LA LA - Belle Chasse, WhtMale 16-17, UP88342, hanged, suicide note, Feb'75 #2

[Caring1]

We can rule Nichols out. He was murdered that same day, and several people were involved. When I read about an alleged sighting by other hunters, who said Nichols ran from them, I really thought he might have just wanted to start over somewhere else. The search that had already been called off, was resumed because of that sighting. Looking back, I believe the sighting was a red herring meant to make LE think Nichols was still alive. It’s sad that his body has never been found.

Log into Facebook

MOO JMO

Yes, I read that as well. Originally LE believed he left on his own and sent his fingerprints out to law enforcement agencies around the country. That seemed overkill if they really believed he had been murdered. Authorities did state at a later date that they thought he had probably been shot and killed but like you said, no body. I really felt he could be a possibility but looking less likely.

 

[snooptroop88]

Andrew Andrzejewski...I dont think was capable.
Norman Prater was ID

James Zapolski and Andrew Andrzejewski are MPs I'd like to see, along with Michael Burnett. Agreed that Andrew Andrzejewski couldn't do the note because he couldn't write per sources, but I'm not 100% it was a suicide, so I'd still want him on the list.

So sifting through that big long list in chat, some of the MPs are too short to match the measurements given for the Doe and a couple too tall. Some are shorter but with time for growth, however-- generally, my guess is that once one enters the status of MP, one has likely entered into a set of circumstances where growth in height will potentially be slowed, and weight loss rather than weight gain will probably (only probably) be the rule. So I kind of looked for just modest growth gains in whatever the period would be for that MP before 1975.

Mark Bachelder and David Hesterlee are suspected victims of a drowning accident per couple sources

Alan Soper and also William Elroy Meyer both match up in a lot of ways, and the Doe might be older than we thought. But for both MPs, the hair looks too wavy, but jmo. And Alan Soper and William Elroy Meyer have blue eyes, too. But they match in a lot, lot of ways. Derran Rogers is right on for height, weight AND age. I don't think he looks like the Doe, but that's only my opinion, and I mean he has brown hair, he has quite similar features, so... he seems to match up. His hair looks kind of light, though, the Doe's hair is darker brown, and is what I'm seeing correct that the eye color's unknown on Derran? So that could be an issue there as well.

Generally, James Zapolski is the closest I've come after a lot, lot of picking through, and that's still unlikely with the eye color. I mean not literally impossible, but probably close. I fear that this Doe was never reported at all. If not, why not? The letter seems to indicate he would have been. At the same time I was wondering on this, though, I was reading that barefoot tree climbing is quite the thing, so this could explain a lot in terms of my questions, but did the Doe's feet look like they'd just climbed the tree, was there moss on the Doe's feet? Worrisome situation jmo. Tragic no matter what the answers are, too.

 

[Sweetluv]

This case got nationwide attention. His pics and fingerprints were widely circulated. Over 300 people called in and a handful took a look at the body, which was preserved for 4 months, in hopes of an ID. I dont understand how he got to his final destination without being spotted?
It was Valentines Day..a Friday ...no one gave a ride or seen a young man walking in mismatched clothes, no shoes, carrying a sheet and a glass jar ?

 

[Sweetluv]

Kinda reminds me of DB Cooper..for over 50 years with nationwide attention, no one has come forward saying they gave him a ride by taxi or seen a man dressed in a black suit, white dress shirt , tie, and dress shoes walking with a brief case?
Unless, he was given a ride by a second accomplice or had another outfit on changing into the suit n briefcase attire at the airport. Maybe this young man did the same? Could he have had a backpack, containing this mismatched array of clothes n socks and jar? Changed, then threw everything into the backpack along with his shoes and ditched the backpack somewhere? He didnt want to be ID..maybe he wanted to look homeless and disheveled. The best way to go unrecognized is to appear like someone your not...

 

[Sweetluv]

No teen or young adult speaks in the way the suicide note was written.
Many lines start out with "I" followed by a passage from the Philospher Durkheim .
Was he trying to appear like he was well educated but actually copying phrases?
He wanted the police to not attempt to ID him, but he wrote a FOUR page note addressed to mom n dad..leaving little tidbits in the note, leading one to believe he was privileged and came from a well to do family. For someone not wanting his identity to be revealed, leaving a note in a jar, to be protected from wind n rain leads me to think he wanted that note read. If he was trying to throw everyone off, he succeed for almost 51 years!

 

[Sweetluv]

I hv been interested in this case for a long time. So I try to look at different angles.
Maybe mom and dad died, he was sent to live with grandmom or put in a foster home...never reported missing. I believe he addressed to "mom and dad" in quotes...as if though they no longer existed or never did. Thanks for letting me ramble..lol

 

[Valiant]

If you look and act like a lot of the people around you, it is easy to go unnoticed.
People were more likely to be well dressed to travel and fly back when DB Cooper hijacked the plane - especially businessmen. The whole flying in PJs and sweats thing is a recent phenomenon.
Likewise I think this John Doe easily blended in with the crowds. He appeared very normal until he did something far from normal.

 

[Sweetluv]

Sent out an email to Faces and DNA Doe Project in regards to potential matches on behalf of us. If I hear anything, I will be sure to post!

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Over 300 people called in

There were so many missing teen boys in the '70's. How many more were there, not reported, and never made it to NamUs, I wonder?

No teen or young adult speaks in the way the suicide note was written.

I respectfully disagree. It was the '70's and there were some very well-educated intelligent young people. They also read a lot more books back then. They would meet up to discuss politics. It was a drastically different time, IMO, the '60's and '70's.

 

[cenazoic]

No teen or young adult speaks in the way the suicide note was written.

I respectfully disagree.

I go back and forth on his apparent age vs. his writing style.

On one hand, I too was a hyper-literate (and pretentious) teenager so I can believe he’s a teenager. On the other hand, there’s a …sophistication in the way he writes that all the ten-dollar vocabulary words in the world can’t compensate for, and with which teenagers don’t have the life experience/wisdom yet to express themselves.

So I do tend to believe he’s older than we think; still young, early twenties maybe, but definitely not 16.

One of my theories is that this is a young man who spent time at the Menninger Clinic (a world-famous psychiatric clinic, at the time located in Topeka, Kansas). This is very speculative and based on a very fragile thread:

I know for a fact that the “Durkheim” quote is wrong. Durkheim never said any such thing (about suicide being homicide against oneself). You know who did? Karl Menninger, in his book Man Against Himself.

I don’t recall, in the many versions of the note published online and in newspapers, seeing the Durkheim bit exactly quoted, so it’s possible that BCJD didn’t even mention Durkheim by name, but rather expressed the idea about suicide, and a reporter poorly remembered his psych 101 class and got the name wrong.

In any case, it seems, and the note alludes to the fact, that BCJD had long-term psychiatric issues, for which he’d received treatment.

Although he could have come from anywhere, I further vaguely suspect he was from the urban Midwest; St. Louis/Chicago/Minneapolis-ish, educated, middle-to-upper middle class family. Hence: Menninger Clinic.

I also think he was reported missing, but due to his age/ mental health/the ‘70s, may have fallen through the cracks. It’s possible some PD somewhere still has that case file (never published in Namus), much like what happened with Charlie Wallace’s recent ID.

 

[EloquentEyes1975]

I go back and forth on his apparent age vs. his writing style.

On one hand, I too was a hyper-literate (and pretentious) teenager so I can believe he’s a teenager. On the other hand, there’s a …sophistication in the way he writes that all the ten-dollar vocabulary words in the world can’t compensate for, and with which teenagers don’t have the life experience/wisdom yet to express themselves.

So I do tend to believe he’s older than we think; still young, early twenties maybe, but definitely not 16.

One of my theories is that this is a young man who spent time at the Menninger Clinic (a world-famous psychiatric clinic, at the time located in Topeka, Kansas). This is very speculative and based on a very fragile thread:

I know for a fact that the “Durkheim” quote is wrong. Durkheim never said any such thing (about suicide being homicide against oneself). You know who did? Karl Menninger, in his book Man Against Himself.

I don’t recall, in the many versions of the note published online and in newspapers, seeing the Durkheim bit exactly quoted, so it’s possible that BCJD didn’t even mention Durkheim by name, but rather expressed the idea about suicide, and a reporter poorly remembered his psych 101 class and got the name wrong.

In any case, it seems, and the note alludes to the fact, that BCJD had long-term psychiatric issues, for which he’d received treatment.

Although he could have come from anywhere, I further vaguely suspect he was from the urban Midwest; St. Louis/Chicago/Minneapolis-ish, educated, middle-to-upper middle class family. Hence: Menninger Clinic.

I also think he was reported missing, but due to his age/ mental health/the ‘70s, may have fallen through the cracks. It’s possible some PD somewhere still has that case file (never published in Namus), much like what happened with Charlie Wallace’s recent ID.

I think his mistake in who-said-quotes tells a story. We know at one point he read or at-least knew of both Durkheim & Menninger, and i think this could be quite identifiable while being an incredibly small detail.

 

[DannonV]

I honestly feel so attached to this case. I have an Ancestry and Newspapers subscription, so I’ve been trying to search within the Newspapers in the Plaquemines Parish area, and attempt to find any matches from the early-to-mid 1970s.

I’ve also been looking at Ancestry yearbooks from around the time, and I’ve found some fairly similar-looking people. It seems as though the John Doe was from the area given his striking similarities to some of the other people I’ve seen— the hairstyle, eye color, thicker lips, and even partially concave cleft chin were all fairly common features within Plaquemines Parish from around that time.

Something in my heart is just gravitating me towards this case— I don’t know exactly what it is, but I feel like I have a connection with it. I would love to name some possible people, but I don’t know if that would be the smartest. I don’t want to invade anyone’s privacy, as the people who look similar my still be alive and I could just be barking up the wrong tree.

There was one kid who would have been round that age and had attempted to run away in September of 1974; he was caught around a week later in Texas. That was the only time he’d been mentioned in the newspaper, but again, I may be looking at a human being who is still alive.

I hope he gets found. He needs a name, whether it be shared to the public or not.

 

[DannonV]

I honestly feel so attached to this case. I have an Ancestry and Newspapers subscription, so I’ve been trying to search within the Newspapers in the Plaquemines Parish area, and attempt to find any matches from the early-to-mid 1970s.

I’ve also been looking at Ancestry yearbooks from around the time, and I’ve found some fairly similar-looking people. It seems as though the John Doe was from the area given his striking similarities to some of the other people I’ve seen— the hairstyle, eye color, thicker lips, and even partially concave cleft chin were all fairly common features within Plaquemines Parish from around that time.

Something in my heart is just gravitating me towards this case— I don’t know exactly what it is, but I feel like I have a connection with it. I would love to name some possible people, but I don’t know if that would be the smartest. I don’t want to invade anyone’s privacy, as the people who look similar my still be alive and I could just be barking up the wrong tree.

There was one kid who would have been round that age and had attempted to run away in September of 1974; he was caught around a week later in Texas. That was the only time he’d been mentioned in the newspaper, but again, I may be looking at a human being who is still alive.

I hope he gets found. He needs a name, whether it be shared to the public or not.

Furthermore, I would love if we got some people from Plaquemines Parish to involve themselves in this case on Othram. Maybe if someone with Louisiana Creole ancestry in the area could possibly submit their DNA to the site, we could get a lead.

P.S.: The reason I say “Creole ancestry” is because, as stated in the first few paragraphs of mine I am replying to, he looked very similar to a bunch of the boys in the area that I saw— a lot of them with French surnames, which would lead to at least a partial Creole background.

 

[Lebowski]

No teen or young adult speaks in the way the suicide note was written.
Many lines start out with "I" followed by a passage from the Philospher Durkheim .
Was he trying to appear like he was well educated but actually copying phrases?
...

bbm, sbm

i did. i was a nerd.

 

[cenazoic]

I think his mistake in who-said-quotes tells a story.

I think so too, although I don’t know what the story is.

I wrote about the Durkheim/Menninger confusion here (in 2023) if you’re interested in the minute details of this minute detail. I still can’t quite pull the threads together to make it anything other than a semi-interesting anomaly, though. People misquote others all the time without it necessarily signifying anything other than a bad memory.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

On the other hand, there’s a …sophistication in the way he writes that all the ten-dollar vocabulary words in the world can’t compensate for, and with which teenagers don’t have the life experience/wisdom yet to express themselves

I see what you're saying. Maybe I just want to believe a 16 - 17 year old could write that way. It's too narrow an age range anyway.

 

[JSolt1210]

I go back and forth on his apparent age vs. his writing style.

On one hand, I too was a hyper-literate (and pretentious) teenager so I can believe he’s a teenager. On the other hand, there’s a …sophistication in the way he writes that all the ten-dollar vocabulary words in the world can’t compensate for, and with which teenagers don’t have the life experience/wisdom yet to express themselves.

So I do tend to believe he’s older than we think; still young, early twenties maybe, but definitely not 16.

I see what you're saying. Maybe I just want to believe a 16 - 17 year old could write that way. It's too narrow an age range anyway.

I also agree that the writing style usually aligns more with someone of college-age rather than high school. But I wouldn't rule out a 16-17 year-old for the following reasons:

1. Even in high school, we're all aware that there are different ways to write depending on the occasion. That is, the way I write in my journal, or to my family or friends, is not the same way I'm going to write my term paper for my teacher to grade.

BCJD certainly knew he was writing his final note, and some of it was addressed directly to formal authority figures. I think this occasion would influence his diction, elevating it beyond his normal patterns of everyday speech and writing.

2. BCJD clearly states in his letter that he felt melancholy, empty and detached from people, especially in the last year. What do people do when they feel so profoundly alone? They might seek refuge in books, literature, and study. And the more you do that, the more you might adopt the styles of the kind of literature you're reading—especially if you really connect with it.

I know for a fact that the “Durkheim” quote is wrong. Durkheim never said any such thing (about suicide being homicide against oneself). You know who did? Karl Menninger, in his book Man Against Himself.

I don’t recall, in the many versions of the note published online and in newspapers, seeing the Durkheim bit exactly quoted, so it’s possible that BCJD didn’t even mention Durkheim by name, but rather expressed the idea about suicide, and a reporter poorly remembered his psych 101 class and got the name wrong.

In regards to the "Durkheim" quote:

I also have never found a source where Durkheim defines suicide as "an inner direction of homicidal feelings against someone else," as BCJD put it. I'm also not sure if BCJD actually used quotation marks around this definition, suggesting he believed these were Durkheim's actual words. And as you rightly point out, it's not even clear if BCJD even mentioned Durkheim by name in his letter.

What I have found, and shared in an earlier post, is a quote directly translated from Durkheim who defines "anomic suicide" as that which originates from

"a state of exasperation and irritated weariness which can, according to circumstances, turn against the subject himself or against others. In the first case, there's suicide. In the second, homicide."

BCJD's definition, I think, is a decent paraphrase of Durkheim's words so maybe that was his intent, especially if he didn't use quotation marks. Or if he did, maybe he mistakenly confused the words or footnotes of another scholar (like Menninger?) commenting on the translation of Durkheim's words?

 

[DannonV]

I honestly feel so attached to this case. I have an Ancestry and Newspapers subscription, so I’ve been trying to search within the Newspapers in the Plaquemines Parish area, and attempt to find any matches from the early-to-mid 1970s.

I’ve also been looking at Ancestry yearbooks from around the time, and I’ve found some fairly similar-looking people. It seems as though the John Doe was from the area given his striking similarities to some of the other people I’ve seen— the hairstyle, eye color, thicker lips, and even partially concave cleft chin were all fairly common features within Plaquemines Parish from around that time.

Something in my heart is just gravitating me towards this case— I don’t know exactly what it is, but I feel like I have a connection with it. I would love to name some possible people, but I don’t know if that would be the smartest. I don’t want to invade anyone’s privacy, as the people who look similar my still be alive and I could just be barking up the wrong tree.

There was one kid who would have been round that age and had attempted to run away in September of 1974; he was caught around a week later in Texas. That was the only time he’d been mentioned in the newspaper, but again, I may be looking at a human being who is still alive.

I hope he gets found. He needs a name, whether it be shared to the public or not.

I want to go back to this. I found some information about the kid that went missing for a bit back in September of 1974— who I will now name as George “Butch” Simon. I was able to get a close-up picture of him, and he looks strikingly similar to BCJD.

The last time I could confirmedly say he appeared in the newspaper was in September of 1974, when he went missing for the first time at age 17. He was found later that month, but that fact that he left once means that he could have left again.

If he is still alive, and I am truly going down the wrong path, I will take down this post. No matter what. If this violates any rule, which is not my intention in any capacity, please let me know; I will try to remove this post. I genuinely do not want to violate anyone’s privacy or the websites rules whatsoever.

Linked below are photos of him from the newspaper reporting on his temporary disappearance, and two newspaper clippings from the area detailing what happened. I don’t know if it is weird going to this lead, so please let me know.

Belle Chasse Missing Teen Located

Clipping found in The Plaquemines Gazette published in Pointe-a-la-Hache, Louisiana on 10/4/1974. Belle Chasse Missing Teen Located

www.newspapers.com

Teen Missing, Car Abandoned #1

Clipping found in The Times-Picayune published in New Orleans, Louisiana on 9/28/1974. Teen Missing, Car Abandoned #1

www.newspapers.com