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I don't think they know where BCJD is actually buried anymore. Fifty years have gone by and many records were destroyed during Katrina. Even without a catastrophe like Katrina sometimes just time results in lost evidence.
Another poster mentioned wondering about his lack of shoes. Highway 23 probably doesn't look anything like it did 50 years ago. It was probably a two lane road with foliage on both sides. I believe the area where the JD was found was actually on an area of highway 23 that is now called Highway 11. It runs much closer to the Mississippi River. It is still a two lane road. There's a video of a man who posts just driving various routes, and one I found is actually on highway 11. It's kind of remote and under built, not very many homes and what are there are very modest. "In Plaquemines Parish, sections of the original LA 23, since bypassed, are signed as Parish Road 11 (although some maps erroneously list these routes as LA-11), such as in Jesuit Bend and the area south of Port Sulphur through Empire, Buras, and Fort Jackson. Prior to Louisiana's 1955 highway renumbering, LA 23 through Plaquemines Parish was LA 31, and there are some bridges, such as the Bayou Barriere crossings in northern Belle Chasse, that still bear the original numbering." Excerpt from Wikipedia re LA23
Link:
I checked out what persimmon trees look like and they can vary, especially in that area. There are 3 distinct types. Native trees can grow up to 60 feet but more commonly grow up to 20 - 30 feet. The Oriental varieties grow low and are preferred for harvesting. I got this information from various websites. Here's one: American Persimmon.
Back in the 1970s, I wonder if most persimmons were the native type. If someone is familiar with the types of persimmon trees that grow in the area, can you verify how big the grow? Based on the tree's characteristics (thin trunks and branches) you can see them growing beside highway 11 in the video above.
If this is the area where BCJD chose to commit suicide, I'm wondering how he got there. Back in the 1970s it was very common to hitchhike, and I wonder whether that's how he ended up there. And if he did hitchhike why did he get out where he did? Was it because the driver had reached his destination? If that were true, you'd think the news of a body found hanging from a tree would be news in the area and the individual would come forward. If he requested to be let out there, what was the reason? If he planned to commit suicide why here? And why, a persimmon tree? Plaquemine is French Creole for persimmon. Here's a little video re the name. Link:
If the deceased's shoes were never found, does that mean he arrived to the area without shoes? Was he walking along the side of the road and lost them in a muddy ditch (that's happened to me!) Did he take them off before he hanged himself? If he did take them off was that because they would have identified him? Trying to think of the type of shoes that might identify an individual. The only things I can think of are shoes that might be part of a uniform or shoes that have your name written inside. Usually names on clothing or shoes is to identify them to the wearer because others wear the same shoes. Maybe brogues, like those worn at a private school that had uniforms, like a Catholic school or a military school. I think a lot of kids who were sent to military schools were sent there either to 'toughen them up' or because they were "problem kids" getting into trouble and it was a last ditch effort to straighten them out.
Part of me wonders whether this JD was identified anonymously and the family chose to remain quiet.
