LA LA - Belle Chasse, WhtMale 16-17, UP88342, hanged, suicide note, 14 Feb 1975 #2

[MamaSleuth5]

Hello everyone

As you can probably see this is my first post on websleuths, i didnt know about this site until recently (and to be fair it makes sense as i try to avoid topics around true crime as its not good for my fragile mental health), but i ended up here after making some not too wise decisions that lead down a rabbit hole about UID’s, remembered this boy after initially watching a video about him a few years ago (it was posted here in the first thread, I believe the channel is named Dark Curiosities), read this thread in one day and… well here I am, coming to terms with the fact I don’t think I’ll ever get this man out of my head for reasons that i wont clog up this post with but at the same time im sure are very relatable to you all and others who have come across this case.

I know theres only so much speculating can do and whatnot in regards to this case, but I thought it was important to readdress the extra pieces of the note the Plaquemines Gazette had, that was posted earlier in the thread, I’ll quote the extra bits below just incase it saves anyone some time and hassle…

“I followed a secondary existence while never attending to primary needs - now it is too painful to reform.”

“You could not have brought in psychologists because psychiatry is purely cooperative and voluntary. I would have rejected any help because I would not accept that my personality needed to be changed or changed in that manner.”

I know its just one source and it seemed to have gotten lost along the way as people continued to discuss the overall note afterward, but i just feel the need to mention it again incase it helps in any way at all. Also hope this post is formatted ok as I am on mobile.

Welcome to Websleuths @lazuli ! Thank you for caring about this young man and for joining us here to remember him. If you ever need a break to care for your mental health, we will understand, and we will welcome you back when you're ready.

Thank you for posting the additional parts of the note. IMO it's important to remember all of the note and how it may fit together with other clues. JMO

 

[FromGermany1]

April 2023

The Boy in the Tree: a Tragic End in Louisiana

A teenager ended his own life in 1975, the only clue to his identity is a note he left behind.

madisontramel.medium.com

Excerpt:

This other section is titled “Why you should not feel responsible”

I was born with a definite pervasive melancholy…

My brain always worked at cross-purposes to my real development. I refused to express any emotions or deal with people on a social basis. In effect, I refused to accept that I was an animal and that I needed social ties…

 

[lazuli]

April 2023

The Boy in the Tree: a Tragic End in Louisiana

A teenager ended his own life in 1975, the only clue to his identity is a note he left behind.

madisontramel.medium.com

Excerpt:

This other section is titled “Why you should not feel responsible”

I was born with a definite pervasive melancholy…

My brain always worked at cross-purposes to my real development. I refused to express any emotions or deal with people on a social basis. In effect, I refused to accept that I was an animal and that I needed social ties…

Thanks for including this, I don’t know how I missed it when I was just contemplating those specific words just a few moments ago in my head, specifically being an animal needing social ties…

 

[lazuli]

Welcome to Websleuths @lazuli ! Thank you for caring about this young man and for joining us here to remember him. If you ever need a break to care for your mental health, we will understand, and we will welcome you back when you're ready.

Thank you for posting the additional parts of the note. IMO it's important to remember all of the note and how it may fit together with other clues. JMO

Thank you MamaSleuth5, your kindness is appreciated and means alot more than you know.

I also agree how its important to remember all of the note, though I completely understand why it would have been missed/forgotten compared to what most sources give about it. I do personally think some of the info contained could rule out or atleast point in the right direction to certain theories.

In that particular newspaper too the article and particularly the note, was cut off and going to continue on ‘page 10’, but it seems that part of the newspaper hasn’t been found or uploaded online yet. With what extra information this newspaper provided it makes me wonder just what else was written that could be valuable to us…

 

[Audrina]

His suicide note sounds much like my aunt's, who committed suicide via shotgun in the 1970s also. She was 29. They write similarly. I wonder if John Doe is a bit older than LE/ME thought.

 

[Audrina]

the family of Charles Wallace Jr. came from Tennessee to see if John Doe was their missing loved one. Charles, who was 19 at the time, disappeared from a Memphis, TN home for teenagers with drug problems. His mother confirmed that John Doe was not her son, however Charles’ dental charts did match John Doe’s. - from the medium article linked previously.

Um... people do look different in death... what if his mother was mistaken or in denial?

 

[lazuli]

the family of Charles Wallace Jr. came from Tennessee to see if John Doe was their missing loved one. Charles, who was 19 at the time, disappeared from a Memphis, TN home for teenagers with drug problems. His mother confirmed that John Doe was not her son, however Charles’ dental charts did match John Doe’s. - from the medium article linked previously.
View attachment 532131

Um... people do look different in death... what if his mother was mistaken or in denial?

My condolences, may your aunt rest in peace. Alot of people do think he might be older than estimated, I also think he might be as well, coming from someone who is babyfaced and still gets ID’d.

There is alot of things supporting the idea its Charles, initially when reading the thread my first assumption was that it was him, although now I’m keeping an open mind. As for his mother… it is a pair of shoes I never want to be in, as much as I would like to understand what have been going through her mind at the time. I could understand that her decision could be discredited. Even if it wasn’t, to be in that situation of having to come to terms that your son may have killed himself… To be in that situation in general must be quite distressing and incredibly uncomfortable, and on top of that, judging from how detailed one of the news articles was about it, having media present likely didnt help her mental state at all.

But at the same time… I’m not a mother, and perhaps they really would recognise their childs face when they see it. Overall its quite mystifying, I hope Mrs Wallace has found peace.

 

[lazuli]

Another thing I forgot to add when contemplating about Charles Wallace… would anyone know if a place like a home for teenagers with drug problems would provide psychiatric services at that time? Even counselling? I am unfamiliar with the world of drugs and addiction at all, especially back then.

I just wonder as in the note… it suggests to me he never received psychiatric care at all… “I would have rejected any help”… that combined with when he mentioned to law enforcement “There are no legal consequences of my death or any kind of entanglements.”… it seems to me like he was someone with a clean record who didn’t receive any mental care either… So it makes me wonder whether it was really Wallace or not… Just my own speculation though, of course.

 

[Pseudonymph]

This is my own interpretation of what his note tells us:
1) He was very literate, possibly highly educated, but his writing is oddly formal and stilted. Dispassionate.
2) A lot of his statements show he probably had a flare for the dramatic and/or a tendency toward self-obsession.
3) He doesn’t sound like he was adept at social interactions. Maybe on the spectrum?
4) He makes so many oblique references to somehow being flawed but unable to change. If I had to bet, he was threatened with conversion therapy and knew it would be pointless, but actually wished it would help him. He doesn’t sound like he is happy about whatever is in his head that he can’t change.

If it was Wallace, perhaps his family thought he was disgracing them and decided to say it wasn’t him rather than claim him.

 

[Tower]

DBM

 

[MamaSleuth5]

the family of Charles Wallace Jr. came from Tennessee to see if John Doe was their missing loved one. Charles, who was 19 at the time, disappeared from a Memphis, TN home for teenagers with drug problems. His mother confirmed that John Doe was not her son, however Charles’ dental charts did match John Doe’s. - from the medium article linked previously.
View attachment 532131

Um... people do look different in death... what if his mother was mistaken or in denial?

My condolences, may your aunt rest in peace. Alot of people do think he might be older than estimated, I also think he might be as well, coming from someone who is babyfaced and still gets ID’d.

There is alot of things supporting the idea its Charles, initially when reading the thread my first assumption was that it was him, although now I’m keeping an open mind. As for his mother… it is a pair of shoes I never want to be in, as much as I would like to understand what have been going through her mind at the time. I could understand that her decision could be discredited. Even if it wasn’t, to be in that situation of having to come to terms that your son may have killed himself… To be in that situation in general must be quite distressing and incredibly uncomfortable, and on top of that, judging from how detailed one of the news articles was about it, having media present likely didnt help her mental state at all.

But at the same time… I’m not a mother, and perhaps they really would recognise their childs face when they see it. Overall its quite mystifying, I hope Mrs Wallace has found peace.

IMO it's very possible that BCJD could be Charles. For me, his dental records matching up is compelling, especially the scar in BCJD's mouth that matched Charles' scar. MOO

I have a theory that I know others have shared previously, that it is possible that Charles' mother did recognize him, but for some reason did not wish to identify him officially.. perhaps it was a mother honoring her son's final wish to "let him be".. perhaps her heart just couldn't bear to positively identify him, so there could still be hope there.. perhaps she wanted to protect him from public stigma related to suicide.. any number of reasons. JMO. And if this was in fact what happened, I would not fault his mother at all. MOO.

The post I'm linking below has information about the dental records/scar and Mrs. Wallace's visit to view BCJD's body. I truly feel for her going through what must have been such a traumatic experience.

All of this is JMO. I also remain open to many possibilities.

Post in thread 'LA - Belle Chasse, WhtMale 16-17, UP88342, hanged, suicide note, Feb'75' LA - LA - Belle Chasse, WhtMale 16-17, UP88342, hanged, suicide note, Feb'75

Edited to actually include the link I said I was going to include

 

[Tower]

His handwriting appears to be standard American cursive, same thing I learned in school in the late sixties. It's somewhat simplified from really fancy writing, like the Palmer method (pointer to sample on Wikipedia Palmer Method - Wikipedia)

Here's a pointer to the chart many of us learned from: Cursive - Wikipedia

We got graded on how accurately we could reproduce those shapes.

My grandma is 100 years old and she writes exactly like the Palmer Method handwriting sample here. Her penmanship is still perfect. I didn’t know it was a historical style. Thank you for sharing. I learned the typical cursive you linked here.

 

[cenazoic]

In that particular newspaper too the article and particularly the note, was cut off and going to continue on ‘page 10’, but it seems that part of the newspaper hasn’t been found or uploaded online yet. With what extra information this newspaper provided it makes me wonder just what else was written that could be valuable to us…

Thanks for reminding me of this! Awhile ago (maybe a year or so) I actually called the Plaquemines Parish Library to see if they had the Belle Chase Gazette on microfilm, and if they had this particular issue. They do!

I was planning on looking it up the next time I was in New Orleans (I'm from Louisiana and have family in NO) but somehow that time has never come.

If any locals wanted to grab a copy and upload it, that's where it is.

 

[lazuli]

Thanks for reminding me of this! Awhile ago (maybe a year or so) I actually called the Plaquemines Parish Library to see if they had the Belle Chase Gazette on microfilm, and if they had this particular issue. They do!

I was planning on looking it up the next time I was in New Orleans (I'm from Louisiana and have family in NO) but somehow that time has never come.

If any locals wanted to grab a copy and upload it, that's where it is.

Woah, that’s amazing! Thank you for this information!

 

[Tower]

DBM

 

[Tower]

the family of Charles Wallace Jr. came from Tennessee to see if John Doe was their missing loved one. Charles, who was 19 at the time, disappeared from a Memphis, TN home for teenagers with drug problems. His mother confirmed that John Doe was not her son, however Charles’ dental charts did match John Doe’s. - from the medium article linked previously.
View attachment 532131

Um... people do look different in death... what if his mother was mistaken or in denial?

I am replying to you because you reposted this photo of CW wearing glasses.

We know BCJD was found without shoes, was there any mention of glasses? I’ve re-read all the threads this year and I’m pretty sure glasses weren’t mentioned. Maybe he hid his shoes and glasses to avoid more obvious signs of his identification? Moo

 

[Fake Protagonist]

We know BCJD was found without shoes, was there any mention of glasses? I’ve re-read all the threads this year and I’m pretty sure glasses weren’t mentioned. Maybe he hid his shoes and glasses to avoid more obvious signs of his identification? Moo

I know this case like the back of my hand and I don't recall there ever being any mention of glasses. I'm still stuck on why on earth he'd get rid of his shoes, tbh, unless they were super identifiable and directly traceable to him as you say.

Looking at the pics of Charles Wallace, idk if it's a match just based on visuals. In the pic I've seen of Wallace, he appears to have light or blondish hair - is there any info on the colour of his eyes/hair? John Doe was reported to have dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, iirc. I do think it's compelling that the dentals and mouth scar matched, though. I hope they can exhume the body and do some genetic testing as that's the only way I think this case could ever get solved. On that note, has anyone contacted Othram about this boy? I'm sure they'd be willing to help.

 

[Tower]

I know this case like the back of my hand and I don't recall there ever being any mention of glasses. I'm still stuck on why on earth he'd get rid of his shoes, tbh, unless they were super identifiable and directly traceable to him as you say.

Looking at the pics of Charles Wallace, idk if it's a match just based on visuals. In the pic I've seen of Wallace, he appears to have light or blondish hair - is there any info on the colour of his eyes/hair? John Doe was reported to have dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, iirc. I do think it's compelling that the dentals and mouth scar matched, though. I hope they can exhume the body and do some genetic testing as that's the only way I think this case could ever get solved. On that note, has anyone contacted Othram about this boy? I'm sure they'd be willing to help.

I totally agree, based on visuals, that he looks nothing like CW, mainly the blond hair. But his dental records and a large scar inside his mouth matched, which almost seems irrefutable, unless that was somehow misreported or misinterpreted at the time. Apparently dental records were lost to Katrina, so I’m not sure if dentals could ever be verified today. (There are sources for this in this and previous threads, but MOO because I can’t specify the post number).

 

[Tower]

O

I know this case like the back of my hand and I don't recall there ever being any mention of glasses. I'm still stuck on why on earth he'd get rid of his shoes, tbh, unless they were super identifiable and directly traceable to him as you say.

Looking at the pics of Charles Wallace, idk if it's a match just based on visuals. In the pic I've seen of Wallace, he appears to have light or blondish hair - is there any info on the colour of his eyes/hair? John Doe was reported to have dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, iirc. I do think it's compelling that the dentals and mouth scar matched, though. I hope they can exhume the body and do some genetic testing as that's the only way I think this case could ever get solved. On that note, has anyone contacted Othram about this boy? I'm sure they'd be willing to help.

Othram has been notified earlier in this thread, but there are other agencies involved and someone would need to authorize exhumation of his body, imo, based on what I’ve read here on the threads.

 

[lazuli]

From what I remember, there was no mention about there being any glasses. IMO I do believe in the theory that he lost his shoes while experiencing death throes, as mentioned in discussions earlier on in the thread, the style of shoe likely worn at the time could easily slip off.

I see both the resemblances and differences CW shares with the BCJD… its quite mystifying knowing that the dental records match, despite the visual differences between them. From what I remember when it came to the dental records, there was a presence of a scar, but thats about it. I just wonder if the scar could have been different in any way (i.e, other cheek, horizontal instead of vertical, etc…), and if it would have been mentioned if there was… or were they like ‘yep theres a scar alright’ and didnt think much more about it? Perhaps I need to read over it again…

I also think genetic testing is the key to solving all of this… When I first learned about this boy, before knowing how much success there’s been in recent years in identifying victims, I thought to myself ‘yeah theres no hope, guess we will never know’… but now I truly hope we can get his name back, and show that while he may have thought the world had lost interest in him, in reality we’ve loved and remembered him for almost 50 years… Not sure how, and its probably easier said than done… but I will hold onto that hope, and at the very least make progress one step at a time which right now IMO would be to get the rest of that article from the Plaquemines Gazette… sadly I would not be able to get it myself, but atleast its out there.