NJ NJ - Newark, BlkFem 18-40, UP17575, Tattoos: Tiara, Purple Rose, 3 Stars on Neck, Mar'18

[Gardener1850]

This case haunts me for some reason. It seems like it should be so easy to solve. Someone must recognize her and her unique tattoos. She's the first case ever that I am putting in my signature to try to get her thread more attention.

 

[Bit of hope]

This case haunts me for some reason. It seems like it should be so easy to solve. Someone must recognize her and her unique tattoos. She's the first case ever that I am putting in my signature to try to get her thread more attention.

I guess she got the tattoos after she went missing. Especially the Tiara tattoo is intriguing. Why would you change it to a rose. Seems to me that she had that tattoo earlier in life, but possibly after she went missing. Maybe it was even the reason, loving a woman, she went missing. It's not getting us much further.....

 

[Al Ka]

I have made little narrative for her on FB so her case can be circulated online once again, hopefully to bring some new tips in - Unidentified And Missing People

Just after I published the story I realized that no cloth are mentioned whatsoever and I have not seen it mentioned in any of multiple articles I read about her. Do we know if she was found naked or not?

If she was, it would point to more nefarious incident then I previously thought.

 

[Gardener1850]

I have made little narrative for her on FB so her case can be circulated online once again, hopefully to bring some new tips in - Unidentified And Missing People

Just after I published the story I realized that no cloth are mentioned whatsoever and I have not seen it mentioned in any of multiple articles I read about her. Do we know if she was found naked or not?

If she was, it would point to more nefarious incident then I previously thought.

I can't find anything saying if she had clothes on or not. I really wonder how they determined her death appeared unrelated to the man. Perhaps different levels of decomposition showing they entered the lake at different times?

Here is an article about the man who was found:
UPDATE: Missing Newark Man Found Floating in Weequahic Park Lake Identified

Some quotes:

The body of a man found floating in a lake in Newark's South Ward over the weekend has been identified.

According to family members, search and rescue crews pulled the lifeless body of Mr. Antoine Bennette, 25, of Newark from the Weequahic Park Lake on Saturday.

On December 2, 2017, Bennette's family contacted RLS Metro Breaking News to inform that he mysteriously vanished from the Chancellor Avenue neighborhood without a trace. When Bennette did not return home for his December 26th birthday, his family became increasingly concerned as they consistently checked into our information space.

Bennette was last seen wearing all black with blue jeans when his family last saw him.

The cause and manner of death for Bennette and the unidentified woman will be determined after autopsies are performed at the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office, according to Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas S. Fennelly, of the Prosecutor’s Homicide Unit.

"At this time, these incidents do not appear to be related," Fennelly said.

How Mr. Bennette and the unidentified woman end up dead in the Newark South Ward lake of a park that's heavily patrolled by police will be investigated by the Prosecutor’s Major Crimes Task Force, and the investigation is active an ongoing.

 

[Gardener1850]

Also possibly of interest is that in March 2018 the man's cousin was also found dead:

There is an active investigation into the cause of death for a man who was reported missing and later found dead inside a Newark graveyard on Sunday.

Detectives from The Essex County Prosecutor's Office were called to the Rose Street side of Woodland Cemetery after police received a call from a passerby who observed the body of a male before 10 a.m.

According to a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office, the cause and manner of the man's death will be determined by the State Regional Medical Examiner's Office.

The family identified the man as Mr. Niger Scott, 40, of Newark who was reported missing to police after he vanished in late January.

RLS Metro Breaking News reported on Scott's disappearance on March 7th when family members say he was last observed wearing a black and red hat, blue jeans, a black jacket with a brown vest, and black boots in the vicinity of Grove Street and Clinton Avenue in Irvington Township.
Eerily, family members said Scott is the cousin of a man who was found floating in the Weequahic Park Lake in early March.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office is handling all three incidents and has not confirmed if their deaths are related at this time.

UPDATE: Missing Man Found Dead Inside Newark Cemetery Identified as Cousin of Man Found Floating in Weequahic Park Lake

 

[Gardener1850]

Apr 6, 2018
3 deaths in popular urban park were 'non-criminal events'

After the discovery of three dead bodies in Weequahic Park sparked a minor panic among nearby residents and patrons, the Essex County Sheriff's Office on Thursday tried to project a message of reassurance to the visitors of the popular park in Newark's South Ward.

"These are three non-criminal events, as far as what we have," Sheriff Armando Fontoura told NJ Advance Media in a phone interview.

In a statement, the sheriff's office said there were no signs of trauma to either victim and that investigators are still awaiting toxicology reports for both.

Without addressing any specific case, Fontoura described the country as "under siege" from opioid addiction and a mental health crisis, and noted that many could find themselves in the park under dire circumstances.
"Sometimes they find themselves in the park, or their friends, who happen to be with them when they OD, will drop them off," he said.

3 deaths in popular urban park were 'non-criminal events'

 

[carbuff]

I've been searching all the databases and articles I can find for missing women named Tiana.

Interestingly, they're nearly all younger than this woman is estimated to be. Did the Disney movie come out around 15-17 years ago?

The only ones who are older seem to be nicknames for Christiana or Tatiana.

 

[Gardener1850]

Lately I have been searching message boards for people named Tiara or Tiana who are looking for a someone (or anyone looking for a Tiara/Tiana). Nothing useful so far.

 

[KaylaraOwl]

I am friends with some community activists/organizers in Newark, and sent them her information. They didn't recognize her, but said they'd keep an ear out for anyone being missing.

 

[Owutatangledweb]

I think it says Tiana. Regardless, with the tattoos, how can she not be identified? (I ask, not needing an answer... sigh...)

Looks like it could be.

 

[Owutatangledweb]

Could the name have been Christiana perhaps?

 

[carbuff]

Could the name have been Christiana perhaps?

Tiana can be a nickname for Christiana, yes.

 

[Owutatangledweb]

When I can, I will search NAMUS for this.

 

[Bit of hope]

I was looking at her Namus file again. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
They state the body was not recognizable - Decomposing/putrefaction. Maybe only the upper part of her body was recognizable enough to see tattoos. I think it's quit possible that she could have had other tattoos on her body. In another case there was a male identified, where they could see only tattoos on the legs. In real life this person had tattoos all over...on his arms for instance.

 

[carbuff]

Good point--though skin is often mummified and visible long after other parts have decayed, it's not a given that all her tats were visible.

There's also the possibility that she got something new after she went missing, depending on how long ago that was.

 

[Gardener1850]

Patrice Smith, missing since 2012, had a rose tattoo on her right chest.
AR - AR - Patrice Smith, 28, Little Rock, 24 Mar 2012
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

She is the wrong height and build, however, and I cannot find any clear pictures of her tattoo. Charley project has one photo with the rose visible and it is the right general shape:

Patrice Lynae Smith – The Charley Project
However, CP makes it sound as if domestic violence is suspected in her case. Could she have actually gone into hiding in another state? Perhaps gotten the 3 stars later?

(If anyone would like to submit her please do, thanks).

 

[Bit of hope]

Patrice Smith, missing since 2012, had a rose tattoo on her right chest.
AR - AR - Patrice Smith, 28, Little Rock, 24 Mar 2012
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

She is the wrong height and build, however, and I cannot find any clear pictures of her tattoo. Charley project has one photo with the rose visible and it is the right general shape:

Patrice Lynae Smith – The Charley Project
However, CP makes it sound as if domestic violence is suspected in her case. Could she have actually gone into hiding in another state? Perhaps gotten the 3 stars later?

(If anyone would like to submit her please do, thanks).

Sorry, I'm just not seeing the tattoo on Charlies...you mean the picture you posted?

 

[Gardener1850]

Sorry, I'm just not seeing the tattoo on Charlies...you mean the picture you posted?

I believe her rose tattoo is where I circled in red here:

But the photo is not clear enough to tell if it is the same as the Newark Jane Doe's rose tattoo.

ETA: I found a larger version of the photo on a missing poster but it is still not clear: https://texasequusearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Patrice-Smith-Flyer.pdf

 

[Bit of hope]

View attachment 179054

I believe her rose tattoo is where I circled in red here:
View attachment 179054
But the photo is not clear enough to tell if it is the same as the Newark Jane Doe's rose tattoo.

ETA: I found a larger version of the photo on a missing poster but it is still not clear: https://texasequusearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Patrice-Smith-Flyer.pdf

Thanks Gardener1850. It's hard to see, indeed. UID's tattoo is on the upper right side of the chest. Patrice has the tattoo of a rose in her upper left breast area, says the flyer. So the picture is probably mirrored. Hmmm, I think the rose somehow looks a lot the same.

 

[carbuff]

Over the weekend, I was in a fast-food line with a woman who had a very similar purple rose tattoo. I asked her about it and she said it was a memorial for a baby she miscarried. The purple is for eternity.

Probably not relevant but I thought it was interesting.