FL FL - Miami Lakes, Wht Fem, 25-35, UP6098, found in lake, 29 October 1996

[Moonwalker9]

785UFFL
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

785UFFL - Unidentified Female

Reconstructions of the victim by Samantha Steinberg.

Date of Discovery: October 29, 1996
Location of Discovery: Miami Lakes, Miami-Dade County, Florida
Estimated Date of Death: Weeks prior
State of Remains: Decomposed
Cause of Death: Homicide by asphyxiation

Physical Description
Estimated Age: 25-35 years old
Race: White with possible Hispanic admixture.
Sex: Female
Height: 5'0" to 5'4"
Weight: Unknown
Hair: Brown and wavy, about 10-12" long
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown

Identifiers
Dentals: Available.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Available.

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: The body itself was nude. A white Zotto tank top, size large, was wrapped around her head. The shirt had blue trim around the neck and arm openings with a red globe graphic in the middle reading "POPULAR, "A World Art," "Best Collection," "London Company," "A 100% quality brand."
Jewelry: None.
Additional Personal Items: None.

Circumstances of Discovery
The victim was found stuffed in a cardboard box that was tied with rope and wrapped with duct tape. The box was floating in a canal behind 13920 Lake Placid Court.

She was nude with a shirt wrapped around her head.

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office
Agency Contact Person: Investigator Brittney McLaurin
Agency Phone Number: 305-545-2460
Agency E-Mail: Brittney.McLaurin(at)miamidade.gov
Agency Case Number: 1996-2792

NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: 6098
Former Hot Case Number: 2350

Information Source(s)
NamUs
The Miami-Herald News Archives

 

[Laughing]

How sad on so many levels. She's beautiful! As usual, someone is missing their daughter, sister, aunt, bff....

RIP, Ma'am

 

[snowgoose]

Bump for a case that deserves more attention

 

[snowgoose]

Can anyone see rule outs for this Jane Doe?

I was wondering if Linda Louise Fledderman could be a possible match.

Linda Louise Fledderman – The Charley Project
FL - FL - Linda Louise Fledderman, 33, Myakka, 17 Aug 1996
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[Rootje]

l

Can anyone see rule outs for this Jane Doe?

I was wondering if Linda Louise Fledderman could be a possible match.

Linda Louise Fledderman – The Charley Project
FL - FL - Linda Louise Fledderman, 33, Myakka, 17 Aug 1996
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Strikingly similar at first glance! Have you compared their statistics?

 

[snowgoose]

I don't have a NamUs account so I can't see everything, but most details seem to line up. Even the hairstyle looks similar, parted on the left.

There's a 4 inch height difference but heights can be unreliable with decomposition. Jane Doe did have a healed nasal fracture and Linda's page doesn't say anything about that, but there are few details available for Linda so who knows.

They look so similar, I'll be surprised if Linda hasn't been ruled out...

 

[MadMcGoo]

@victoriarobinson642 would you mind checking exclusions for this one? I’m still unable to access my NamUs account. TIA!

 

[MadMcGoo]

Can anyone see rule outs for this Jane Doe?

I was wondering if Linda Louise Fledderman could be a possible match.

Linda Louise Fledderman – The Charley Project
FL - FL - Linda Louise Fledderman, 33, Myakka, 17 Aug 1996
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Everything looks pretty good except the height. It’s off by a few inches (2-6, depending). The distance is a bit far. Neither would discourage me from submitting though. The resemblance is strong! The circumstances behind her disappearance are sad. I guess we will wait and see if she’s been excluded.

 

[SimplyCass]

15 rule-outs, and Fledderman is not one of them. I say submit it.

MP4480 Paula Burnette 09/17/1996 Hamilton TN
-- Ginette Landry 04/04/1994 -- --
MP9366 Angela Williams 07/10/1995 Harrison MS
MP7503 Michelle Maitland 09/12/1996 Pierce WA
MP52 Heather Teague 08/26/1995 Henderson KY
MP5353 Lurline Bergeron 07/01/1991 Palm Beach FL
MP6312 Desiree Lopez 08/15/1996 Miami-Dade FL
MP1372 Clarissa Culberson 08/28/1996 Clinton OH
MP16945 Colleen Voitik McHugh 04/17/1994 Will IL
MP12243 Luz Rodriguez 08/25/1989 Miami-Dade FL
MP2413 Tiffany Sessions 02/09/1989 Alachua FL
MP8385 Nadine Timm 11/16/1965 Will IL
MP974 Patricia Schmidt 06/04/1985 Henrico VA
MP170 Jennifer Casper-Ross 05/05/2005 Washoe NV
MP23 Janet March 08/15/1996 Davidson TN

 

[MadMcGoo]

15 rule-outs, and Fledderman is not one of them. I say submit it.

MP4480 Paula Burnette 09/17/1996 Hamilton TN
-- Ginette Landry 04/04/1994 -- --
MP9366 Angela Williams 07/10/1995 Harrison MS
MP7503 Michelle Maitland 09/12/1996 Pierce WA
MP52 Heather Teague 08/26/1995 Henderson KY
MP5353 Lurline Bergeron 07/01/1991 Palm Beach FL
MP6312 Desiree Lopez 08/15/1996 Miami-Dade FL
MP1372 Clarissa Culberson 08/28/1996 Clinton OH
MP16945 Colleen Voitik McHugh 04/17/1994 Will IL
MP12243 Luz Rodriguez 08/25/1989 Miami-Dade FL
MP2413 Tiffany Sessions 02/09/1989 Alachua FL
MP8385 Nadine Timm 11/16/1965 Will IL
MP974 Patricia Schmidt 06/04/1985 Henrico VA
MP170 Jennifer Casper-Ross 05/05/2005 Washoe NV
MP23 Janet March 08/15/1996 Davidson TN

Thank you so much for posting these! I agree, submit her!

 

[snowgoose]

Thanks so much! I've never done this before, but I just emailed the Miami-Dade County Homicide Bureau with links to both profiles. I couldn't find an email for Manatee County, where Linda was from - only a phone number which I can't call since I live outside the US. So if anyone else wants to try contacting them, that might be good - it can't hurt to make both sides aware of it, right?

Would you normally email the person listed as the NamUs Regional Contact too, or just the investigating agencies?

 

[Rootje]

everything is so much more difficult when you live outside the US :/

 

[MadMcGoo]

Thanks so much! I've never done this before, but I just emailed the Miami-Dade County Homicide Bureau with links to both profiles. I couldn't find an email for Manatee County, where Linda was from - only a phone number which I can't call since I live outside the US. So if anyone else wants to try contacting them, that might be good - it can't hurt to make both sides aware of it, right?

Would you normally email the person listed as the NamUs Regional Contact too, or just the investigating agencies?

If I’m going to email, I usually try to send it (CC) to as many people as possible. Both agencies/MEs, both NamUs reps, and anyone else who is listed on either profile. It tends to keep people honest...less chance of ignoring your email if they see others are aware of it. I’d probably wait to see if you get a response and then go from there. Thanks for taking the time!

 

[snowgoose]

Thanks. I sent the NamUs rep (it's the same one for both cases) the same email, letting her know that I'd already contacted Miami-Dade. Still couldn't find emails for the other contacts, but I'll wait and see what response I get from the first two emails. I'll update in this thread if I hear anything back!

 

[MagicCityMan]

So glad this case is on here!
Question:
Wouldn't Linda Louise Fledderman be an auto rule out (provided her familial DNA is in the system)?
It really is a striking likeness and everything seems to line up but I have a couple of hesitations. Whomever dumped Jane Doe must have had at least some familiarity with the area. I am not sure if she was in the canal that runs along NW 138th ST or in the retention pond that is up against the Gratigny (pronounced Grat-nee) Parkway OR in Lake Patricia which is slightly NE of the apartment complex. Either way, it's not really a place you would find randomly. Interestingly, despite being right off the expressway mentioned above, there is no exit there at NW 67th Ave (Ludlam) since there is one 10 blocks east at NW 57th Ave (Red Rd). If you head east along the canal you enter an industrial section with warehouses/manufacture/repair shops etc. My guess is the perpetrator worked in that area perhaps and had access to a fairly large box, rope and duct tape.
Myakka is an area with a huge state park with lots of wildlife etc so I don't think that someone would drive all the way down to a populated area in Miami from there to dispose of a body. It would be interesting to know if Mr. Parker had any connection to Miami at all....if so then the possibility increases greatly but if not then I doubt it's Ms. Fledderman.
I lived in Miami Lakes at the time this happened but was unaware of the case until recently. If she was on the younger end of the estimated age she would've been a little older than me at the time. I knew tons of people in the area but she doesn't look familiar to me at all. I currently work quite close to where she was found, but I live on the other side of town.
Soooo sorry to ramble on....it's my first post

 

[snowgoose]

Great to hear some insight from a local! I didn't mention it above but I've been thinking along similar lines: it does seem odd for a murder victim to be taken from a rural area to an urban area. However, it looks like Linda was not killed at the same time as her husband, so she must have either left or been taken somewhere. I figured due to the strong similarity, it would be best to see if they can rule her out and worry about the circumstances later if it is a match. I'm not sure how automatic rule-outs work; I thought all rule outs would be listed there, but maybe not.

The location is confusing, NamUs says she was found "in a lake" and Doe Network says "in a canal behind 13920 Lake Placid Court", but there's no canal "behind" that address. However there is a canal and a small "lake" slightly further south at the cul-de-sac end of Lake Placid Court, so I think that might be the place. Google Maps

Right next to that body of water there's a big highway crossing over another major road, so if that's the location, the perpetrator could have dumped the body from one of those roads rather than via the residential/industrial area. For me that makes it more plausible that he found the spot randomly and wasn't necessarily a local. Looking at Google Street View, you can actually see the water from the roads.

 

[MagicCityMan]

Great to hear some insight from a local! I didn't mention it above but I've been thinking along similar lines: it does seem odd for a murder victim to be taken from a rural area to an urban area. However, it looks like Linda was not killed at the same time as her husband, so she must have either left or been taken somewhere. I figured due to the strong similarity, it would be best to see if they can rule her out and worry about the circumstances later if it is a match. I'm not sure how automatic rule-outs work; I thought all rule outs would be listed there, but maybe not.

The location is confusing, NamUs says she was found "in a lake" and Doe Network says "in a canal behind 13920 Lake Placid Court", but there's no canal "behind" that address. However there is a canal and a small "lake" slightly further south at the cul-de-sac end of Lake Placid Court, so I think that might be the place. Google Maps

Right next to that body of water there's a big highway crossing over another major road, so if that's the location, the perpetrator could have dumped the body from one of those roads rather than via the residential/industrial area. For me that makes it more plausible that he found the spot randomly and wasn't necessarily a local. Looking at Google Street View, you can actually see the water from the roads.

True, but the highway doesn't actually exit at that intersection. Most likely the perp would have been on NW 138th St which in that particular section would have been sort of desolate in the middle of the night or on a weekend due to the fact that most of the businesses in that industrial zone are open Monday-Friday 8-5 more or less. That still says to me that it was someone familiar with the area with confidence in when they could put a body in a canal undetected. My guess is the box was put in the canal and floated westbound into the pond/lake right off the highway. Unlikely the box would have been thrown in from the Gratigny Parkway because it is a high elevation there. It is a bridge over NW 67th Ave (Ludlam). Also, there is one of those huge "noise walls" there to block the highway noise foe the residents there. I honestly do not remember if that was there back in '96 or not though.
Side note: where she was found is on the border of Miami Lakes and Hialeah. Hialeah has it's own numbering system so NW 138th St becomes W 84th St and NW 67th Ave is W 12th Ave. A lot of streets in South Florida have like 400 different names . Back in '96 Miami Lakes was part of unincorporated Miami-Dade county. It is it's own municipality now with a mayor etc.
None of this helps ID our girl, just a little FYI

 

[MagicCityMan]

Also, something really telling to me is the fact that her face was covered by a t-shirt. This indicates to me that the victim was known to the perp and he could not bear her "looking" at him as he put her into the box.
This would still fit with Ms. Fledderman as apparently she did know Mr. Parks

Doe Network: International Center For Missing and Unidentified Persons › cases
Case File 2204DFFL - The Doe Network

 

[BigKeyManatee]

Also, something really telling to me is the fact that her face was covered by a t-shirt. This indicates to me that the victim was known to the perp and he could not bear her "looking" at him as he put her into the box.
This would still fit with Ms. Fledderman as apparently she did know Mr. Parks

Ugg, that shirt....

A white Zotto tank top, size large, was wrapped around her head. The shirt had blue trim around the neck and arm openings with a red globe graphic in the middle reading "POPULAR, "A World Art," "Best Collection," "London Company," "A 100% quality​

I did a cursory search for “Zotto” brand and actually did find one clothing company based in London, but the dates did not line up.
Plus, I can’t imagine a veritable U.K. company massacring the Queen’s English to such a degree.
Traveling in Europe in the ‘80’s I remember cheaply produced casual clothing with random English phrasing plastered on them. Maybe not just European produced, but Chinese as well?

I think you are correct @MagicCityMan. The killer was acquainted with the Doe and s/he covered her face for the reasons you stated. The shirt is more likely linked to the killer, not the Doe.
Would love to hear others’ thoughts on the shirt and if anyone else thinks it could have a possible European connection.

Since Park’s fingerprints were found in Ms. Fledderman’s vehicle, IMO he should be a strong suspect for her disappearance as well as her boyfriend’s murder. Your question as to whether Parks had a Miami area connection is right on point.

I stumbled across a blog that had been written almost a year ago about the crimes that sent Parks to prison, the Brannon homicides. I posted a question asking if the author thought Parks was involved with Fledderman and Blanton. No reply at this time.

The Brannon Homicides Confession
The author stated that she was in touch with Parks. Maybe she would have insight as to if Parks had any connections in Miami/Hialeah? I’d be thrilled if you would like to reach out to her- possibly more discreetly than I did. Thanks!

 

[MadMcGoo]

Welcome to Websleuths @MagicCityMan ! Thanks for the insight.