citizen_sleuth
Verified family member - Orie Donald Esh thread
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NamUs #UP1524 / Doe Network 1181UMNJ
Watch and closeup of fabric pattern of trousers, pants and shoes at scene, keys, teeth 29, 30, and 31 showing cantilever.
Demographics
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White / Caucasian [NOTE: Newspaper reports say he may he Hispanic/Latino]
Estimated Age Group: Adult - Pre 50
Estimated Age Range (Years): 30 - 40
Estimated Year of Death: 1976
Estimated PMI: 6 Months
Height: 5'5" to 5'6" (65 to 66 inches), Estimated
Weight: Cannot Estimate [NOTE: Newspaper reports say he was 'slightly built']
Cause of Death: Homicide by gunshot
Circumstances
Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: October 24, 1976
NamUs Case Created: March 31, 2008
ME/C QA Reviewed: N/A
Location Found: Denville, New Jersey
County: Morris County
Circumstances of Recovery: A group of four travelers from Long Island who were driving down Interstate 80 pulled over to relieve themselves near milepost 39E at around 2 p.m. on October 24, 1976 and discovered the skeletal remains of a man hidden amongst the brush. The group continued to drive down I-80 until they reached the next exit, where they alerted Parsippany police to the discovery. Parsippany police subsequently notified the Denville police who in turn alerted the New Jersey State Police due to the close proximity of the body to the highway.
The badly decomposed and mostly skeletal remains were located a strip of trees and brush about a dozen yards from the southern shoulder of I-80 and less than 10 yards from the fence along Merrie Trail. The Denville police station, located about a quarter mile away, is visible from the spot where the body was found.
Investigators believe the man was likely killed in the spring, roughly 6 months prior to the discovery of the remains. One of the residents whose property the body was found adjacent to recalled smelling a foul odor during the summer, but stated that he chalked it up to a dead animal.
An autopsy revealed the man had been shot to death, and his body likely dumped in the woods.
Inventory of Remains: All parts recovered
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Near complete or complete skeleton
Physical Description
Hair Color: Dark brown
Head Hair Description: Short with 3/4 inch curls
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinctive Physical Features: No information entered
Clothing and Accessories
- Black long-sleeve shirt with white buttons open at neck with both cuffs rolled up 2 times; gray knit "Indian design" (zig-zag pattern) trousers with no belt loops; dark colored jockey style short underpants; black ribbed 11 inch socks (On the Body)
- Blue pseudo-patent leather shoes with 2 inch raised heel. Shoes are 10 1/2 inches long. (On the Body)
- Watch: Harmiltan or Hormilton Electra 25 wristwatch; two keys on ring and medallion (Eagle - "U.S. type") (On the Body)
News Coverage
"Unidentified male corpse found," Daily Register [Red Bank, NJ], 25 October 1976, 3.
Police said the man appeared to have been dead for three or four months. He was believed to be in his late 20s with short, curly black hair. He reportedly was wearing an expensive-looking wristwatch.
"Identification Sought: Man's Body Found In Denville," Daily Record [Morristown, NJ], 25 October 1976, 1.
The body had lain for several months in the strip of trees and thick underbrush behind the garage of Paul Fischer, 34 Merrie Trail, police said.
[...]
The body was found in the middle of a half-mile stretch along Route 80 between the eastbound Denville exit and the Route 53 entrance, near the municipal building.
[...]
Fischer said last night he had noticed an odor in the summer, but attributed it to a dead animal.
The body was discovered about 2 p.m. yesterday by four out-of-state travelers, who had stopped to relieve themselves along the roadside. They continued on Route 80 to the next exit, near the Parsippany police station.
The Parsippany police called the Denville police, who notified the State Police.
Police and medical investigators worked for several hours in a cold rain yesterday afternoon and evening recovering parts of the body.
Working under hand-held light, the investigators put the parts of the body in small plastic bags, which were then put into a body bag.
Police would not deny the possibility it was a gangland slaying.
"Autopsy Shows Shooting Death," Daily Record [Morristown, NJ], 26 October 1976, 1.
The unidentified man whose decomposed body was found off Route 80 Sunday was shot to death, a state autopsy disclosed yesterday.
[...]
The victim was described as possibly Hispanic, between 20 and 30 years old, 5 feet 5 or 6, slightly built, with short wavy black hair.
The victim was wearing a long-sleeve, black shirt, grey and blue zig-zag print trousers, black socks and blue patent leather raised heel shoes. No identification was found with the body.
Police said the body had lain for six months in a narrow strip of trees and underbrush between Route 80 and homes along Merrie Trail.
The side where the body was found is a dozen yards from the highway's southern shoulder and less than 10 yards from the fence along Merrie Trail property lines.
Immediately south of the site are two garages near the back property lines of 34 and 36 Merrie Trail.
From the shoulder of the highway, where a car would most likely have stopped for the body to have been dumped in the spring, the Denville police station is clearly visible a quarter of a mile away.
The body was found Sunday afternoon by four Long Island travelers who had stopped to relieve themselves along the roadside.
"Murder Victim's Identity Sought," News [Paterson, NJ], 26 October 1976, 10.
The man is described as possibly Hispanic, between 20-30 years old, 5'6", with short wavy black hair. He was wearing a black shirt, gray and blue print trousers, and blue patent-leather high-heel shoes.
The autopsy was performed by State Assistant Medical Examiner Norman Schaaf in Martland Medical Center, Newark.
Watch and closeup of fabric pattern of trousers, pants and shoes at scene, keys, teeth 29, 30, and 31 showing cantilever.
Demographics
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White / Caucasian [NOTE: Newspaper reports say he may he Hispanic/Latino]
Estimated Age Group: Adult - Pre 50
Estimated Age Range (Years): 30 - 40
Estimated Year of Death: 1976
Estimated PMI: 6 Months
Height: 5'5" to 5'6" (65 to 66 inches), Estimated
Weight: Cannot Estimate [NOTE: Newspaper reports say he was 'slightly built']
Cause of Death: Homicide by gunshot
Circumstances
Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: October 24, 1976
NamUs Case Created: March 31, 2008
ME/C QA Reviewed: N/A
Location Found: Denville, New Jersey
County: Morris County
Circumstances of Recovery: A group of four travelers from Long Island who were driving down Interstate 80 pulled over to relieve themselves near milepost 39E at around 2 p.m. on October 24, 1976 and discovered the skeletal remains of a man hidden amongst the brush. The group continued to drive down I-80 until they reached the next exit, where they alerted Parsippany police to the discovery. Parsippany police subsequently notified the Denville police who in turn alerted the New Jersey State Police due to the close proximity of the body to the highway.
The badly decomposed and mostly skeletal remains were located a strip of trees and brush about a dozen yards from the southern shoulder of I-80 and less than 10 yards from the fence along Merrie Trail. The Denville police station, located about a quarter mile away, is visible from the spot where the body was found.
Investigators believe the man was likely killed in the spring, roughly 6 months prior to the discovery of the remains. One of the residents whose property the body was found adjacent to recalled smelling a foul odor during the summer, but stated that he chalked it up to a dead animal.
An autopsy revealed the man had been shot to death, and his body likely dumped in the woods.
Inventory of Remains: All parts recovered
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Near complete or complete skeleton
Physical Description
Hair Color: Dark brown
Head Hair Description: Short with 3/4 inch curls
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinctive Physical Features: No information entered
Clothing and Accessories
- Black long-sleeve shirt with white buttons open at neck with both cuffs rolled up 2 times; gray knit "Indian design" (zig-zag pattern) trousers with no belt loops; dark colored jockey style short underpants; black ribbed 11 inch socks (On the Body)
- Blue pseudo-patent leather shoes with 2 inch raised heel. Shoes are 10 1/2 inches long. (On the Body)
- Watch: Harmiltan or Hormilton Electra 25 wristwatch; two keys on ring and medallion (Eagle - "U.S. type") (On the Body)
News Coverage
"Unidentified male corpse found," Daily Register [Red Bank, NJ], 25 October 1976, 3.
Police said the man appeared to have been dead for three or four months. He was believed to be in his late 20s with short, curly black hair. He reportedly was wearing an expensive-looking wristwatch.
"Identification Sought: Man's Body Found In Denville," Daily Record [Morristown, NJ], 25 October 1976, 1.
The body had lain for several months in the strip of trees and thick underbrush behind the garage of Paul Fischer, 34 Merrie Trail, police said.
[...]
The body was found in the middle of a half-mile stretch along Route 80 between the eastbound Denville exit and the Route 53 entrance, near the municipal building.
[...]
Fischer said last night he had noticed an odor in the summer, but attributed it to a dead animal.
The body was discovered about 2 p.m. yesterday by four out-of-state travelers, who had stopped to relieve themselves along the roadside. They continued on Route 80 to the next exit, near the Parsippany police station.
The Parsippany police called the Denville police, who notified the State Police.
Police and medical investigators worked for several hours in a cold rain yesterday afternoon and evening recovering parts of the body.
Working under hand-held light, the investigators put the parts of the body in small plastic bags, which were then put into a body bag.
Police would not deny the possibility it was a gangland slaying.
"Autopsy Shows Shooting Death," Daily Record [Morristown, NJ], 26 October 1976, 1.
The unidentified man whose decomposed body was found off Route 80 Sunday was shot to death, a state autopsy disclosed yesterday.
[...]
The victim was described as possibly Hispanic, between 20 and 30 years old, 5 feet 5 or 6, slightly built, with short wavy black hair.
The victim was wearing a long-sleeve, black shirt, grey and blue zig-zag print trousers, black socks and blue patent leather raised heel shoes. No identification was found with the body.
Police said the body had lain for six months in a narrow strip of trees and underbrush between Route 80 and homes along Merrie Trail.
The side where the body was found is a dozen yards from the highway's southern shoulder and less than 10 yards from the fence along Merrie Trail property lines.
Immediately south of the site are two garages near the back property lines of 34 and 36 Merrie Trail.
From the shoulder of the highway, where a car would most likely have stopped for the body to have been dumped in the spring, the Denville police station is clearly visible a quarter of a mile away.
The body was found Sunday afternoon by four Long Island travelers who had stopped to relieve themselves along the roadside.
"Murder Victim's Identity Sought," News [Paterson, NJ], 26 October 1976, 10.
The man is described as possibly Hispanic, between 20-30 years old, 5'6", with short wavy black hair. He was wearing a black shirt, gray and blue print trousers, and blue patent-leather high-heel shoes.
The autopsy was performed by State Assistant Medical Examiner Norman Schaaf in Martland Medical Center, Newark.
