Identified! NY - Mount Vernon, WhtFem 51UFNY, 18-25, Left Near Junkyard, Feb'88 - Veronica Wiederhold

[jessr927]

Wow. I-95 runs through NY as well and I might be wrong but I think you can catch the Hutch Pkwy off of it (this pkwy is close to where she was found). A lot of the New Bedford victims were Portuguese. And MV has a big Portuguese community.

 

[FiveFelines]

Wow. I-95 runs through NY as well and I might be wrong but I think you can catch the Hutch Pkwy off of it (this pkwy is close to where she was found). A lot of the New Bedford victims were Portuguese. And MV has a big Portuguese community.

I was wrong. It was I-195, as well as 140. They were found very local to that area of New Bedford and surrounding towns. But if we're looking at Mass and that timeframe, it's kind of interesting...

 

[jessr927]

I was wrong. It was I-195, as well as 140. They were found very local to that area of New Bedford and surrounding towns. But if we're looking at Mass and that timeframe, it's kind of interesting...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_195_(Rhode_Island–Massachusetts)

I-195 connects to I-95 which connects to the Hutchinson River Parkway. See below a snip from a prior post by CarlK90245:

The location is also only a few blocks from the southbound offramp of the Hutchinson Parkway. So it looks like the perp probably came off the parkway into an industrial part of town to dump the body unnoticed.

There is also a northbound offramp adjacent to the Pelham HS. A couple of right turns will take you under the parkway and into that neighborhood. So you can't really presume that they came either from north or south of that location.

And here's a map snip to give you an idea of the proximity of the Hutch Pkwy. southbound offramp and 10 Carleton Ave.



ETA: MVJD was found Feb. 1988 and the earliest New Bedford victim was found in the summer of 1988.

 

[carbuff]

There's a woman (Marilyn Roberts) missing from New Bedford in March 1988 who some people think is probably the New Bedford SK's first victim. Roberts doesn't resemble MVJD at all, but it does indicate the killer may have been operating a little earlier than the summer of 1988. I don't think he posed his victims, though. That's an odd thing to have done, especially in the middle of a street on Sunday morning.

 

[FiveFelines]

I really think that MVJD is the victim of a serial killer. Not the New Bedford killer per se, but I do believe her murderer had either killed before or killed again later.

 

[jessr927]

There's a woman (Marilyn Roberts) missing from New Bedford in March 1988 who some people think is probably the New Bedford SK's first victim. Roberts doesn't resemble MVJD at all, but it does indicate the killer may have been operating a little earlier than the summer of 1988. I don't think he posed his victims, though. That's an odd thing to have done, especially in the middle of a street on Sunday morning.

That's why I believe he knew Mt. Vernon pretty well. He likely grew up here. I believe he worked in that area at one point and that's how he knew where he could get away with posing her. If he was a trucker, it's very common to see large trucks in that area, being how it's so industrial - no houses nearby for anyone to be watching him - and most businesses there, including J. Bass & Sons where she was found, are closed Sundays.

I'm stuck on the Portuguese angle now too, because both MV and New Bedford have such large Portuguese populations (MV has its own Portuguese-American Citizens Club); and at some point, MV Police Dept. sent notice to Brazil (or their consulate? I forget) about MVJD, because they believed her to be of Brazilian origin.

 

[Springrain]

Long shot. I don't think they look much alike, but the height is 3 inches which we've all seen before, and weight could be lost if she was a transient/fell into drugs.

The nose looks completely off. She could have dyed her hair, and the eyes seem OK. None of her DNA, dentals, or fingerprints are available.

Maybe a waste of everyone's time, but I figured I'd post it just to be sure.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/clavell_nancy.html

 

[jessr927]

Okay, throwing another new theory out there (bear with me, my job has been slow this month, too much free time to think):

What if MVJD was not a street kid, prostitute, etc. who was killed by a stranger? What if she was someone's girlfriend or wife and was killed by her boyfriend/husband? Here are the reasons why I'm coming at this from a new angle:

-Autopsy showed signs of recent sexual activity but not consistent with rape (which isn't to say that a woman's partner can't rape her, but if a stranger grabbed her off the street, he'd probably not be very gentle)

-She had false nails, implying she had time and money to care about her appearance

-She had only broccoli as her stomach contents, implying she may have been dieting to keep herself in shape

-She had a shaved pubic area (maybe she maintained it for her bf/husband) but her underarms had 2 weeks worth of hair growth - it was winter, and personally, I might not shave under my arms every day in winter since I'm not wearing tank tops, but certainly maintain my legs and pubic area for my partner)

-She was posed with her arms outstretched and legs crossed at the ankles which I'm imagining is a Christ-like pose. She was therefore placed carefully, not shoved out of a car or dropped in the woods somewhere. They wanted her to be found.

 

[Springrain]

Okay, throwing another new theory out there (bear with me, my job has been slow this month, too much free time to think):

What if MVJD was not a street kid, prostitute, etc. who was killed by a stranger? What if she was someone's girlfriend or wife and was killed by her boyfriend/husband? Here are the reasons why I'm coming at this from a new angle:

-Autopsy showed signs of recent sexual activity but not consistent with rape (which isn't to say that a woman's partner can't rape her, but if a stranger grabbed her off the street, he'd probably not be very gentle)

-She had false nails, implying she had time and money to care about her appearance

-She had only broccoli as her stomach contents, implying she may have been dieting to keep herself in shape

-She had a shaved pubic area (maybe she maintained it for her bf/husband) but her underarms had 2 weeks worth of hair growth - it was winter, and personally, I might not shave under my arms every day in winter since I'm not wearing tank tops, but certainly maintain my legs and pubic area for my partner)

-She was posed with her arms outstretched and legs crossed at the ankles which I'm imagining is a Christ-like pose. She was therefore placed carefully, not shoved out of a car or dropped in the woods somewhere. They wanted her to be found.

Since apparently back then, it was uncommon to shave pubic hair, that seems to be a hint that she was a sex worker. Although I'm sure some women did, it doesn't seem to nearly as common as it is now. And also, as someone else said, she wouldn't need to maintain underarm hair if she was a prostitute. She could just lift her shirt if needed.

But the broccoli does seem to hint at some kind of dieting. But sex workers eat veggies too.

I did not know that she had recently engaged in sexual activity, but I don't know that much about this case.

 

[jessr927]

Since apparently back then, it was uncommon to shave pubic hair, that seems to be a hint that she was a sex worker. Although I'm sure some women did, it doesn't seem to nearly as common as it is now. And also, as someone else said, she wouldn't need to maintain underarm hair if she was a prostitute. She could just lift her shirt if needed.

But the broccoli does seem to hint at some kind of dieting. But sex workers eat veggies too.

It's silly and petty, but the broccoli is what's bugging me the most! I personally know quite a few homeless people (although none of them are prostitutes to the best of my knowledge) and none of them would JUST eat broccoli. If they have cash to spare it goes to whatever is cheap and filling - pizza, fast food. If they eat at soup kitchens, they eat what is given (usually sandwiches or a plate of hot food - meat, veggie, starch). But none of them would say "oh, I'm on a diet, just broccoli for me." They don't have the luxury of knowing where their next meal is coming from.

With the shaved pubic hair and the apparent dieting, I'm wondering if she was a higher-end call girl, but then I assume she'd be shaving under her arms as well.

 

[catherine.]

I am sure this was brought up previously, but I just quickly read through this thread before posting. Was it possible that the killer shaved her pubic area? That area is a trap for DNA. I know there is speculation that she was a prostitute and that's the reasoning for shaving; however, if a girl is going to take the time to shave down there, I imagine she would also shave her armpits. (I always shave my armpits!) Honestly I don't know too many adult men who run away because of a little hair especially if the mood was right. A lot of other countries don't put quite as much emphasis on women shaving.

I believe it is entirely possible she had moved to the US from another country. If she hooked up with a man in the United States and he ultimately killed her, if her family was still back home no one in this country would report her missing. I know a woman who moved here from Brazil and married an American man much older than her. She only goes home to see her family once a year. If this girl was the same, a year could have easily passed before her family realized she was gone.

 

[zelda_s]

I just want to say that all these theories you all have are really great and helpful! The hard work of everyone on this site is so great. I hope this poor girl gets her name back soon.

 

[zelda_s]

I think the evidence suggests that she likely wasn't homeless or a street child or anything. Probably a sex worker or someone from
a stable background.

 

[Springrain]

My guess would be sex worker living an apartment, with some money to diet, not just taking cheap foods. The painted nails too seem to suggest this.

 

[FiveFelines]

I am sure this was brought up previously, but I just quickly read through this thread before posting. Was it possible that the killer shaved her pubic area? That area is a trap for DNA. I know there is speculation that she was a prostitute and that's the reasoning for shaving; however, if a girl is going to take the time to shave down there, I imagine she would also shave her armpits. (I always shave my armpits!) Honestly I don't know too many adult men who run away because of a little hair especially if the mood was right. A lot of other countries don't put quite as much emphasis on women shaving.

I believe it is entirely possible she had moved to the US from another country. If she hooked up with a man in the United States and he ultimately killed her, if her family was still back home no one in this country would report her missing. I know a woman who moved here from Brazil and married an American man much older than her. She only goes home to see her family once a year. If this girl was the same, a year could have easily passed before her family realized she was gone.

Yes. I speculated that her killer did that as some sort of fetish. I didn't even think of DNA! Good point.

 

[EmmaliLucia]

They didn't know about DNA in 1988, did they?

 

[FiveFelines]

They didn't know about DNA in 1988, did they?

This says it was developed in 1985, but I'd guess it was still in its infancy in 1988. But a killer back then could certainly be aware of other evidence like hair, fibers, etc., that he could leave behind.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_profiling

 

[catherine.]

You can search the case of Tommie Lee Andrews. He was the first man convicted of rape based on DNA evidence collected from semen and blood. That was in 1987, and I'm sure it made nationwide news.

 

[carbuff]

Shaving down south wasn't common in 1988, but it wasn't unheard of either, especially among dancers, models, and women who liked to wear bikinis a lot. And the "landing strip" was definitely around-- it came in with the Brazilian immigrants, many of whom opened beauty salons for nails and waxing.

 

[jessr927]

Shaving down south wasn't common in 1988, but it wasn't unheard of either, especially among dancers, models, and women who liked to wear bikinis a lot. And the "landing strip" was definitely around-- it came in with the Brazilian immigrants, many of whom opened beauty salons for nails and waxing.

Dancers.... that got me thinking she may have been a dancer at a gentleman's club.