MA MA - New Bedford, "Popes Island Jane Doe", WhtFem 30-45, UP7253, emerald ring from Belarus, Oct'96

[Rindicella]

It is very pretty, yes. The main reason it's a depressed area is that the fishing industry has slowly dried up over the years.

I vaguely remember when the body was found, the assumption was that she had been killed by her boyfriend/partner and dumped at sea. Boating and fishing are extremely popular, and the day she is presumed to have been killed was one of the nicest of the fall. She's appropriately dressed for boating and the blanket is common on boats.

This is very helpful !!! Do you live in that area?

Being killed at sea is a very likely possiblity. Being shot 12 times is going to create a HUGE mess. If that happened on land, in a home, or an apartment, someone would notice the noise and the cleanup afterward.

If she was killed on a boat, those problems for the killer would be eliminated. Makes A LOT of sense! I too, when I first read the announcement Carl posted, immeidately thought: bad boyfriend situation ...

 

[carbuff]

I live in Massachusetts, in the Boston suburbs. Grew up in the mountain west, however.

The area has a lot of illegal immigrants from the former Soviet Union -- many refugees, many looking for work (especially in the computer industry), and many up to no good. So the other possibilities about gang-related activity or political retribution are also possible.

 

[Rindicella]

I live in Massachusetts, in the Boston suburbs. Grew up in the mountain west, however.

The area has a lot of illegal immigrants from the former Soviet Union -- many refugees, many looking for work (especially in the computer industry), and many up to no good. So the other possibilities about gang-related activity or political retribution are also possible.

This makes a great deal of sense. I really appreciate you sharing first hand info about the area. Helps a lot.

 

[carbuff]

Here is a map of Orthodox churches in Massachusetts and surrounding area.

http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-...6828,-70.919495&spn=1.090675,3.139343&t=h&z=9

The closest church to New Bedford is near the red marker labeled "A".

That map doesn't appear to be definitive -- I know of at least a couple of churches that aren't showing up.

Rindicella (hope I spelled that right), would a Ukrainian church be more homelike to a Belorussian?

 

[Rindicella]

That map doesn't appear to be definitive -- I know of at least a couple of churches that aren't showing up.

Rindicella (hope I spelled that right), would a Ukrainian church be more homelike to a Belorussian?

It would be the same thing to her, or any others in the area, in my opinion. It would certainly be more preferable to her than a GREEK church. She would definitely feel more comfortable in a Ukranian church, yes. Without going into a lot church history, there was a time when the Moscow Patriarchate established it's jurisdiction to include both Belarus and Ukraine. Portions of the Church in both Ukraine and Belarus refused to come under that jurisdictional edict, and so remained on "outside" so to speak. Whether or not that makes them "non-canonical" is up for debate. Long story short, yes indeed.

 

[Rindicella]

The thing to know here in short, is that the Slavic churches give services in Church Slavonic so that all the people, no matter if they are Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, etc, can understand the services.
The Greek church offers its services in Greek (or more increasingly in English), which allows Greeks, Cypriots and Albanians to understand/participate.

This is the reason she would probably be comfortable in a Slavic church, rather than a Greek one. Although she (or any other East. Euro) might go to a Greek church in a "pinch", they would have difficulty communicating with the priest and parishioners unless they all spoke English as a common language. Chances of a girl from Belarus speaking fluent Greek is pretty out there.

 

[carbuff]

Many of the Orthodox churches around here say they're "Antiochian." They seem to have multicultural congregations?

 

[Rindicella]

Many of the Orthodox churches around here say they're "Antiochian." They seem to have multicultural congregations?

Yes, they are increasingly so in America. The Antiochians are a Middle Eastern Orthodox church that traces its roots to Damascus and Antioch.
You might find a few Slavs there, but not to any great extent, in my opinion.
These are people who derive their culture from the middle eastern countries of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, etc.

Technically speaking, they derive their direct lineage from the book of Acts 11:26:
New International Version (©1984)
and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

That is the origin of the Antiochian Churches and patriarchate. They were among the first to elect a Bishop.

I guess what I'm trying to get across is the old saying: "Birds of a feather, flock together". This is especially true of immigrants of all nationalities. When you find yourself in a new country, especially if you are "illegal", the tendency would be to associate only with those with whom you might have common ground, etc. It would really surprise me to find large numbers of Slavs in an Antiochian church.
This is a cultural thing for the Slavs, not a racial thing.

http://www.antiochian.org/orthodox-church-history

 

[carbuff]

I think most of the people in the Antiochian congregation in my town are Armenian, which would fit your description.

Do you think it would be worth circulating her sketch and information at the larger churches?

http://www.stjohntherussian.com/
http://www.bostonrussianchurch.org/

 

[Rindicella]

I think most of the people in the Antiochian congregation in my town are Armenian, which would fit your description.

Do you think it would be worth circulating her sketch and information at the larger churches?

http://www.stjohntherussian.com/
http://www.bostonrussianchurch.org/

Most definitely!
:woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:

 

[Rindicella]

The Russian Monastery in Brookline might be helpful also --- they have a bookshop that many people across the country order from. It would not surprise me if they have a lot of local Orthodox "foot traffic" in their shop.

http://www.thehtm.org/

There is also Orthodox convent in the Boston area. Although I doubt she was considering becoming a nun, many Orthodox women like to visit convents from time to time, to stay overnight and just sort of "decompress" when they are stressed out...sort of like "going on retreat" for Protestants.

* The Holy Nativity Convent in Boston

 

[Rindicella]

Another thing occurred to me. From the official information:

"....But one root canal, less than five years old, was done in US."

It might be worth checking all dentists in the area who specialize in endodontics. And I would especially look for any dentists who appear to be Russian or otherwise, Eastern European.

 

[CarlK90245]

This is very helpful !!! Do you live in that area?

Being killed at sea is a very likely possiblity. Being shot 12 times is going to create a HUGE mess. If that happened on land, in a home, or an apartment, someone would notice the noise and the cleanup afterward.

If she was killed on a boat, those problems for the killer would be eliminated. Makes A LOT of sense! I too, when I first read the announcement Carl posted, immeidately thought: bad boyfriend situation ...

The only thing that raises doubts about being shot while in the boat is that she was wrapped in two plastic garbage bags, along with the white/teal wool blanket.

Why would they wrap the body if they could just throw her overboard?

She could have very likely been taken out in a boat after she was killed, but I can see no reason to wrap the body if she was killed on the boat.

 

[Rindicella]

The only thing that raises doubts about being shot while in the boat is that she was wrapped in two plastic garbage bags, along with the white/teal wool blanket.

Why would they wrap the body if they could just throw her overboard?

She could have very likely been taken out in a boat after she was killed, but I can see no reason to wrap the body if she was killed on the boat.

This is an excellent point --- I found an old news article from 1997 which quotes the marina master, Mr. Manley, (who had 40 years of experience on the harbor/sailing in it) that he believed she was dumped from a dock across from the marina on the New Bedford side. He said, ""Given the wind and the tides and all, she had to come from the New Bedford side," he said. "Over by the west draw near the bridge. I think right about the ice company dock, most likely. The wind and the tide would have swung her right around to where she was found."

The article goes on to say: "Unsecured and unlit at night, that dock, behind the Crystal Ice Co., offers direct access -- by foot or by car -- to the harbor. It's hidden from the road by the icehouse and a fueling shed. On a waterfront that gets little attention at night, the place is exceptionally remote. The cops say Mr. Manley's theory is plausible, but they haven't paid much official attention to the ice dock, located under the approach to the Fairhaven-New Bedford Bridge.
"You could do something down there and nobody would ever see it," Mr. Manley said. "This is a busy harbor and a lot goes on that nobody sees."

The article also specifically mentions the opinions of hte detectives. They felt it was a boyfriend on a rampage.

http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/01-97/01-19-97/a01lo009.htm

 

[Rindicella]

This is a satellite view of what I think Mr. Manley is talking about . "A" shows Crystal Ice Co. The green arrow points to the marina where she was found.

http://maps.google.com/maps?near=10...262,-70.922027&spn=0.021393,0.038581&t=h&z=15

 

[Rindicella]

One final thought about the ring. I think it was probably "rose gold". Jewelry made in Russia and other East European countries is often 18 k with 25 % copper. This gives it a unique pinkish tinge. Not that it matters since the authorities already know it comes from Belarus but still. Thought I would mention it.
I'm also wondering if it might have been her mothers, or a family heirloom of some kind.
In the photo it looks sort of "antique-ish" to me.

 

[Rindicella]

I think this is the fueling shed (close up via sat on Google map) that Mr. Manley is talking about...it DOES look like a perfect place to dump a body --- if it was dark.

I only see one light pole in that lot, and it could have been easily broken out. Of course, it might not even have been there in 1996. But those big blue tanks look pretty permanent to me.

http://maps.google.com/maps?near=10...41.6366,-70.921072&spn=0.001387,0.002411&z=19

 

[Rindicella]

From the article:
Victim was wrapped in a white and teal blanket, common to fishing boats...


"...she was covered with garbage bags held together with blue masking tape."

Blue masking tape???
I'm a property manager. My maintenance crew paint apartments all the time. We go through CASES of blue masking tape. My guys prefer it because it stands out against white walls, trims and windows. Its still visible even if you paint over it.

Was her killer a painter??? A dockworker who painted boats?

 

[Rindicella]

I have been scouring various European websites looking for a missing person who matches her description. Nada. Nothing.
Makes me so sad.

For anyone who may be interested, Russia is one of the few eastern euro countries that maintains a list of missing persons, in English and Russian. The English version is excellent for anyone who cannot speak/read Russian. My only caveat with this is: I find it highly strange, that so few people are listed, for a country of its size. I assure you their page, does not tell the whole story. I think it's because they only list missing persons when they are absolutely forced to do so by outside pressure (from western nations, from the UN, etc.) Still it's worth checking if you believe you may have run across an unidentified Russian national.
For your reference:
http://eng.mvdrf.ru/rozysk/158/

Belarus has not put one together as far as I can tell. Of course, Belarus has had numerous scandals involving missing journalists, etc. It is one of the less "open" of the former eastern bloc.

Interpol does not list all the available miissing persons websites for all countries. It only lists those that request to be listed or are member nations. This makes searching for foriegn nationals very frustrating.


Also, regarding the Russian Police page: If by some miracle, you believe you may have found one of these people, I highly recommend getting the FBI (or a similar agency from your country if you are outside the US) to help you and assist you with the information. Some of these stories may not be fully accurate from the point of view of being a "missing person". Some of these people may in fact, be "missing" because they are political opponenets, or they are somehow "undesirable". Even tho Russia has made some strides in a capitalistic democracy experiment, they have a long way to go, and there is still a great deal of corruption within the government, including and maybe especially the police.

 

[carbuff]

From the article:
Victim was wrapped in a white and teal blanket, common to fishing boats...


"...she was covered with garbage bags held together with blue masking tape."

Blue masking tape???
I'm a property manager. My maintenance crew paint apartments all the time. We go through CASES of blue masking tape. My guys prefer it because it stands out against white walls, trims and windows. Its still visible even if you paint over it.

Was her killer a painter??? A dockworker who painted boats?

It certainly sounds like she was killed in the vicinity of painting, anyway.

Oh, another place they use that tape: auto body shops.