NY NY - Canton, WhtFem, 30-40, found beaten and mutilated in ditch, Apr'50

[SimsGuy67]

Here's a case not in NamUs that I was given permission to post by mods. Whether she's still unidentified or not, this was a murder and a very brutal one at that.

Unidentified Female
Date of Discovery: April 4, 1950
Location of Discovery: Canton, St. Lawrence County, New York
Estimated Date of Death: Two to Four Weeks Prior
State of Remains: Unrecognizable - Traumatic Injuries (Presumed)
Cause of Death: Beating (Also mutilated)
Physical Description
Estimated Age: 30-40 years old (Some reports list 35-40)
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'9 (Some reports list 5'8)
Weight: 150 - 160 pounds
Hair Color: Dark brown, long
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Initially not believed to have given birth, but this has been brought into question.
Identifiers
DNA: Unknown (DNA was being retrieved at time of latest article)
Dentals: Unknown
Fingerprints: Available (At time of 1950 articles)
Clothing and Personal Items
Clothing: None; found nude
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Circumstances of Discovery
On April 4, 1950, the woman's nude body was found partially encased in snow and ice in a ditch. Her head had been beaten beyond recognition, her jaw crushed and her skull fractured, and she had been mutilated. Her thighs and abdomen had been cut, and some reports say organs had been removed. She also had numerous cuts on her body.
Information Sources

State police hope DNA can identify 1950 murder victim

Clipping found in The Post-Star published in Glens Falls, New York on 12/29/2002. State police hope DNA can identify 1950 murder victim

www.newspapers.com

Unidentified Female 1950 NY

Clipping found in The Buffalo News published in Buffalo, New York on 4/6/1950. Unidentified Female 1950 NY

www.newspapers.com

Unidentified Woman 1950 NY

Clipping found in Daily News published in New York, New York on 4/9/1950. Unidentified Woman 1950 NY

www.newspapers.com

Unidentified Female 1950 NY

Clipping found in The Post-Standard published in Syracuse, New York on 4/10/1950. Unidentified Female 1950 NY

www.newspapers.com

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The only missing woman I could find listed as a possible match is Ruth Jock, missing from NY since January 1950. It likely wasn't her, though, as Ruth is still listed as missing today.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

She was found pretty close to the border - I wonder if she was Canadian.

 

[RyGuy611]

Surprised I'm just hearing about this case. You'd think this would be more well-known.

 

[Melt71]

@SimsGuy67 What a horrific case! Have you reached out to LE/do you know why she's not in Namus?

 

[SimsGuy67]

@SimsGuy67 What a horrific case! Have you reached out to LE/do you know why she's not in Namus?

I have no clue why he's not in NamUs. I only found her by chance when looking in newspaper records for Ruth Jock. I find it mostly strange that the latest article is from 2002, so recent, yet we have no idea what the outcome of the DNA testing was.

 

[Deleted member 306806]

Unidentified Female 1950 NY

Clipping found in The Post-Standard published in Syracuse, New York on 4/10/1950. Unidentified Female 1950 NY

www.newspapers.com

---

The only missing woman I could find listed as a possible match is Ruth Jock, missing from NY since January 1950. It likely wasn't her, though, as Ruth is still listed as missing today.

That article says a boning knife, scarf were found at the scene, and a car was reported near the scene.

All the articles seem to think the crime was sexual in nature. Domestic violence would be easier to hide a missing wife, imo.

Dorothy Forstein was a Philidephia woman whose stepdaughter saw her being carried away into the night in October 18, 1949. She was never found. The news articles do report her as blonde, but some of the black and white pictures do make her hair look darker.

 

[Deleted member 306806]

Some more newspaper clipping from the time. You have to zoom in on the articles.

Link - likens her mutilation to Black Dahlia. Fingerprints were run, no matches so no criminal record or military service.
Link 2 - very blurry to read. Power company driver said he say a man struggling with something in a car in a parking lot.
Link 3 - 'vital organs' removed and left with body.
Link 4 - both Mrs Jock and the UID had a deformed arm and growth on the index finger.
Link 5
Link 6
Link 7 - more about the deformed arm and growth on finger and the rumor she is Mrs. Jock
Link 8 - she has bad teeth - authorities say she might be homeless. The struggle seen by the power company driver, the knife and scarf found down the road. There is a gambling house nearby the police are looking into.

 

[Deleted member 306806]

Here are some more articles

Link 9 - from 1953. Looking into link to similar killing in Quebec.
Link 10 - rumors that IUD was native due to a darker skin tone. Also a tip was reported about a truck seen in the area.
Link 11 - from April 12 1950 - possibly a Rochester woman missing in December 1948 - Madeline Papaleo. Her husband stated that it looked like his wife. No idea what came of this. (eta - sleuthed via the husbands name, city, and dob and I think she remarried and passed much later)

 

[Deleted member 306806]

Here are some more articles

Link 9 - from 1953. Looking into link to similar killing in Quebec.
Link 10 - rumors that IUD was native due to a darker skin tone. Also a tip was reported about a truck seen in the area.
Link 11 - from April 12 1950 - possibly a Rochester woman missing in December 1948 - Madeline Papaleo. Her husband stated that it looked like his wife. No idea what came of this. (eta - sleuthed via the husbands name, city, and dob and I think she remarried and passed much later)

Link 12 - Mrs. Papaleo had false teeth, UID had real teeth. Another possibility mentioned in this article is Mrs. Mary L. Stevers of Gouverneur, New York

 

[SimsGuy67]

Some more newspaper clipping from the time. You have to zoom in on the articles.

Link - likens her mutilation to Black Dahlia. Fingerprints were run, no matches so no criminal record or military service.
Link 2 - very blurry to read. Power company driver said he say a man struggling with something in a car in a parking lot.
Link 3 - 'vital organs' removed and left with body.
Link 4 - both Mrs Jock and the UID had a deformed arm and growth on the index finger.
Link 5
Link 6
Link 7 - more about the deformed arm and growth on finger and the rumor she is Mrs. Jock
Link 8 - she has bad teeth - authorities say she might be homeless. The struggle seen by the power company driver, the knife and scarf found down the road. There is a gambling house nearby the police are looking into.

Thank you for finding all these details! It baffles me how this case has practically vanished among modern media, given its sheer brutality and its likeness to the murder of Elizabeth Short.

Additionally, it's compelling that this woman and Ruth had a similar deformity on their arms and fingers, but Ruth is still a missing person, even after an apparent DNA analysis. There are three possibilities I see right now.
1. They were able to get DNA from this Doe and rule out Ruth, along with the other missing women mentioned in the 2002 article.
2. They were unable to get DNA, making a positive identification impossible.
3. They were able to get DNA and identified this Doe as one of the other missing women mentioned in the 2002 article.
I doubt she would be identified post-2002/2003, as we would've likely heard about it in modern media as the internet and especially the then-forming Doe Network grew in size. Of course, it's always possible she was identified and no articles of it are available.

 

[RyGuy611]

Her remains are likely still in the possession of authorities in St. Lawrence County. Asking the crime lab in Albany about the test results wouldn't hurt, either.

 

[Deleted member 306806]

I found a few more.

Link 13 - This is one of the earlier articles, from April 7th. It's important to note the Jock family came to view her remains very early on, yet they are brought in articles all the way to late May. The Jock family viewed the UID before authorities took the head to Syracuse for restoration. It says in the articles, the head went 'yesterday'.

Link 14 - From April 13th. Photo of the reconstructed head. This is an important article as it drops the bombshells of dirt underneath her nails and the mutilation was done by someone who knew anatomy - "The removal of the female organs was accomplished by a person or persons who had more than merely an elementary knowledge of anatomy" (!!). This was a quote by 'a prominent physician'

The last article is interesting, as the ground was very frozen at that time of year. The UID was also killed elsewhere. This means the dirt was everyday dirt, or she could have struggled someplace where there was less snow and ice. Rememeber, she was covered with snow and ice to the point where only a hand stuck out.

I will link to some information on Mrs. Jock in a subsquent post.

 

[Deleted member 306806]

Ruth Jock.

Here is her Websleuths thread.

Doe Network - An interesting bit here is that she dentals are unknown but she is 'missing lower left bicuspid'. In one of the articles I linke, the UID was said to have perfect teeth save a decaying molar.

I also found her husband's obituary and son's obituary. Cecil's obituation mentions his marriage to Ruth. The son's mentions Ruth as his mother who pedeceased him. There also seems to be a different Cecil Jock in the area around the same time, with a different middle name.

 

[Deleted member 306806]

Thank you for finding all these details! It baffles me how this case has practically vanished among modern media, given its sheer brutality and its likeness to the murder of Elizabeth Short.

Yes. It is baffling - it was in the papers for a month straight.

Additionally, it's compelling that this woman and Ruth had a similar deformity on their arms and fingers, but Ruth is still a missing person, even after an apparent DNA analysis. There are three possibilities I see right now.
1. They were able to get DNA from this Doe and rule out Ruth, along with the other missing women mentioned in the 2002 article.
2. They were unable to get DNA, making a positive identification impossible.
3. They were able to get DNA and identified this Doe as one of the other missing women mentioned in the 2002 article.
I doubt she would be identified post-2002/2003, as we would've likely heard about it in modern media as the internet and especially the then-forming Doe Network grew in size. Of course, it's always possible she was identified and no articles of it are available.

Good thoughts.
1. Ruth Jock is still missing per the NY State Police, so I think this option is out. The UID is not listed there, however
2. DNA techniques have become more advanced.
3. I wonder if this happened. The UID is not listed on the NY State Police website. Maybe she was identified and the family did not want to go public.

 

[Hochman]

I found a few more.

Link 13 - This is one of the earlier articles, from April 7th. It's important to note the Jock family came to view her remains very early on, yet they are brought in articles all the way to late May. The Jock family viewed the UID before authorities took the head to Syracuse for restoration. It says in the articles, the head went 'yesterday'.

Link 14 - From April 13th. Photo of the reconstructed head. This is an important article as it drops the bombshells of dirt underneath her nails and the mutilation was done by someone who knew anatomy - "The removal of the female organs was accomplished by a person or persons who had more than merely an elementary knowledge of anatomy" (!!). This was a quote by 'a prominent physician'

The last article is interesting, as the ground was very frozen at that time of year. The UID was also killed elsewhere. This means the dirt was everyday dirt, or she could have struggled someplace where there was less snow and ice. Rememeber, she was covered with snow and ice to the point where only a hand stuck out.

I will link to some information on Mrs. Jock in a subsquent post.

Reconstruction from link 14.

 

[madamx]

I never heard of this case! Thank you for giving it a thread!

 

[Mfleish]

I was curious so I reached out to the St. Lawrence County Sheriff and NY State Police to see if she was still unidentified. The St. Lawrence County Sheriff has no knowledge other than the article from 2002 referencing DNA testing. I will post if I hear back from the state police.

 

[SimsGuy67]

I was curious so I reached out to the St. Lawrence County Sheriff and NY State Police to see if she was still unidentified. The St. Lawrence County Sheriff has no knowledge other than the article from 2002 referencing DNA testing. I will post if I hear back from the state police.

First, thank you for reaching out to LE for answers! As for what the St. Lawrence County Sheriff said, I find it very confusing that they just know nothing. Even if she was ID'd, she should at least be known to them as an unsolved homicide, right? I hope you have better luck with the State Police. Let us know when you hear back please!

 

[phantomstrider]

First, thank you for reaching out to LE for answers! As for what the St. Lawrence County Sheriff said, I find it very confusing that they just know nothing. Even if she was ID'd, she should at least be known to them as an unsolved homicide, right? I hope you have better luck with the State Police. Let us know when you hear back please!

I found this case while searching on unidentified wiki. Really strange she’s not on namus and that this case isn’t well known especially given how horrific it was.

 

[madamx]

That article says a boning knife, scarf were found at the scene, and a car was reported near the scene.

All the articles seem to think the crime was sexual in nature. Domestic violence would be easier to hide a missing wife, imo.

Dorothy Forstein was a Philidephia woman whose stepdaughter saw her being carried away into the night in October 18, 1949. She was never found. The news articles do report her as blonde, but some of the black and white pictures do make her hair look darker.

I found this case while searching on unidentified wiki. Really strange she’s not on namus and that this case isn’t well known especially given how horrific it was.

Here is a long shot but I thought I would post anyway

NY Thread 'NY - Edna Kaminski, 23, Maspeth, Queens, Aug 1944'

Aug 16, 2014

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/25211/0

Last seen by family in August 1944 when she left house she shared with husband and 20 month old daughter.

5'6 - 5'8
130 - 150 lbs
Brown hair, brown eyes

There are a couple additional photos on the NamUs site. She looks older than 23 to me in this photo.

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