Identified! MN - Minneapolis, WhtFem UP103592, 50-70, suicide, alias Susan Watkins, Aug'96 - Sally Green

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PatLaurel

PatLaurel

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While researching another Jane Doe I came across this newspaper article which I sent to my sleuth buddy @GatorFL just out of curiosity. He then contacted the Hennepin County ME and "Susan Watkins" is still a Jane Doe to this day. Strangely, and for an unknown reason, she is not listed as a JD in any database.
@GatorFL is waiting on more details from the ME.




SW was 5 feet 8 inches, white, weighed 241 pounds and was about 45 to 55 years old. She had brown hair with gray streaks and wore glasses.

Her clothes had the labels cut out. No ID found.

She said she was from Houston.



More details in the links below.

Clipping from Star Tribune - Newspapers.com

Clipping from Star Tribune - Newspapers.com

Clipping from St. Cloud Times - Newspapers.com

Susan “AKA” Watkins (unknown-1996) - Find a Grave...
 
What is really interesting about this Doe is she was very similar to Mary Anderson in Seattle, and the same year. Checked into a hotel under an alias and all the labels in her clothing removed. She committed suicide, but by jumping out of a building instead of cyanide however.
 
According to the age estimate "Susan Watkins" would have been born between 1941 - 1951. Today she would be in her 70's or 80's. If you look up the name on Whitepages it seems that there are 93! Susan Watkins in Texas. There is 1 Susan (Sue) M. Watkins named, in her 70's, living in Houston, TX. There is family listed. If this was JD's real name, why wouldn't anybody reported her missing sooner or later? There is no MP Susan Watkins in any database. My first guess is that this wasn't her real name.
 
Here is a detailed write up I posted elsewhere:

I'm going to tell you the story of a Jane Doe you've probably never heard of. I'm not sure why she's never been researched. I suspect she got caught in the transition from traditional print/broadcast media to online media and nobody led the charge to investigate further. We found her while doing some research on a more notorious Jane Doe, Mary Anderson, who took her own life via cyanide in Seattle after checking into a hotel with her alias.

Like Mary, our Jane Doe checked into a hotel using an alias. She was a larger woman, also like Mary. 5'8", 241 lbs. And like Mary, she went through great lengths to hide her identity. In addition to the alias, she carried no identification or credit cards and she had removed the tags from her clothing. She simply left no clue to her true identity.

She told hotel staff her name was Susan Watkins when she checked into the Regency Plaza hotel in Minneapolis, MN on August 17, 1996. She told hotel staff she was from Houston.

Almost a week later, on August 23, police were called to a parking garage. I'm guessing she was distraught and threatening suicide. They tried to negotiate with her for 3 1/2 hours. A policeman attempted to stop her, he grabbed her leg but she kicked him and fell off the garage backwards, and died. They found superficial wounds on her wrist and neck, probably from an earlier suicide attempt.

She was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in a grave marked Susan Watkins.

After some investigation, authorities determined that she had used an alias. And since August 23, 1996, Susan Watkins has remained a Jane Doe. For some reason, she was never entered into NamUs. She never became an internet mystery.

This was a very cold case when I called the Hennepin County Medical Examiner. He had to pull her file from deep storage. After several calls, HCME said they had a tissue sample and would be willing to submit her for forensic genealogy. So, I contacted Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick's team at Identifiers International. Identifiers agreed to take the case and yesterday posted a fundraising link.

Like I said, my collaborator and I stumbled on her while doing some research on Mary Anderson. There is nothing on her online except the Websleuths thread we started and the new fundraising link from Identifiers International. I am so excited that she might be identified!
 
GatorFL said:
Here is a detailed write up I posted elsewhere:

I'm going to tell you the story of a Jane Doe you've probably never heard of. I'm not sure why she's never been researched. I suspect she got caught in the transition from traditional print/broadcast media to online media and nobody led the charge to investigate further. We found her while doing some research on a more notorious Jane Doe, Mary Anderson, who took her own life via cyanide in Seattle after checking into a hotel with her alias.

Like Mary, our Jane Doe checked into a hotel using an alias. She was a larger woman, also like Mary. 5'8", 241 lbs. And like Mary, she went through great lengths to hide her identity. In addition to the alias, she carried no identification or credit cards and she had removed the tags from her clothing. She simply left no clue to her true identity.

She told hotel staff her name was Susan Watkins when she checked into the Regency Plaza hotel in Minneapolis, MN on August 17, 1996. She told hotel staff she was from Houston.

Almost a week later, on August 23, police were called to a parking garage. I'm guessing she was distraught and threatening suicide. They tried to negotiate with her for 3 1/2 hours. A policeman attempted to stop her, he grabbed her leg but she kicked him and fell off the garage backwards, and died. They found superficial wounds on her wrist and neck, probably from an earlier suicide attempt.

She was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in a grave marked Susan Watkins.

After some investigation, authorities determined that she had used an alias. And since August 23, 1996, Susan Watkins has remained a Jane Doe. For some reason, she was never entered into NamUs. She never became an internet mystery.

This was a very cold case when I called the Hennepin County Medical Examiner. He had to pull her file from deep storage. After several calls, HCME said they had a tissue sample and would be willing to submit her for forensic genealogy. So, I contacted Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick's team at Identifiers International. Identifiers agreed to take the case and yesterday posted a fundraising link.

Like I said, my collaborator and I stumbled on her while doing some research on Mary Anderson. There is nothing on her online except the Websleuths thread we started and the new fundraising link from Identifiers International. I am so excited that she might be identified!
Click to expand...
I'm impressed that they were not only able to find her file so quickly in 'deep storage', but that they had a tissue sample still stored and findable, and that they bothered to look in the first place. HCME doing things right, it seems. The amount of files and evidence that gets lost in the shuffle over the years, even in the most efficient of places, but not here, not with this case. Here's hoping that Identifiers can bring Susan Doe home.
 
iamshadow21 said:
I'm impressed that they were not only able to find her file so quickly in 'deep storage', but that they had a tissue sample still stored and findable, and that they bothered to look in the first place. HCME doing things right, it seems. The amount of files and evidence that gets lost in the shuffle over the years, even in the most efficient of places, but not here, not with this case. Here's hoping that Identifiers can bring Susan Doe home.
Click to expand...
HCME has been absolutely fantastic from my first call to them. I know they're terribly understaffed but I cannot give them enough recognition, really a first class organization. They have (IIRC) 7 unidentifieds right now and are willing to do what they can to give them all their names back.
 
I think it's a good sign, always, when the people doing this kind of work see it as a vocation rather than a career. That they have a duty of care to the deceased, and that comes first. Those Does have no one else to speak for them, and I am so glad to hear that they're in safe hands.
 
GatorFL said:
Here is a detailed write up I posted elsewhere:

I'm going to tell you the story of a Jane Doe you've probably never heard of. I'm not sure why she's never been researched. I suspect she got caught in the transition from traditional print/broadcast media to online media and nobody led the charge to investigate further. We found her while doing some research on a more notorious Jane Doe, Mary Anderson, who took her own life via cyanide in Seattle after checking into a hotel with her alias.

Like Mary, our Jane Doe checked into a hotel using an alias. She was a larger woman, also like Mary. 5'8", 241 lbs. And like Mary, she went through great lengths to hide her identity. In addition to the alias, she carried no identification or credit cards and she had removed the tags from her clothing. She simply left no clue to her true identity.

She told hotel staff her name was Susan Watkins when she checked into the Regency Plaza hotel in Minneapolis, MN on August 17, 1996. She told hotel staff she was from Houston.

Almost a week later, on August 23, police were called to a parking garage. I'm guessing she was distraught and threatening suicide. They tried to negotiate with her for 3 1/2 hours. A policeman attempted to stop her, he grabbed her leg but she kicked him and fell off the garage backwards, and died. They found superficial wounds on her wrist and neck, probably from an earlier suicide attempt.

She was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in a grave marked Susan Watkins.

After some investigation, authorities determined that she had used an alias. And since August 23, 1996, Susan Watkins has remained a Jane Doe. For some reason, she was never entered into NamUs. She never became an internet mystery.

This was a very cold case when I called the Hennepin County Medical Examiner. He had to pull her file from deep storage. After several calls, HCME said they had a tissue sample and would be willing to submit her for forensic genealogy. So, I contacted Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick's team at Identifiers International. Identifiers agreed to take the case and yesterday posted a fundraising link.

Like I said, my collaborator and I stumbled on her while doing some research on Mary Anderson. There is nothing on her online except the Websleuths thread we started and the new fundraising link from Identifiers International. I am so excited that she might be identified!
Click to expand...
Wonderful news @GatorFL. Nice write up and thank you for your work.
 
PatLaurel said:
While researching another Jane Doe I came across this newspaper article which I sent to my sleuth buddy @GatorFL just out of curiosity. He then contacted the Hennepin County ME and "Susan Watkins" is still a Jane Doe to this day. Strangely, and for an unknown reason, she is not listed as a JD in any database.
@GatorFL is waiting on more details from the ME.




SW was 5 feet 8 inches, white, weighed 241 pounds and was about 45 to 55 years old. She had brown hair with gray streaks and wore glasses.

Her clothes had the labels cut out. No ID found.

She said she was from Houston.



More details in the links below.

Clipping from Star Tribune - Newspapers.com

Clipping from Star Tribune - Newspapers.com

Clipping from St. Cloud Times - Newspapers.com

Susan “AKA” Watkins (unknown-1996) - Find a Grave...
Click to expand...
Adding her reconstruction from the Star Tribune.

Screen Shot 2022-11-06 at 4.54.23 PM.png
 
For pete’s sake, I need to get offline. I’m confusing all the numbers.

If anyone else is possibly confused:

MN BCA reports SW weight as 240.
Namus reports SG weight as 175.
Colorado CBI reports SG weight as 140.

SG’s eye color: green (Namus/CBI)
SW’s eye color: brown (fundraising link)

So I dunno. It’s one of the few times I’ve seen a sketch and a photo and been startled by how much alike they look!
 
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