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

[summergirl1]

Would an accent draw attention in Belle Chase? If someone was new in town especially if they were from an other country would that be something people would notice? If you were going to commit suicide it seems like something you do while depressed but not something you travel that far to do. Not with suicide in mind. I’m not thinking of assisted suicide so people can die with dignity. This is a teenager so was it planned. It seems like if he was local someone would have recognized him or noticed a missing student or neighbor.

There are solved Doe cases where the person traveled to commit suicide or committed suicide while traveling-in hotels, for example, or wherever they may have just stopped their car. There's also other Doe cases like the well known "Mary Anderson" (1996 suicide by cyanide in a hotel) and more obscure ones like one mentioned on here "Bruce Peck" ( a young man who died by overdose in a Massachusetts hotel in 1971) where the person hasn't been identified yet, so it's unclear how far they may have traveled.. MA - "Bruce Peck" White Male, Hotel Charles, Springfield, Mass, 19th December 1971

 

[Fake Protagonist]

If you were going to commit suicide it seems like something you do while depressed but not something you travel that far to do. Not with suicide in mind.

i think lots of people might sorta just wander aimlessly into new and unfamiliar places when they’re that depressed. i know i did, but since i was a teenager and still in college at the time, i never went too far away from home. i always made sure i wasn’t more than a few bus or train rides away from where i started. that was my safety net.

for some, it’s soul-searching of sorts, like looking for a reason not to go through with their suicide. for others, it’s like a ‘i want to see as much of the world as possible before i leave it’ kinda thing. others just want to get as far away from home as possible, which happens for a multitude of reasons, and this is fairly common in people who wish for their body to remain unidentified once they’re gone. i know of several cases of people travelling hundreds of miles across states to find somewhere off the beaten path to kill themselves (this is definitely more of a thing with adults, though; not typical with teenagers like the Belle Chasse boy).

 

[DoeResearcherSM]

A 17-year-old police informant??
Sounds like they know which group of his friends committed the foul play, so I wonder why they couldn't recover him? Off to read more about RHM's case.

ETA: RHM's case is an odd one. It sounds like he was probably a victim of foul play, not suicide, though. JMO.

I agree - that sounds like rumors made up by kids to either cover for him running away or to create a little drama to explain the unknown. I actually think Ralph might be "Swimsuit Boy."

 

[Professor Bell]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Date of Discovery: February 14, 1975
Location of Discovery: Belle Chasse, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana
Estimated Date of Death: Recent
State of Remains: Recognizable face
Cause of Death: Suicide by hanging

Physical Description

Estimated Age: 16-18 years old
Race: White
Sex: Male
Height: 5'10"-6'0" estimated
Weight: 150-160 lbs estimated
Hair: Brown, short
Eye Color: Brown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Slightly protruding front teeth

Identifiers - Unavailable

Clothing and Personal Items

Clothing: Maroon & yellow long-sleeved Puritan knit shirt, blue Arrow pants with a brown belt, one grey & one dark blue socks, no shoes
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Discovery: A couple driving through the woods on a farm road (between Highway 23 and the Mississippi River) found the body of the decedent hanging from a limb of a persimmon tree, a bedsheet tied around his neck.

Against the tree was a jar full of note paper. Inside was a suicide note addressed to his parents:


"Mom and Dad,

You have provided be excellent advantages and privileges and experiences. I am extremely grateful for all of your sacrifices, time and support. I am now repaying you with an arrogant act. In this light, I do see it as criminal. I can only hope that you see that it was me who caused it.

I never did develop into a real person and I cannot tolerate the false and empty existence I have created.

It is best if I cease to live, quietly, than risk that later I will break and shatter by violence or linger years under care. I implore you to see a psychiatrist in order that you might understand my death and my life. Ask thoroughly about what I was and you will see that it is not tragic that I am gone but more natural than if I continued.
I was born with a definite pervasive melancholy. What frustrated me most in the last year was that I had built no ties to family or friends. There was nothing of lasting worth and value. I led a detached existence and I was a parody of a person-literally and figuratively. I didn't tell jokes-I was a joke.

I am a bomb of frustration and should never marry or have children. It is safest to defuse the bomb harmlessly now. I do not want to bother with being a "reformed and cured" person limping through life. I am this self-centered.

I am no longer interested in the world and know that it is not interested in me. When you stop growing you are dead. I stopped growing long ago."

The decedent cited the writing of Emile Durkheim, a philosopher and psychologist. He also added this aside to authorities:
You are bound to preserve domestic peace and order. If you pursue who I was (and spend hundreds of dollars) you will accomplish little. There are no legal consequences of my death or any kind of entanglements. All that can happen is that you will shatter the domestic peace and order of two innocent lives. Do not deprive them of the hope that their "missing" son will return. Let me be, let it be as if I wasn't ever here. Simply cremate me as John Doe."

There are no surviving reports/records from either the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office or Coroner's Office. At the time of discovery, the decedent's fingerprints had been circulated to police across the country.

If you have any information about this John Doe, please contact the following agencies:

Agency Name: LSU FACES Laboratory
Agency Phone Number: 225-578-4761
Agency E-mail: [email protected]
Agency Case Number: LSU 22-05 / 117-15-979

Agency Name: Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office
Agency Phone Number: 504-564-2525

Links:

https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/software/main.html?id=3832UMLA

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Case #22-05 - LA Repository for Unidentified & Missing People

 

[PatLaurel]

Bumping and inviting @Professor Bell to the thread.

MOO JMO

 

[Professor Bell]

Thank you for the invite. I didn't see that there was already a thread. Apologies for my inattention.

 

[Professor Bell]

Did they have the EXACT same scar though, or a VERY similar one? What do we know collectively speaking about matching dentals? Have they ever been wrong in the past? (I feel like there was a more recent example, but I cannot for the life of me remember who it was. Anyone remember?)

The reason I put suggestions forth in support of Earl is because this has remained as it is for so long. The picture of Earl's mom is not meant as strong proof of anything, more "Hey, she has some resemblance as well", since we only have a sketch of the UID (vs photos) and only a few low quality pics of Earl.

Personally I feel we have to consider other young men as matches aside from Charles Wallace. Or someone does? As you guys have put this, how will it ever be solved if no one really seems to care about it, there is no DNA, no dental, no fingerprints, etc?

I agree there is a lot supporting Charles Wallace, however his mother said it was not him. Maybe it was him, and she had her reasons, but we should also consider maybe BCJD was NOT CW. Like so many missing, he could be someone never reported, or only reported locally and lost to time as well.

It is tragic the records have been lost.

I suspect that it was him, but without the conclusive evidence of DNA samples, I'm afraid we'll never know for sure.

 

[snarast]

I suspect that it was him, but without the conclusive evidence of DNA samples, I'm afraid we'll never know for sure.

His explicit guilt tripping for cremation - that must be the only time in history that sentence was composed - makes me think he had some very distinguishing physical characteristics. That he wanted to be gone.

 

[summergirl1]

I know of another John Doe who left a note saying they preferred to be cremated -

ID Thread 'ID - Boise, WhtMale, alias 'William Toomey', cyanide suicide in church, Dec'82'

Mar 13, 2011

I haven't been able to find much info on this Doe. He was featured on an Unsolved Mysteries segment. I am unsure if he was ever identified, but it seems like he hasn't been. He went into the Sacred Hearts Church in Boise, Idaho, and committed suicide by taking cyanide capsules. The John Doe was dressed in Western attire (with a very distinctive belt with a coin in it), and the only name on his person was "Wm L. Toomey," but noything can be found on a person with that name (seems to be a pseudonym). He left a large sum of money ($1900) to the church to cover funeral costs.


Here are some...

• JupiterAmmon
• Replies: 47
• Forum: The Unidentified

• 

William L. Toomey

Real Name: Unrevealed Case: Unidentified Remains Location: Boise, Idaho Date: December 4, 1982 Details: A man using the name "William L. Toomey" was found dead on December 4, 1982, in the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Boise, Idaho. Three weeks later, on December 28, over 300 members of the...

unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com

I think if Belle Chasse John Doe absolutely wanted to be cremated, he would likely have been more direct. I don't think cremation was common in Louisiana in the mid 1970s (not that has anything to do with that, just a remark).

 

[snarast]

I know of another John Doe who left a note saying they preferred to be cremated -

ID Thread 'ID - Boise, WhtMale, alias 'William Toomey', cyanide suicide in church, Dec'82'

Mar 13, 2011

I haven't been able to find much info on this Doe. He was featured on an Unsolved Mysteries segment. I am unsure if he was ever identified, but it seems like he hasn't been. He went into the Sacred Hearts Church in Boise, Idaho, and committed suicide by taking cyanide capsules. The John Doe was dressed in Western attire (with a very distinctive belt with a coin in it), and the only name on his person was "Wm L. Toomey," but noything can be found on a person with that name (seems to be a pseudonym). He left a large sum of money ($1900) to the church to cover funeral costs.


Here are some...

• JupiterAmmon
• Replies: 47
• Forum: The Unidentified

• 

William L. Toomey

Real Name: Unrevealed Case: Unidentified Remains Location: Boise, Idaho Date: December 4, 1982 Details: A man using the name "William L. Toomey" was found dead on December 4, 1982, in the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Boise, Idaho. Three weeks later, on December 28, over 300 members of the...

unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com

I think if Belle Chasse John Doe absolutely wanted to be cremated, he would likely have been more direct. I don't think cremation was common in Louisiana in the mid 1970s (not that has anything to do with that, just a remark).

Of course many have wanted to be cremated - but few have tried to guilt trip authorities in the way this guy did. He sounds like Goethe’s young Werther or something. Quite talented.

I find him to be very convincing - strategic and demanding - and remember this was way before TLDR.

 

[Richard]

Plaquemines Parish John Doe (1975)


Discovered
February 14, 1975
Unidentified for 46 years
Sex Male
Location Belle Chasse, Louisiana
Age 16-17
Race White
Height 6'
Weight 160 pounds
Body condition Recognizable face
Postmortem interval Hours
Cause of death Hanging
Plaquemines Parish John Doe was a teenager who committed suicide by hanging himself from a persimmon tree in Naomi near Belle Chasse, Louisiana. A lengthy suicide note addressed to his parents and the police was found in a sealed glass jar resting against the tree's trunk. Few details of this case are available.

Sources

• Plaquemines Parish John Doe at Find a Grave
• Lakeland Ledger
• Lakeland Ledger
• The Evening Independent
• The Times-Picayune
• The Times-Picayune
• Blog
• Text-only video
• Plaquemines Parish John Doe (1975)

 

[The4TierBridge]

I can’t find his thread here (if he has one), but Charles Wallace has been identified via DNA as #UP5181 (who also does not have a thread here), found in Lee County, Arkansas, in 1977, so he is definitely NOT this person.

Remains identified as missing man after 48 years, ASP says

The Arkansas State Police has identified human remains discovered nearly five decades ago in rural Lee County.

www.actionnews5.com

 

[Sweetluv]

I can’t find his thread here (if he has one), but Charles Wallace has been identified viaThe DNA as #UP5181, found in Lee County, Arkansas, in 1977, so he is definitely NOT this person.

Remains identified as missing man after 48 years, ASP says

The Arkansas State Police has identified human remains discovered nearly five decades ago in rural Lee County.

www.actionnews5.com

Wow..this is huge! Many of us, because of the dentals/ mouth scar, thought this UID could be Charles Wallace.
Great find @The4TierBridge

 

[Sweetluv]

Othram just announced they helped with the identification of Charles Wallace.

 

[summergirl1]

After 48 Years, Lee County John Doe (1977) is Now Identified

Arkansas State Police Teams with Othram to Identify a 1977 John Doe

dnasolves.com

 

[Romulus]

I checked on the website, UP5181 case wasn't on Websleuths, there are so many cases that no one posted it.

 

[333_OnlyHalfEvil]

Very sad. He was obviously very intellectual and educated. And very, very unhappy.

 

[PatLaurel]

Othram just announced they helped with the identification of Charles Wallace.

After 48 Years, Lee County John Doe (1977) is Now Identified

Arkansas State Police Teams with Othram to Identify a 1977 John Doe

dnasolves.com

I'm glad to see that Charles H. Wallace has been found. I was really convinced he was our Belle Chasse Doe.

RIP, Charlie.

 

[PatLaurel]

I checked on the website, UP5181 case wasn't on Websleuths, there are so many cases that no one posted it.

Doe Network for the John Doe: https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/software/main.html?id=2837umar

2837UMAR - Unidentified Male​

[td]

[/td]​

Date of Discovery: January 13, 1977
Location of Discovery: Lee County, Arkansas
Estimated Date of Death: 1972 to 1977
State of Remains: Partial skeletal remains
Cause of Death: Unknown

Physical Description​

Estimated Age: 16-30 years old
Race: White
Sex: Male
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Hair: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown

Identifiers​

Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Discovery​

The victim's partial remains were found in Lee County. His torso and an arm/hand were not recovered.

Forensic Genealogy​

Investigating Agency(s)​

Agency Name: Lee County Coroner's Office
Agency Contact Person: Chris Edwards
Agency Phone Number: 870-295-9619
Agency E-mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 12-77
NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: 5181

Information Source(s)​

Namus

Admin Notes​

Added: 4/25/17; Last Updated: 4/25/17

 

[cenazoic]

Wow!!! I was always iffy on CW for BCJD but he was also the most likely guess.

Who are we left with (of known missing persons)? I think the runner-up might be Bayard Cousins?

As an aside, what I wouldn’t give for PDs to allow civilian volunteers to get all their dang records online. There was nothing online about Charlie except as it related to BCJD, and some HS/FFA stuff.

Wow!!!!