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

[cenazoic]

John Deeny’s thread on WS.

 

[PatLaurel]

Missing Person/NamUs #MP20652
John Patrick Deeny, Male, White/Caucasian
Date of Last Contact: March 20, 1973
Missing From: Janesville, Minnesota
Missing Age: 19 Years

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

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

www.namus.gov

View attachment 644881View attachment 644883

Maybe it's too big, maybe the nose isn't the same, but I'm just going by resemblance on the sketch.

John Deeny’s thread on WS.

I think we can rule Deeny out. He had surgical scars on his thighs. The only scar our BCJD had was inside his mouth. MOO JMO

 

[PatLaurel]

Sorry moderators, I noticed that there is a third thread active for this case, wouldn't it be better to close this one and leave the other open?

https://websleuths.com/threads/la-b...7-up88342-hanged-suicide-note-feb75-3.718118/

This also is active...!

That thread was created in 2024, likely by mistake, and hasn’t seen any activity since. It might be a good idea to report it to prevent any potential confusion. MOO JMO

 

[cenazoic]

@PatLaurel think it’s been done - getting a ‘thread not found’.

Agreed about Deeny, but thought I’d link his thread since he was mentioned here as a possibility.

 

[Xymena]

I think we can rule Deeny out. He had surgical scars on his thighs. The only scar our BCJD had was inside his mouth. MOO JMO

I thought that maybe we don't know everything about John Doe...

 

[snooptroop88]

I think we can rule Deeny out. He had surgical scars on his thighs. The only scar our BCJD had was inside his mouth. MOO JMO

I thought that maybe we don't know everything about John Doe...

Agreed, but John's a couple of inches shorter than the shortest projected height for the Doe, and he's not only shorter, but heavier. And I know this is subjective, but I don't think he looks a whole lot like him aside from the dark hair and dreamy eyes. Nose, chin, lips don't look similar enough to me, but it's subjective, and I might be way off or the likeness for the Doe might be way off, (maybe the Doe has features that can vary significantly depending on lighting, angle, and so on). And John's 20 in 1973, he's going to be around 22 by the time the Doe's found. Any one of these things, I'd say maybe, all of them together, I mean it's still maybe, but I think it becomes less and less likely, but again, jmo. The scars kind of sway me too far towards thinking no.

James Zapolski is the closest I've come to any reported MP I think might be the Doe. If it's not him, jmo, I don't think he's reported. And the Doe's letter makes it seem like he should have been reported, theoretically, so... that's a concern.

 

[PatLaurel]

I thought that maybe we don't know everything about John Doe...

The ME was thorough enough to document a scar inside BCJD’s mouth. I doubt they would have missed any surgical scars on his thighs, given that those would be obvious identifying marks. MOO JMO

 

[cenazoic]

The ME was thorough enough to document a scar inside BCJD’s mouth. I doubt they would have missed any surgical scars on his thighs, given that those would be obvious identifying marks.

To document this: Mrs Wallace specifically mentions that Charlie had a scar on his leg missing from BCJD. (See newspaper clipping in post here.) No other mention of leg scars.

 

[PatLaurel]

To document this: Mrs Wallace specifically mentions that Charlie had a scar on his leg missing from BCJD. (See newspaper clipping in post here.) No other mention of leg scars.

I’m still amazed that two different people would have exactly the same 40 stitches scar in such a specific place. I don’t think I’ll ever get over the fact that CW isn’t BCJD. MOO JMO

ETA: @cenazoic, the link to the clipping is broken.

 

[cenazoic]

Arg, sorry!

Try this: LA - LA - Belle Chasse, WhtMale 16-17, UP88342, hanged, suicide note, Feb'75 #1

 

[BigKeyManatee]

Revisiting this thread after several years and I’ve come away with some new (to me) impressions about this young man:

• BCJD acknowledges that he came from a privileged background where his parents provided him with everything, including a fine education. For his supposed age of 16-17, his writing skills suggest an elite secondary school, possibly a prep school, or one with dedicated gifted and talented program. He may have graduated early and obtained an early admission to college.
• BCJD likely had attended at least one year of University where he encountered the writings of Emile Durkheim in a freshman level Psychology or Sociology course. A quick AI inquiry reveals that the 1960’s began the “Academic Consolidation” period for teaching Durkheim in these courses across major universities, notably the University of Chicago. AI recounts that a new translation of ED’s work on SUICIDE was included in the university coursework.
• BCJD may have suffered a psychotic break or a major depressive episode during his freshman year, and chose to flee, instead of returning home to his parents. The suicide note mentions that in his last year he felt particularly isolated, afraid for his future, and of failing his parents’ and societal expectations. Without having statistics to quote, it is common knowledge that many young people, including the T&G, flame out during freshman year, as this is the age where serious mental illnesses first make an appearance.
• BCJD was not local. I believe that he fled as far away as possible from his parents and home to commit his final act. From the respectful tone that he takes with the “authorities,” BCJD had never been in any actual trouble with police. He likely came from a very wealthy, sheltered, and socially-connected family from the Northeast, perhaps as far away as California, but something about Chicago seems a good fit- plus it’s almost due North of Belle Chase, LA.

MOO

 

[Romulus]

ok, i'm interested and sympathetic in both cases, but i'm honestly not seeing what makes you think these are a match. there are some general consistencies, but that's about it.

I see a very strong resemblance between the sketch and the photo of this boy; I repeat, I'm just going by similarity for now.

 

[leahidea]

This case has always been maddening. I've researched missing people from that time and never found a match. The young man writes as though he's loved by loving parents but they never looked for him?

The lack of shoes always led me to believe he was somewhat local but I've searched all states with no success. He couldn't go too far without shoes. It's also such a specific place it feels like a person who is familiar with the region.

These circumstances could be similar to Jason Callahan’s case, in which he had a loving mother who was searching for him and hoping he would come home but never reported him missing.

 

[lynde]

Hello, everyone. This is my first post here — please forgive any formatting inaccuracies and whatnot. I have already lost control over the coloring of my post in an attempt to switch back from blue … (´＾｀。)

Looking through various newspaper archives, I was able to further reconstruct BCJD’s suicide note. Please let me know your thoughts, or if there are any sentences / fragments of which you are aware that I was not. At the very least, I hope it can be helpful to someone.

Mom and Dad:

I feel I have acted very methodically and coolly in my actions and my words. 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 never did develop into a real person and I cannot tolerate the false and empty existence I have created. 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.

Why you should not feel responsible:

I followed a secondary existence while never attending to primary needs. Now it is too painful to reform. I was born with a definite pervasive melancholy. This could only grow and seal off all else. 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. 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. 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 have wanted to do this for over a year. I am not sad or see this as tragic. I feel a release. This is the only way I know to attain harmony. I was a withdrawn baby who became an unpleasant, withdrawn person. I have convinced myself and others that I am not capable of being an asset to society.

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.

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.

Mom and Dad,

You have provided me excellent advantages and privileges and experiences. I have really led more of my life than many others have in (illegible). 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.

And then, some personal thoughts and summarizations of my own:

Re: shoes.
I am of the opinion that he was likely wearing loafers: loafers that he had to take off to scale a tree. I recall reading that there was tree moss found on him, which serves as an implication that he climbed.

Re: mental hospital patient.
His note implies that he never engaged with psychiatric care, which makes this an unlikely possibility to me.

Re: writing style and age estimate.
It is plausible and possible, and that alone is enough to let it be. Of course, missing persons who fall beyond the estimated age range should be considered as possible matches, but I am personally of the mind that he is likely of the age the authorities found him to be. He self-describes as “withdrawn”, and withdrawn people find solace in the written word: something that can result in verbose, archaic, “mature” phrasings that seem unusual for teenagers.

Re: potential international student.
He uses the word “Mom”, not “Mum”, which rules out both Australia and the UK. Other US spelling variants appear in his letter as well. I believe him to have been from the U.S.

Re: Plath.
I can see her works having influenced him, as they have influenced me. I do not think that he kept his note in a bell jar, though, since those are distinct enough to warrant specification in news articles: something that did not come up in any of the ones I found. An aside: I suggest reading “Lady Lazarus” for a quick taste of the type of poetry she wrote. There are happier poems, too, of course, but in our boy’s case, I think he would have been influenced by that most similar to the aforementioned. The first version of Ariel, the collection of which it was a part, was published in America in 1966, giving our boy plenty of time to come across it.

Re: foul play.
Why bother staging a suicide when the Mississippi River is right there? Unlikely.

As for his appearance, since CW was ruled out as a potential match due to having been identified as another Doe, I believe it fair to take his mother’s reported observations as fact. Our boy is therefore likely very pale — paler than CW, of whom we have photos to compare — with dark hair and no apparent scarring aside from that reported of his mouth. I would also hesitate to consider any UIDs with facial hair, since our boy is described to have “peach fuzz”. (๑•﹏•)

Re: eye color.
The newspapers state that the couple who discovered him did not see him when they drove through the area a few hours prior, which leads me to believe that he was found less than 12 hours after his death. I do not know if eye color can change so much in that little time, but please correct me if you know more about this than I do.

I have more thoughts, but I’ll leave it there for now. I do apologize for the formatting of this (yet again). (›´-`‹ )

 

[MamaSleuth5]

Hello, everyone. This is my first post here — please forgive any formatting inaccuracies and whatnot. I have already lost control over the coloring of my post in an attempt to switch back from blue … (´＾｀。)

Looking through various newspaper archives, I was able to further reconstruct BCJD’s suicide note. Please let me know your thoughts, or if there are any sentences / fragments of which you are aware that I was not. At the very least, I hope it can be helpful to someone.

Mom and Dad:

I feel I have acted very methodically and coolly in my actions and my words. 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 never did develop into a real person and I cannot tolerate the false and empty existence I have created. 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.

Why you should not feel responsible:

I followed a secondary existence while never attending to primary needs. Now it is too painful to reform. I was born with a definite pervasive melancholy. This could only grow and seal off all else. 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. 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. 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 have wanted to do this for over a year. I am not sad or see this as tragic. I feel a release. This is the only way I know to attain harmony. I was a withdrawn baby who became an unpleasant, withdrawn person. I have convinced myself and others that I am not capable of being an asset to society.

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.

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.

Mom and Dad,

You have provided me excellent advantages and privileges and experiences. I have really led more of my life than many others have in (illegible). 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.

And then, some personal thoughts and summarizations of my own:

Re: shoes.
I am of the opinion that he was likely wearing loafers: loafers that he had to take off to scale a tree. I recall reading that there was tree moss found on him, which serves as an implication that he climbed.

Re: mental hospital patient.
His note implies that he never engaged with psychiatric care, which makes this an unlikely possibility to me.

Re: writing style and age estimate.
It is plausible and possible, and that alone is enough to let it be. Of course, missing persons who fall beyond the estimated age range should be considered as possible matches, but I am personally of the mind that he is likely of the age the authorities found him to be. He self-describes as “withdrawn”, and withdrawn people find solace in the written word: something that can result in verbose, archaic, “mature” phrasings that seem unusual for teenagers.

Re: potential international student.
He uses the word “Mom”, not “Mum”, which rules out both Australia and the UK. Other US spelling variants appear in his letter as well. I believe him to have been from the U.S.

Re: Plath.
I can see her works having influenced him, as they have influenced me. I do not think that he kept his note in a bell jar, though, since those are distinct enough to warrant specification in news articles: something that did not come up in any of the ones I found. An aside: I suggest reading “Lady Lazarus” for a quick taste of the type of poetry she wrote. There are happier poems, too, of course, but in our boy’s case, I think he would have been influenced by that most similar to the aforementioned. The first version of Ariel, the collection of which it was a part, was published in America in 1966, giving our boy plenty of time to come across it.

Re: foul play.
Why bother staging a suicide when the Mississippi River is right there? Unlikely.

As for his appearance, since CW was ruled out as a potential match due to having been identified as another Doe, I believe it fair to take his mother’s reported observations as fact. Our boy is therefore likely very pale — paler than CW, of whom we have photos to compare — with dark hair and no apparent scarring aside from that reported of his mouth. I would also hesitate to consider any UIDs with facial hair, since our boy is described to have “peach fuzz”. (๑•﹏•)

Re: eye color.
The newspapers state that the couple who discovered him did not see him when they drove through the area a few hours prior, which leads me to believe that he was found less than 12 hours after his death. I do not know if eye color can change so much in that little time, but please correct me if you know more about this than I do.

I have more thoughts, but I’ll leave it there for now. I do apologize for the formatting of this (yet again). (›´-`‹ )

Thank you for your thoughtful post. You make some really good points IMO! Your care and compassion for BCJD shines through. Welcome to Websleuths, @lynde !

MOO

 

[leahidea]

People have, many, many times but investigation cannot go forward if Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Department do not want to cooperate. Virginia Beach Police are well aware of BCJD & have shown major interest & believe him to be an amazing match for Bayard. Unfortunately this is extremely complicated & we can only really hope for a miracle

When I think about this more it’s a bit crazy how they don’t want to cooperate, especially since this is a case that has so much attention on it. I remember seeing a previous post in this thread about how they don’t find the matter pressing, but also how the area is pretty remote, so what could possibly be so much more important?? Cows escaping their pens and running away into the street???

 

[PatLaurel]

I remember seeing a previous post in this thread about how they don’t find the matter pressing, but also how the area is pretty remote, so what could possibly be so much more important??

Sometimes the issue isn’t priority, but lack of resources and funding.
I don’t know the exact cost of all the legal procedures, but to locate a casket, do the exhumation, run DNA testing, and handle all the FIGG work, I’d guess it would be around $10K–$30K. MOO JMO

 

[leahidea]

Sometimes the issue isn’t priority, but lack of resources and funding.
I don’t know the exact cost of all the legal procedures, but to locate a casket, do the exhumation, run DNA testing, and handle all the FIGG work, I’d guess it would be around $10K–$30K. MOO JMO

True, and I acknowledge these difficulties. To even just find the grave, a court order would be required, there’s a lack of case files, it’s not a crime, and simply put it would cost a lot of money, effort, and time.

But it makes me wonder, maybe if enough people are willing to donate (I 100% would be) it could convince them? Even as they don’t know exactly where the grave is, by process of elimination they could definitely work it out eventually- especially since I doubt there’s a multitude of unidentified teenage boys in the cemetery who are from the exact same time period. I guess the frustration of the case is just getting to me because it just seems like there’s so many things constantly blocking the path to identifying him, which is ironic in the sense that he himself stated how finding who he was would cost thousands of dollars.

So I admit I guess I was wrong now that I’m thinking and reading more about the case- maybe it’s not that they don’t want to cooperate, but you’re right, it’s just lack of resources and funding. Unfortunately, repeatedly calling/contacting them isn’t going to solve anything which is exactly why I bring up the idea of if it’s possible to crowdfund, because, again, I would 100% donate, and I know plenty of other people would too.

 

[PatLaurel]

True, and I acknowledge these difficulties. To even just find the grave, a court order would be required, there’s a lack of case files, it’s not a crime, and simply put it would cost a lot of money, effort, and time.

But it makes me wonder, maybe if enough people are willing to donate (I 100% would be) it could convince them? Even as they don’t know exactly where the grave is, by process of elimination they could definitely work it out eventually- especially since I doubt there’s a multitude of unidentified teenage boys in the cemetery who are from the exact same time period. I guess the frustration of the case is just getting to me because it just seems like there’s so many things constantly blocking the path to identifying him, which is ironic in the sense that he himself stated how finding who he was would cost thousands of dollars.

So I admit I guess I was wrong now that I’m thinking and reading more about the case- maybe it’s not that they don’t want to cooperate, but you’re right, it’s just lack of resources and funding. Unfortunately, repeatedly calling/contacting them isn’t going to solve anything which is exactly why I bring up the idea of if it’s possible to crowdfund, because, again, I would 100% donate, and I know plenty of other people would too.

BBM
I don't how many times the agency handling the case has been contacted. From what I remember, all the cemetery files were lost (to a fire?) and caskets were displaced during Hurricane Katrina, I also remember that Mothe Funeral Home had no records, though someone here said Mr. Mothe knew exactly where John Doe was laid to rest. Since we’re not sure how accurate these accounts are, it wouldn’t hurt to contact the PPSO again, and maybe ask for @othram's help? MOO JMO

 

[Sweetluv]

Received a reply back from FACES. There are factors as to why DNA testing has not been performed.
Records were lost during Hurricane Katrina and the Cemetery is known but there is not a marked burial plot. They are working with agencies for resolution and hope that one day, DNA testing can done.

From April 2024. Funding is not the issue. It's finding the whereabouts of his remains to extract DNA.