Identified! NV - Washoe Co., WhtFem 156UFNV, 25-35, Sheep's Flat Trail, Jul'82 - Mary Edith Silvani

[Bit of hope]

Article from the NYTimes, with a picture of the place where she was found and lots of details about the search: How Volunteer Sleuths Identified a Hiker and Her Killer After 36 Years

A very interesting read. Not only about the investigation, but also give some insight view how things go sometimes within families and how somebody 'easily' can get lost.......

 

[Bit of hope]

See the bolded part below:

Forensic genealogists identified Silvani and her killer, James Richard Curry, using decades-old DNA evidence recovered from a rape kit. Curry committed suicide in 1983 while in jail on another murder charge.
...
Balaam said Curry, Silvani's killer, was born in Texas in 1946. He served time in prison for robbery before moving to California in 1977.

Six years later, he was arrested for the murders of Gerald Novoselatz, 39, and his wife, Sharon, 34, according to a 1983 report published by The San Francisco Examiner.

Curry, then 36, managed a storage lot in Santa Clara. He admitted killing the couple, who owned a rival storage facility in San Jose. He shot and killed Gerald Novoselatz and then kidnapped and raped Sharon Novoselatz.

The San Francisco Examiner also reported Curry confessed to murdering his 38-year-old friend, Richard Lemmon Jr., whose body was found inside a wooden crate.

Investigators in California also linked him to a fourth murder victim, James DeWitt Robinson. Robinson's handgun, legal documents, and checkbooks were discovered in a locker at Curry's storage facility, but his body was never recovered.

"Shortly right after that, he committed suicide … that's why he was never fully charged in those cases," Bishop said. "We were never able to link how (Silvani and Curry) knew each other."

How DNA solved a decades-old case of woman found murdered near Lake Tahoe

BBM

Thanks, I see (didn't read the whole article) Is this the same guy called a co-worker from Waukena in another article. Is it allowed to sleuth this person, because we are not sure he is a John Doe or missing? At least it's seems to be OT in this thread.

 

[MarziPanda]

I'm glad the nyt article mentions that Mary may have had a child that she gave up for adoption. Ever since she was identified I've been wondering about that, because I remembered that her autopsy hinted she'd had at least one child. I remember people, myself included, wondering if her child or children were looking for her. If she gave them up for adoption, it seems not (unless they're searching for their birth parents). I assume the gedmatch files of does are taken down after they are identified, and I think doe files aren't visible anyway. I wonder if the child ever did upload to gedmatch in the future, there would be any way for them to figure out where they came from.

I'm also curious about the mentioning of what role NPEs (not parent expected or none paternity event) play in this process. I have uploaded to gedmatch, but have just taken down my gedcom that I had on there because it's misleading. I only uploaded it because I thought it might help in doe cases, but I have since found out I'm NPE (I was donor conceived and not told). I don't want LE going down my dad's side trying to find a doe when I'm not related to him, and it's my donor's family they should look at. I'm in the UK, but hope that someday LE here might use the technique. I wonder how often NPEs become roadblocks in cases like this, as the article explains that one of the closest matches to Mary was adopted.

 

[Bit of hope]

I'm glad the nyt article mentions that Mary may have had a child that she gave up for adoption. Ever since she was identified I've been wondering about that, because I remembered that her autopsy hinted she'd had at least one child. I remember people, myself included, wondering if her child or children were looking for her. If she gave them up for adoption, it seems not (unless they're searching for their birth parents). I assume the gedmatch files of does are taken down after they are identified, and I think doe files aren't visible anyway. I wonder if the child ever did upload to gedmatch in the future, there would be any way for them to figure out where they came from.

I'm also curious about the mentioning of what role NPEs (not parent expected or none paternity event) play in this process. I have uploaded to gedmatch, but have just taken down my gedcom that I had on there because it's misleading. I only uploaded it because I thought it might help in doe cases, but I have since found out I'm NPE (I was donor conceived and not told). I don't want LE going down my dad's side trying to find a doe when I'm not related to him, and it's my donor's family they should look at. I'm in the UK, but hope that someday LE here might use the technique. I wonder how often NPEs become roadblocks in cases like this, as the article explains that one of the closest matches to Mary was adopted.

Hi...I can't answer you questions but I think it's very good that you are bringing this under our attention.

 

[Gardener1850]

Thanks, I see (didn't read the whole article) Is this the same guy called a co-worker from Waukena in another article. Is it allowed to sleuth this person, because we are not sure he is a John Doe or missing? At least it's seems to be OT in this thread.

I'm not sure on the co-worker question-- I'll have to read back and find that article. Since James Dewitt Robinson was reported as presumed murdered and never found, I made a missing thread for him. Please sleuth and find more info: Deceased/Not Found - CA - James DeWitt Robinson, Victim of SK James Richard Curry, Sometime Before 1983

Thank you

 

[Nancy Drew RN]

A very interesting read. Not only about the investigation, but also give some insight view how things go sometimes within families and how somebody 'easily' can get lost.......

Seriously. Such a sad situation.

The team was elated. And frustrated. Mary Edith Silvani had a name, but she was still just a collection of facts. She was born in Pontiac, Mich. to a mother who spent her life in and out of mental hospitals and a father who died when she was 16, leaving her homeless. She may or may not have had a baby whom she gave up for adoption in Detroit. She never had a driver’s license, as far as the team could tell. She was never reported missing. She wore a blue bathing suit under her Lee Rider jeans, hinting at plans to swim on the day she died.

 

[Bit of hope]

I'm not sure on the co-worker question-- I'll have to read back and find that article. Since James Dewitt Robinson was reported as presumed murdered and never found, I made a missing thread for him. Please sleuth and find more info: Deceased/Not Found - CA - James DeWitt Robinson, Victim of SK James Richard Curry, Sometime Before 1983

Thank you

Thank You!!

 

[bambi_sue]

I’ve been out of the loop and just saw this news. I’m so grateful Mary has her name back and we know something of what happened to her. I’ll be in Reno in the next few weeks and would love to put some flowers on her grave - I wonder if it’s possible to find in the cemetery? I’ll try calling the church.

ETA - just saw the pic in the NYT article, so grave question answered.

 

[Roselvr]

To those on GEDmatch, they changed their terms of service; everyone is opted out of matching with LE and DDP. See the link below for more info and spread the word

GEDmatch introduces opt-in for law enforcement matching - Genealogy -Ancestry research, historical records, genetic analysis, sharing data, locating family - City-Data Forum

 

[iulia]

She was killed 37 years ago — and her friends just found out: 'She was my bridesmaid'

This week, after reading a story about Silvani in the Free Press, friends from Silvani's high school days in Detroit have come forward to honor her memory. They're sad, angry and frustrated about her death, and, about losing touch with a girl from the neighborhood who clearly needed friends and a support system.
[...]
Her old friends from the neighborhood, meanwhile, want people to know that Silvani was more than a crime victim from a broken family, and that she once laughed, danced, swam, teased her hair, hung out at a burger joint, loved reading, art and going to the Detroit Institute of Arts. She was more than the victim in the news, the 33-year-old woman in jeans, bathing suit and yellow sneakers whose life ended at the hands of a serial killer on a Nevada hiking trail, they said.

ETA - added photos

 

[Wilma_W]

She was killed 37 years ago — and her friends just found out: 'She was my bridesmaid'

This week, after reading a story about Silvani in the Free Press, friends from Silvani's high school days in Detroit have come forward to honor her memory. They're sad, angry and frustrated about her death, and, about losing touch with a girl from the neighborhood who clearly needed friends and a support system.
[...]
Her old friends from the neighborhood, meanwhile, want people to know that Silvani was more than a crime victim from a broken family, and that she once laughed, danced, swam, teased her hair, hung out at a burger joint, loved reading, art and going to the Detroit Institute of Arts. She was more than the victim in the news, the 33-year-old woman in jeans, bathing suit and yellow sneakers whose life ended at the hands of a serial killer on a Nevada hiking trail, they said.

ETA - added photos

Thank you so much for posting this article and those pictures! They are just lovely, and more confirmation that Carl's reconstruction was on point.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

Is this the first confirmation of her having a child?

 

[Owutatangledweb]

She was killed 37 years ago — and her friends just found out: 'She was my bridesmaid'

This week, after reading a story about Silvani in the Free Press, friends from Silvani's high school days in Detroit have come forward to honor her memory. They're sad, angry and frustrated about her death, and, about losing touch with a girl from the neighborhood who clearly needed friends and a support system.
[...]
Her old friends from the neighborhood, meanwhile, want people to know that Silvani was more than a crime victim from a broken family, and that she once laughed, danced, swam, teased her hair, hung out at a burger joint, loved reading, art and going to the Detroit Institute of Arts. She was more than the victim in the news, the 33-year-old woman in jeans, bathing suit and yellow sneakers whose life ended at the hands of a serial killer on a Nevada hiking trail, they said.

ETA - added photos

Which one is her? And THANK YOU for posting!!!

Edit. Articles says she is the one in light pale green dress at far left.

 

[Liv27]

She was gorgeous!

 

[CarlK90245]

Which one is her? And THANK YOU for posting!!!

Edit. Articles says she is the one in light pale green dress at far left.

And she’s the front seat passenger in the car photo. The driver is the same girl as the bride in the wedding photos.

 

[Liv27]

And she’s the front seat passenger in the car photo. The driver is the same girl as the bride in the wedding photos.

She looks exactly like your reconstruction, Carl. Good job on Mary and Dana’s reconstructions!

 

[Jake479]

RIP Mary Edith Silvani

 

[Gardener1850]

Not sure there is anything new but this is a good summary article: Thanks to DNA sleuths, a Jane Doe killed 37 years ago might finally get a headstone with her name on it

 

[iulia]

'Sheep's Flat Jane Doe' gravesite gets new marker: 'She was not lost to God'

The Diocese of Reno recently donated a granite marker with Mary's name carved at the top. It's decorated with budding rose vines that twist up the sides, and at the bottom, there's a heartfelt message crafted by two of her remaining relatives.

The message reads: "Our lost angel has been taken to heaven. You have been found and will never be lost again."

 

[Liv27]

'Sheep's Flat Jane Doe' gravesite gets new marker: 'She was not lost to God'

This is a beautiful article. Thank you for sharing. I’m glad Mary’s family wanted to get her a new marker and I’m even happier that the marker was donated to them. I’m glad we’re still getting updates.