Identified! WI - Houlton, WhtFem 35-60, 406UFWI, wide-set eyes, edentulous, Oct'02 Alyce Peterson

[Bobban]

I'm unsure if this information has been posted before in other groups but I'm posting this here just in case.

A swedish newspaper (Göteborgs-Posten) is reporting that the DNA Doe Project has found a connection between st croix Jane Doe and a man living near Linköping, Sweden. They explain that the DNA Doe Project uses DNA and genealogy and by that method got a hit on the man. Robin Espensen from the DNA Doe Projects says in the short interview that with the man's help they "think they have found the line".

 

[iulia]

She has been identified as Alice Catharina Peterson, who died in 2001 at age 91. She passed away and was cremated, but it seems like the remains her family received were not hers or incomplete.

I think this is behind a paywall:

Skull found in Wisconsin woods belonged to Stillwater woman whose family thought had been cremated

The big mystery now for Twin Cities police is trying to figure whose cremated remains were handed over to Alice Peterson’s family.

www.startribune.com

 

[djanga]

thank you, Yulia! That’s a crazy twist. I wonder if there was any reason at all to dispose of her body like that instead of cremating it. I can’t think of any motive or reason someone would do this. It seems some lunatic worked in the cemetery. By the way, no paywall for me.

 

[Susikatze]

What i think may have happened is that since she passed from a sudden death (aneurysm noone was aware of) that during autopsy her head was removed. When the remains got clearance to be sent to the crematorium, someone may have forgotten to include the head. May have also happened in the crematorium. When the head was discovered to have been left behind, probably someone panicked and dumped it. Because it is possible noone knew whose head that was and if they did remember somehow, it would have been extremely bad for the coroner, hospital or crematorium to admit they made a mistake. Also adding it to the burial would have been very difficult once done.

jmoo

 

[djanga]

I have a crazy idea, could she had golden teeth? I am not sure how common it would be in 2001

 

[Susikatze]

But Alice must have remained fairly in great shape that they mistook her skull (despite being edentulous) for a much younger womans skull (35-50). With geriatric remains usually you can easily tell the age range 80+ by thinning of the orbital bones and the skull dome bones. So Alice apparently did not suffer from osteoporosis and other age related bone issues.

jmoo

 

[Susikatze]

I have a crazy idea, could she had golden teeth? I am not sure how common it would be in 2001

She was edentulous, which implies she lost all her teeth well before she died. If she had a gold implant or crown, i am sure they would have noted that.

 

[The4TierBridge]

St Croix County Jane Doe 2002 | DNA Doe Project

dnadoeproject.org

 

[DS2021]

What i think may have happened is that since she passed from a sudden death (aneurysm noone was aware of) that during autopsy her head was removed. When the remains got clearance to be sent to the crematorium, someone may have forgotten to include the head. May have also happened in the crematorium. When the head was discovered to have been left behind, probably someone panicked and dumped it. Because it is possible noone knew whose head that was and if they did remember somehow, it would have been extremely bad for the coroner, hospital or crematorium to admit they made a mistake. Also adding it to the burial would have been very difficult once done.

jmoo

Would they take her whole head to remove her brain?

How Autopsies Work

The thought of an autopsy usually provokes fear, apprehension or extreme anxiety in people. Cut through the mystery of this process and learn the details of the preparation, procedures and tools used to perform an autopsy.

science.howstuffworks.com

This article indicates they just cut the top of the skull to remove the brain.

 

[Blurgle]

This is very odd. I hope law enforcement is investigating the funeral home and the hospital morgue.

It's extremely unlikely that a 92-year old who died of natural causes would have been autopsied.

 

[The4TierBridge]

This is very odd. I hope law enforcement is investigating the funeral home and the hospital morgue.

It's extremely unlikely that a 92-year old who died of natural causes would have been autopsied.

The article from Star Tribune states that records show an autopsy was conducted.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

This is very odd. I hope law enforcement is investigating the funeral home and the hospital morgue.

It's extremely unlikely that a 92-year old who died of natural causes would have been autopsied.

This makes her case way more confusing, IMO. Hard for me to picture a non-suspicious way for a deceased elderly woman’s head ending up uncoupled from her body (presumably).

 

[djanga]

This is very odd. I hope law enforcement is investigating the funeral home and the hospital morgue.

It's extremely unlikely that a 92-year old who died of natural causes would have been autopsied.

The article states that an autopsy determined the cause of death was an aortic aneurysm. I’m just wondering if it is normal that they sever a head during an autopsy

 

[DS2021]

its also interesting to me that she died in MN and her skull was found not far over the Wisconsin border.

im wondering if that was a calculated move

 

[alucardsdream]

She has been identified as Alice Catharina Peterson, who died in 2001 at age 91. She passed away and was cremated, but it seems like the remains her family received were not hers or incomplete.

I think this is behind a paywall:

Skull found in Wisconsin woods belonged to Stillwater woman whose family thought had been cremated

The big mystery now for Twin Cities police is trying to figure whose cremated remains were handed over to Alice Peterson’s family.

www.startribune.com

Her poor family...they must be horrified! I honestly can't see how something like this could have happened. I wonder if the hospital/morgue/funeral home involved is still in business so they can be investigated?

 

[The4TierBridge]

Her poor family...they must be horrified! I honestly can't see how something like this could have happened. I wonder if the hospital/morgue/funeral home involved is still in business so they can be investigated?

The crematorium was the one run on-site by Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Maplewood MN.

Forest Lawn Memorial Park Association - Cremation Policies

The hospital was Regions Hospital in Saint Paul and isn’t the first time they’ve had controversy with human remains. In 2013 they accidentally sent the bodies of two stillborn babies to a laundry service with the hospital linens instead of a crematorium, and only one was able to be recovered.

Lawyer: Regions Hospital wasn’t honest with family of discarded stillborn child

Four years ago, Regions Hospital employees mistakenly tossed out a stillborn baby with the laundry after promising the family it would cremate the child. After the family filed a lawsuit last week,…

www.twincities.com

 

[alucardsdream]

The crematorium was the one run on-site by Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Maplewood MN.

Forest Lawn Memorial Park Association - Cremation Policies

The hospital was Regions Hospital in Saint Paul and isn’t the first time they’ve had controversy with human remains. In 2013 they accidentally sent the bodies of two stillborn babies to a laundry service with the hospital linens instead of a crematorium, and only one was able to be recovered.

Lawyer: Regions Hospital wasn’t honest with family of discarded stillborn child

Four years ago, Regions Hospital employees mistakenly tossed out a stillborn baby with the laundry after promising the family it would cremate the child. After the family filed a lawsuit last week,…

www.twincities.com

That is truly horrifying. I'm guessing this will result in another lawsuit...I really can't imagine what her family must be going through.

 

[Susikatze]

She was edentulous, which implies she lost all her teeth well before she died. If she had a gold implant or crown, i am sure they would have noted that.

The article states that an autopsy determined the cause of death was an aortic aneurysm. I’m just wondering if it is normal that they sever a head during an autopsy

The article states that an autopsy determined the cause of death was an aortic aneurysm. I’m just wondering if it is normal that they sever a head during an autopsy

Normally they would not, just saw the skull open. But at times I guess they would delegate the autopsy of the brain to another staff member or the xray/mri department - that is usually done of course with the whole body. But I can see how a very neglectful department would sever the head so that both autopsies can be done the same time.
There is also a possibility of intoxication or necrophily of a hospital or crematorium worker that took the head „for fun“ and dumped it afterwards.
I hope they find out where that happened.

jmoo

 

[Soulmagent]

This is wild.

The still born babies story one was wild too.
And why could they not get it back ?
Just someone take their certifications immediately !

 

[djanga]

This is the same hospital, right?

MN fines Regions Hospital $100,000 for improper infectious waste disposal

Regions Hospital in St. Paul was fined $100,000 by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for improperly disposing of infectious waste multiple times in 2024.

www.fox9.com

Lost stillborn babies: What happened at Regions hospital

The mistake that sent two stillborn babies from the Regions Hospital morgue in St. Paul to a Red Wing laundry appears to be the result of inadequate labeling of fetal remains. Employees at Crothall Laundry Services discovered the first stillborn baby earlier this month.

www.mprnews.org