Identified! DE - Bear, WhtFem 16-25, UP7097, pregnant, in laundry bag, Mar'67 - NamUs removed

[Bombshell]

Any updates about Janice?

No

 

[R. Towle]

I have had so many thoughts whilst reading this entire thread...
I'm wondering how far along in the pregnancy she actually was, she must have been more than three months along as they were able to determine that the fetus was a boy, the sex of a fetus can't be determined that early (fifteen weeks if I'm right) also even up to twenty weeks or more the fetus' skin is still translucent so how were they able to determine the baby was caucasian? Another thing puzzling me is that a death certificate is not given for an early fetus ( babies born much before twenty-nine weeks are not classed as viable) I've read stories of families where a baby has been miscarried at over thirty weeks that can not have a funeral because they can't get a death certificate.
I feel like the cause of whatever killed her (sepsis, blood clot, fat embolism?) was initially caused by a botched abortion... She was living in a time where her condition was shameful for her and her family, she would now be seen as damaged goods and probably would not find herself a good husband (that was incredibly important back then)
I don't feel this girl was a tramp or a sl*t, she was just a young girl probably madly in love. She looks like she probably came from a stable and loving home.
Now for the disposal, this really bothers me. I think the laundry bag is kind of a red herring, and we're focusing too much on it. I mean if you were dumping a body would you leave your name and number? I don't for one second believe whoever did this was connected to the bag and just over looked the fact that there was a name and address on it that can tie him/her to the body (imho)
What also puzzles me is the state of dress of the young lady... if the person that dumped her was say a family member or boyfriend/baby father I don't think they would allow her to be found that way and would have tried their best to cover her up to retain a little modesty.
Back in the early/mid twentieth century young women that found themselves in this situation would quite likely find themselves being dropped off at homes for unwed mothers or even baby farmers. The idea behind these places were great but in reality they were run by unscrupulous women that cared only for profit, many women and even babies were murdered in these places, families would be told the girl had run off and it's best not to look for her.

Edit to correct spelling.

 

[Eman317]

What was the age range of the family members they found in 2011? If they were born years later after Miss X's death, it makes sense that they wouldn't recognize her.

 

[Bombshell]

Another thing puzzling me is that a death certificate is not given for an early fetus ( babies born much before twenty-nine weeks are not classed as viable) I've read stories of families where a baby has been miscarried at over thirty weeks that can not have a funeral because they can't get a death certificate.

(Respectfully snipped) I think the death certificate was issued for the fetus because abortion was a criminal act, and whoever performed the abortion could then be charged with the murder of Jane Doe *and* the fetus?

 

[Sweetluv]

I cannot seem to find any information on whether the red hair ribbon and NJ stamped sack are still in existence. If so, technology could check for DNA...

 

[Sweetluv]

If she would have went to a hotel to have this abortion, why didn't the person leave her there...but instead, drive her to a dumping site? Did she check in under her real name?
Or, wherever she died, the person didn't want the attention brought to them...
I would think that if it was someone she knew, family or friend, they would have dressed her instead of letting someone find her nude...and in a construction area...

 

[Bit of hope]

If she would have went to a hotel to have this abortion, why didn't the person leave her there...but instead, drive her to a dumping site? Did she check in under her real name?
Or, wherever she died, the person didn't want the attention brought to them...
I would think that if it was someone she knew, family or friend, they would have dressed her instead of letting someone find her nude...and in a construction area...

Abortion became legal in the US after 1973, so it was illegal at that time and surrounded with secrecy and taboos. In the 1950s and 1960s, the estimated number of illegal abortions ranged from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Inspired by the civil rights and anti-war movements, the women's liberation movement gained steam in the 1960s -- and reproductive rights took center stage. Women with means had been able to get abortions by leaving the country or paying a physician in the U.S. a large fee for the procedure. Others weren't so lucky. They sought out back-alley procedures or took matters in their own hands: inserting knitting needles and coat hangers into their vaginas, drinking chemicals or douching with lye. These methods resulted in medical emergencies and, in some cases, death. The surprising history of abortion in the United States - CNN

Like you it's hard for me to believe this was done by a known person to her. Either she reached out to back-alley physicians who didn't want their reputation implicated in her death....or she took matters in her own hands because she didn't had the money for the procedure and went to a motel. The manager found her and he/she had to get rid of her...for the same reason....not to be implicated in an illegal act.

 

[carbuff]

Good point. She might have self-induced. Or she could have gone to someone. It was pretty typical for an abortion provider at the time to rent a motel room and schedule several women, who came in and left in the space of only a few minute (my friend said it took about 20 minute for hers). If something went wrong, the abortion provider would have just left her there for the motel staff to find.

If she had come from out of town, as was common, she might have had a room on her own, probably not in the same motel.

Either way, the motel owner wouldn't have wanted to get involved.

Nobody would have used their real name.

 

[Spindlebrook]

I cannot seem to find any information on whether the red hair ribbon and NJ stamped sack are still in existence. If so, technology could check for DNA...

The ribbon still exists, as there is a recent photo of it seen at the link. They were able to get DNA from a dried blood sample taken from the UID.

Delaware officials look to Trenton in attempt to solve 1967 cold case

 

[Sweetluv]

The laundry bag would be consistent of something a motel would use.
If she had died as a result of an attempted abortion, that could explain her only having panties on. I'm sure they didn't supply her with a hospital gown..prob performed in the nude. Poor girl....

 

[annoulzz]

From what I have read and photos I have seen online, I have a feeling that she was Italian.

Apparently Trenton, NJ was once home to large Italian, Hungarian, and Jewish communities, but, since the 1950s, demographic shifts have changed the city into a relatively segregated urban enclave of middle and lower income African Americans. Italians are scattered throughout the city, but a distinct Italian community is centered in the Chambersburg neighborhood, in South Trenton. This community has been in decline since the 1970s, largely due to economic and social shifts to the suburbs surrounding the city.

Also I did a map search and Chambersburg and the Laundromat address of Perry Street is a 5 minute car drive or a 20 minute walk. If her laundry was heavy, she was probably taken there by someone, maybe the baby's father and they could have had an argument and took her clothes out of the bag.

 

[aThousandYearsWide]

I was curious about the family that she was linked to in NC and VA not recognizing her. I mean, you'd think that would lead at least somewhere. Could she have been put up for adoption at birth?

As for her cause of death, I thought a botched abortion was ruled out and untreated sepsis was found to be the cause. (I still need to read the rest of this thread so forgive me if this was answered already)

 

[aThousandYearsWide]

If she would have went to a hotel to have this abortion, why didn't the person leave her there...but instead, drive her to a dumping site? Did she check in under her real name?
Or, wherever she died, the person didn't want the attention brought to them...
I would think that if it was someone she knew, family or friend, they would have dressed her instead of letting someone find her nude...and in a construction area...

If I could take a guess, the case of Gerri Santoro that happened in 1964 would be why. She died of a botched abortion in a hotel room that was performed by the father/her lover. He fled when complications happened. He left her and she was found by hotel staff and he was eventually arrested. (Be careful searching her name because there is a photo of her that is really graphic). Regarding the underwear she was found in, did they report if it was blood stained or not?

IMO I am unsure about the botched abortion theory. I don't know, but I am guessing that she was killed by a significant other. For some reason I get Reyna Marroquin vibes. (Like she got pregnant as a result of an affair with a married man and he got rid of her.) The way she was dumped suggests foul play to me. Maybe even he was known to abuse her and when she died (if she died naturally that is) he feared getting blamed?

 

[Eman317]

I do believe that her body was originally in a motel/hotel before being dumped on the side of the road and that either the manager or the owner of the hotel found the body and had to get rid of it. They probably thought that if word got out that a dead body was found in their establishment, nobody would no longer stay at the hotel, the hotel would lose profit, and the place would end up going out of business.

 

[Sweetluv]

It always bothered me too that she was dumped only in her underwear. If this was done by someone who knew her, you would think, out of respect, they would dress her...but why dump her at all? She was somewhere, that someone, did not want to draw attention to..like their hotel or home. Esp if a back alley abortion was going on.

 

[Sweetluv]

I live 20 min from the dump site. Back then, it was not a built up area but more secluded..someone must have been familiar with this area. New Jersey boarders Delaware...easy access to Porter Road where our victim was found.

 

[Melt71]

I was curious about the family that she was linked to in NC and VA not recognizing her. I mean, you'd think that would lead at least somewhere. Could she have been put up for adoption at birth?

Yes the UID could have been adopted.

It would be good to know if it was paternal or maternal relatives they matched her to. If paternal then she could have been raised by a single mother and the father’s side may never have known about her.

It is also possible that her parent was adopted and therefore extended family did not know about our UID as they did not know about her parent either).

So many possibilities but one thinks with better genetic genealogy tools these days maybe the research should be tried again.

 

[Eman317]

Yes the UID could have been adopted.

It would be good to know if it was paternal or maternal relatives they matched her to. If paternal then she could have been raised by a single mother and the father’s side may never have known about her.

It is also possible that her parent was adopted and therefore extended family did not know about our UID as they did not know about her parent either).

So many possibilities but one thinks with better genetic genealogy tools these days maybe the research should be tried again.

I believe it was stated that Miss X was maternally related to these people, so her mother was somehow related to them.

 

[Melt71]

Thanks @Eman317 so I guess it is entirely possible that the mother was relinquished for adoption and therefore her family was unaware of her, and by extension unaware of her daughter the UID. As well as the other possibility that the UID herself was relinquished.

 

[Alleykins]

This link has most likely been posted before, possibly even by me, LOL
Delaware officials look to Trenton in attempt to solve 1967 cold case
But it does have some good information in it. I think it's time to hand over the family search data investigators currently have to one of the groups doing the forensic genealogy and give it another go. It's been nearly 10 years, perhaps there are newer, closer matches out there to discover (they never said how close the relationships were to the people contacted in VA or NC, they could have been 3rd or 4th maternal cousins for all we know, not close at all).