Identified! MO - Jackson Co, WhtFem 35-50, UP5299, topaz ring "KI66" & T&C ring #1220, wallet with RMK , 6 April 1979 *id'd February 2026 - Orlene Donaldson (41)*

[devertere]

Since no sizes are listed for the rings, could the topaz KI have been a Fraternity ring - Kappa Iota?

Unusual Vintage Fraternity Sterling Silver Opal Ring KI Kappa Iota Size 8 ½ | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Unusual Vintage Fraternity Sterling Silver Opal Ring KI Kappa Iota Size 8 ½ at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

ooh, great find

 

[fred&edna]

ooh, great find

I don't know anything about Greek fraternities/sororities. I've been googling and did locate some info but it's all "Greek" to me

This inactive chapter was founded in 1966... I know it says TKE but reading at the link describes KI.

| Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity

www.tke.org

KAPPA-IOTA CHAPTER AT UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD​

 

[cheemsg]

So Larry E. Hayes was charged with her murder, but I can't find anything on him after he was indicited on April 21.
882UFMO
Article clipped from The Kansas City Times

 

[cenazoic]

Here’s the strange-ish thing I noticed:

Height: 5'4", Estimated.
Weight: 100 lbs, Estimated.
Clothing: Bra (size 38)

Bra sizes/sizing are weird and not standardized, but in general the above is saying that the circumference around her body, measured under her breasts, was 38 inches. (It’s also incomplete - the cup size (ie 38C etc) isn’t listed.)

That seems large for what otherwise appears to be a small woman?

 

[Laughing]

Here’s the strange-ish thing I noticed:

Height: 5'4", Estimated.
Weight: 100 lbs, Estimated.
Clothing: Bra (size 38)

Bra sizes/sizing are weird and not standardized, but in general the above is saying that the circumference around her body, measured under her breasts, was 38 inches. (It’s also incomplete - the cup size (ie 38C etc) isn’t listed.)

That seems large for what otherwise appears to be a small woman?

Maybe the bra was altered, or thrifted.

The weight could also be driver's license -- the nice people at the DMV don't make me update mine. My driver's license weight is from college, pre-pregnancy, pre-becoming a good cook, pre-menopause...up yeah I have some extra pounds wrapped around that number.

Shh -- or secret, right?

ymmv lrr

 

[Bettem]

the wallet with RMK are likely initials. In the south, it’s a monogram and usually goes your first initial, last initial, middle. So if it’s her wallet her initials were likely RKM

If you can figure out where she’s from and find someone with those initials that hasn’t been heard from in a while, you might find your person

 

[EuropeanSearcher]

Ever had reply about the possible pictures of the rings?

 

[eoyste]

She's been identified by Othram as Orlene Donaldson!

After 47 Years, Jackson County Jane Doe (1979) is Identified

Jackson County Medical Examiner's Office Teams with Othram to Identify a 1979 Homicide Victim

dnasolves.com

 

[Xymena]

RIP Orlene

 

[victoriarobinson642]

She's been identified by Othram as Orlene Donaldson!

After 47 Years, Jackson County Jane Doe (1979) is Identified

Jackson County Medical Examiner's Office Teams with Othram to Identify a 1979 Homicide Victim

dnasolves.com

I think she was born Orlene Reeder. She married "T" White in 1958 when she was 20 years old, and "R" Donaldson in 1974.

 

[summergirl1]

Her initials don't match the wallet. She was 41 at death, going by that birthdate. She was also local.

 

[summergirl1]

Her much younger half sister's 2019 obit listed her as deceased. So her family had figured out something had likely happened to her. She was pretty much local, and yet never identified at the time.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/292483404/orlene-l-donaldson

 

[Melt71]

Orlene's child with her first husband would have been just a teen when she was killed. I am so glad they have answers now.

 

[Warwick1991]

At the beginning of the thread, it notes that she was wearing dentures. At her age, loss of natural teeth could indicate domestic violence, although there are other possibilities. The wallet with someone else's initials could have been from a thrift store or an outlet store. I can recall seeing outlet store merchandise years ago that featured returns of monogrammed items. Returned monogrammed items are difficult to sell due to personalization.

She must have endured hard times, and my guess is that she was one of many anonymous victims of domestic violence.

 

[Rikissa]

At the beginning of the thread, it notes that she was wearing dentures. At her age, loss of natural teeth could indicate domestic violence, although there are other possibilities. The wallet with someone else's initials could have been from a thrift store or an outlet store. I can recall seeing outlet store merchandise years ago that featured returns of monogrammed items. Returned monogrammed items are difficult to sell due to personalization.

She must have endured hard times, and my guess is that she was one of many anonymous victims of domestic violence.

Having dentures at the age of 40 for someone born in the 1930s was not that unusual, and it didn't have anything to do with whether there had been domestic violence or not. It was first from the 1970s that the benefits of better dental care during childhood and youth showed a difference in when, or if, people in their 40s had dentures or not. For those who had been born in the 1920s to 1940s dentures was for many seen as an expected part of middle age.

This study from the UK shows the difference in dental health in 1968 and 2009, the situation was probably not the same in the US, but I would think there would be similarities.

Edentulousness in adults aged 16 years and over has reduced from 37% to 6%. Dentate adults today have 9 to 10 more sound teeth in all age groups up to 44 years, than was the case 40 years ago. The number of decayed or unsound teeth has halved in every age group between 1968 and 2009.

Adult Dental Health Surveys: 40 years on - British Dental Journal

A comparison of the results of the Adult Dental Health Surveys in England and Wales in 1968 and England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2009 shows marked improvements in many aspects of oral health. Edentulousness in adults aged 16 years and over has reduced from 37% to 6%. Dentate adults today...

www.nature.com

* Edentulousness - the state of missing teeth, ranging from partial to complete tooth loss, often resulting from severe decay, periodontal disease, or trauma.

 

[Warwick1991]

Having dentures at the age of 40 for someone born in the 1930s was not that unusual, and it didn't have anything to do with whether there had been domestic violence or not. It was first from the 1970s that the benefits of better dental care during childhood and youth showed a difference in when, or if, people in their 40s had dentures or not. For those who had been born in the 1920s to 1940s dentures was for many seen as an expected part of middle age.

This study from the UK shows the difference in dental health in 1968 and 2009, the situation was probably not the same in the US, but I would think there would be similarities.

Adult Dental Health Surveys: 40 years on - British Dental Journal

A comparison of the results of the Adult Dental Health Surveys in England and Wales in 1968 and England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2009 shows marked improvements in many aspects of oral health. Edentulousness in adults aged 16 years and over has reduced from 37% to 6%. Dentate adults today...

www.nature.com

* Edentulousness - the state of missing teeth, ranging from partial to complete tooth loss, often resulting from severe decay, periodontal disease, or trauma.

It is a possibility that she lost teeth from blows to the jaw. Yes, there are other scenarios such as decay and genetic susceptibility. Her remains may have clues about facial injuries.

Just thinking of my own extended family, and not necessarily from statistics, those who had dentures were over 60, and mainly in their 80s or older. These were people from large families who were born well before WWII. Perhaps they had exceptionally good dental care, although they had different educational and income levels. All grew up in the US. They did live in the northeastern US, where there was probably more dental care available than in rural areas of the Midwest.

It's also a matter of income - there are some people in the US who have never visited a dentist because they cannot afford it. That situation, increasingly less common, occurs in more rural areas than urban areas, because many US cities have dental schools or dental clinics for low income people.

Here's an article on dental care and tooth loss for seniors in the US from the NIH: Tooth Loss in Seniors

I noted that there were possibilities other than domestic violence to explain having dentures at 40.

All based on my own experience and opinion.

 

[Rikissa]

It is a possibility that she lost teeth from blows to the jaw. Yes, there are other scenarios such as decay and genetic susceptibility. Her remains may have clues about facial injuries.
<snip>
I noted that there were possibilities other than domestic violence to explain having dentures at 40.

All based on my own experience and opinion.

And my thoughts are also from my own experience. My mother had dentures already in her 40s (no DV involved), as well as several of her siblings, other relatives, and friends, of both sexes needed dentures already in their 40s or 50s. I also have had friends who have needed more dental care/new crowns, and who might have needed dentures had they been born some decades earlier.
Luckily, I can thank my father's genetics, and the free Swedish dental healthcare for children and teenagers, for my dental health. I can still remember the weekly visits of the "Flouride Lady" to school, and the flouride mouthwash solution we had to flush in our mouths for five minutes.