty in informing anyone delayed the report until 5 p.m., when Azu C. Petroza, also of Indio, made it, deputies said.
"Baby's Burned Body Found," San Bernardino County Sun, 30 August 1963, A11.
An autopsy, made by Dr. Rene Modglin, indicated the child died of a skull fracture due to a blow or fall, and was probably dead when the suitcase was set ablaze.
Modglin said the baby boy may have been four days old, but officers said that evidence found at the scene later indicated that it was newly born.
Officers said the boy was found in an abandoned subdivision three miles from Indio.
The body lay among burned scraps of terry cloth in what had been a brown composition and leatherette suitcase.
Beside it lay an empty gallon can which had contained gasoline.
