Identified! KY - Gray, WhtFem 192UFKY, 24-35, In Refrigerator, Apr'85 - Epsy Regina Black-Pilgrim

[Bit of hope]

After all those years...finally identified. It still amazes me every time this happens. Kind of happy sad. Condolences to Espy's daughter, who obviously never gave up on her mother. May you have eternal peace Espy. Hopefully justice comes swift.

 

[AmonAmarther]

Rest In Peace, Espy. I'm so glad you got your name back.

 

[Jake479]

RIP Espy Regina Black-Pilgrim

 

[ThunderFist]

I didn't read through all the replies, so forgive me if someone has answered this already, but has it been established why she was so far from home?

 

[folieadeuxnola]

Police hunt for possible serial killer in 1980s 'redhead murders'

More than 30 years after the bodies of multiple young, red-haired women were discovered dumped near U.S. highways in Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas, police say the killings may be the work of an unknown serial killer.

"The cases are probably connected," said Detective Aaron Frederick of the Kentucky State Police. "There's a lot of similarities."

The first break came in the summer of 2017. The FBI had re-examined evidence from a 1985 homicide in which a Jane Doe with red hair was found inside a refrigerator near a Kentucky highway.

"The FBI called," Frederick said. "They said they found a match for a fingerprint found on the refrigerator."

The print turned out to be unrelated to the case, Frederick said. But it spurred him to re-examine the old files.

"I had never heard of the case," he said. "I came back and looked it over. We'd had no leads since 1992. So, we decided to put a press release out and try to get her identified."

The release went out in July 2017. The following October, a woman from North Carolina called saying she thought the woman could be her mother, Espy Regina Black-Pilgrim.

 

[bflocket]

I thought I'd already posted something about this, but I guess I didn't. Her case has been heartbreaking in every way, but I found something that makes everything even worse. There was a court case where parental rights were taken away - in NC a few months after she was found in Gray. It's no wonder she took off like she did. Her home life sounds to have been pretty unpleasant.

In the Matter of Kenneth Anderson BLACK, Robert Wade Pilgrim, Jr., Bobby Lee Pilgrim, Israel Michael Pilgrim, Samuel Ray Pilgrim.
Court of Appeals of North Carolina.
7-16-1985

Here, the trial court had sufficient evidence upon which to base its order for termination of the parental rights of respondent. This evidence included unrefuted testimony that the Pilgrim home was in a constant state of disarray and uncleanliness and that Mrs. Pilgrim often seemed incoherent, tending to stare off and to ignore those around her. Mr. Pilgrim had stated that he was unwilling to let the children remain in the home because his violent temper made it unsafe for the children to be with him. He also demanded that the children be removed from the home, threatening to lock and bar the door and starve the children if they were not removed.

 

[Springrain]

Bumping. Merry Christmas Eve Epsy!