Identified! WI - Racine Co., WhtFem 199UFWI, 14-25, cauliflower ear, western shirt, July'99 - Peggy Lynn Johnson

[Richard]

Lauran,

Thanks for all the Newspaper stories on this case. Hopefully with renewed information and interest she can be identified and her killer(s) caught.

 

[kandoo76]

Doe anyone else get a creepy feeling when they see this Jane Doe?

 

[Babyslims]

does anyone know if they ever checked out angela ponte?

 

[Lizza]

I will check this out.

 

[Eire]

Doe anyone else get a creepy feeling when they see this Jane Doe?

I do. I don't know what it is, but it's almost haunting. I also get the impression that she was deaf though I have absolutely zero evidence to back that up. It's just a gut instinct, I guess.

The UID cases always make me cry. This one make me cry more than most. This poor girl endured horrible things before she left this world. Her suffering may be over, but she still needs to have her name back.

 

[Fairy1]

Dearest Websleuthers - this is a very disturbing case, but one that truly needs attention. Please take a look - this little girl needs our help!

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/199ufwi.html

 

[NewMommy09]

Wow, I think that is one of the widest age ranges I have seen for a UID (14 to 35 years old), especially since they found her hours after she died. She must have been BADLY disfigured.

A couple things about the details on Doe Network lead me to feel that she is older, rather than younger.

 

[Fairy1]

Wow, I think that is one of the widest age ranges I have seen for a UID (14 to 35 years old), especially since they found her hours after she died. She must have been BADLY disfigured.

A couple things about the details on Doe Network lead me to feel that she is older, rather than younger.

What makes you believe she was older? Can you share?

 

[Fairy1]

On her Doe Network page there is a link to an article dated a year after she was found. They say there are similarities to another case for which 3 men were arrested. For some reason, I can't seem to link it here. It's the:

jsonline.com article.

 

[kygal]

Here is the case you're speaking of Fairy. http://www2.jsonline.com/news/racine/jul00/doer16071500a.asp


Also, look at this. http://www.racineco.com/sheriff/crimebulletin.aspx

Do you think that all these cases could be related to the three men charged in Illinois? Amber was from IL and found in Racine, WI after a similar experience. The woman killed in IL also was very badly beaten and seems to have some sort of issues physically. Racine UID is probably related to these in some way.

Here is also the other thread in cold cases that has some possible ID's on it as well. http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48408

 

[Fairy1]

kygal - thanks so much for the info and link to the original thread - not sure how I missed that!

The thought that she's from outside the US is certainly more than possible. I fear for immigrants who may not be in the states legally for this very reason. She may very well be from Russia or Ukraine, possibly an orphan who had no other choice but to find work in the US. Maybe she had no one left to look for her! Poor little thing. I do feel strongly that the men in Illinois may be linked to this case as well. There must be something they can check into to tie them together. :waitasec:

 

[kygal]

There is something that clearly ties Chicago to Racine County Wisconsin. I know it's a far fetch, but what were those three guys employed as? Could they have had a job (such as truck drivers/migrant workers/railroad) that would have connected the two places? Someone in those fields would have the opportunity to I would think. Any others?

BTW, here is the UID poster I could find of the IL case listed in the article. http://www.find-missing-children.org/Posters/poster230.htm Here is the story of where they ID'ed her. http://cbs2chicago.com/local/Jane.Doe.Mary.2.324806.html Note there is no pic other than the one in the corner. However it is obvious they don't look that much alike, but were matched by both dentals and DNA.

I think that these two UID's have some very similar characteristics -- and both had their hair cut just before they were killed and were beaten until unrecognizable. They also said that Mary Kate's pic on Charley project didn't look ANYTHING AT ALL like the pic of the victim they eventually were able to get in reconstruction in one article that I can't find again.

ETA: all three men charged in Mary Kate Sunderlin-Chamizo's death were either convicted or plead guilty.

 

[NewMommy09]

What makes you believe she was older? Can you share?

It's really not anything scientific. It's more my personal reasoning based on her height and dental state as well as the clothes she was wearing.
The height suggests an older teen to adult to me, rather than a 14 year old.
Her dental state also suggests to me that she was an older teen to adult, because IMO, it is more common in adults to have missing and/or decayed teeth to the extent reported on the UID.
I would have been about 19 when she died, and the clothing is something that I would have considered way out of fashion, not something a teen would wear at all.

While I think someone could easily argue against any one of those opinions, it is all three of them together that make me feel she was a bit older. I would say early to late 20's.

Again, this is only my opinion.

 

[kygal]

It's really not anything scientific. It's more my personal reasoning based on her height and dental state as well as the clothes she was wearing.
The height suggests an older teen to adult to me, rather than a 14 year old.
Her dental state also suggests to me that she was an older teen to adult, because IMO, it is more common in adults to have missing and/or decayed teeth to the extent reported on the UID.
I would have been about 19 when she died, and the clothing is something that I would have considered way out of fashion, not something a teen would wear at all.

While I think someone could easily argue against any one of those opinions, it is all three of them together that make me feel she was a bit older. I would say early to late 20's.

Again, this is only my opinion.

I get the impression that she is older too. Unless she was on a lot of meds or had a serious sweet tooth, that much decay would have taken a while to start and be to that extent.

Again, that thought makes me wonder about the hair cutting. Wonder if she was on a lot of meds that would have made tracing her by elements in her hair (you know, like they can see if you done illegal drugs by examining your hair) and the killer(s) cut it off to keep it from happening.

 

[Fairy1]

It's really not anything scientific. It's more my personal reasoning based on her height and dental state as well as the clothes she was wearing.
The height suggests an older teen to adult to me, rather than a 14 year old.
Her dental state also suggests to me that she was an older teen to adult, because IMO, it is more common in adults to have missing and/or decayed teeth to the extent reported on the UID.
I would have been about 19 when she died, and the clothing is something that I would have considered way out of fashion, not something a teen would wear at all.

While I think someone could easily argue against any one of those opinions, it is all three of them together that make me feel she was a bit older. I would say early to late 20's.

Again, this is only my opinion.

Great points - thank you. This is exactly why I wanted to bring this case here (again) - to get some other insights. I do believe this case is tied to the Illinois case. I'm going to see if I can find anything regarding the arrests and convictions of those guys.

 

[Fairy1]

This is all I could find on Jason Strong. Looking at his "motive," as feeble as it was, maybe these cases are not connected afterall...???


http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=3895090

 

[kygal]

I could see that they may not be, but what about Racine JD and Amber Creek? I still have to think the Chicago connection could be there.

 

[Fairy1]

I could see that they may not be, but what about Racine JD and Amber Creek? I still have to think the Chicago connection could be there.

Could be kygal. I'm just thinking that the kind of torture Racine JD endured would have happened in a somewhat secluded location. Definitely NOT in a motel. Would you agree? It had to be one sick freak or freaks to inflict the kind of methodical torture this girl suffered over a relatively long period of time. It makes me sick to think whoever did it could still be out there.

 

[buttercup72]

Hi everyone. I am new to this website. I have been reading the forums on Websleuth for a few weeks now.

I remember reading the newspaper from July 1999, an unidentified female who was found dead in a Racine Co., WI cornfield not far from Interstate 94. She was tortured for some time prior and ultimately resulted to her demise. The senseless murder of this still unidentified female has saddened me and brought tears to my eyes nearly everytime I look at her poster.

I lived in Racine, WI for all my childhood life and into my early adult years, then moving to Kenosha County, WI. So I have always felt some kind of pull drawing me to finding the identification to this girl.

Recently and I don't know why or what has intrigued me so much so that I have spent countless hours viewing possible matches of disappearances throughout the country, including as much I could view internationally, mostly Canada. Thoroughly searching missing persons agencies online for the midwestern states and the states I-94 travels through. Someone, somewhere must have knew this woman. Here are a few links describing her appearance and the nature of the crime.

http://www.find-missing-children.org/Posters/poster274.htm
WARNING-POST MORTEM

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbRUhe5HmQA
Video

http://www.racineco.com/sheriff/crimebulletin.aspx
Computer generated photo

http://canyouidentifyme.blogspot.com/2007/10/crystal-rae-1999-unidentified-racine.html
More info including a better photo of the shirt Jane Doe was wearing

I have viewed every single possible match fitting Jane Doe's description on numerous websites for women disappearing around the time frame in which she was found (Charley Project, NCMEC, Porchlight, etc..) There was always some sort of identifying characteristic that would rule out the possible match. Even going back 5-6 years thinking maybe she was a runaway.

So I started thinking that maybe she wasn't even an adult but maybe a child abducted many years prior to her being found. I looked through the countless children missing in the U.S. for same color eyes, hair, etc..

Then I came across Nyleen Kay Marshall who was abducted in 1983. The eye color doesn't match but in my opinion the shape of her face and the possible protruding front teeth (a video of Nyleen's disappearance aired on Unsolved Mysteries shows Nyleen's mother speaking of her child--to me it looked as if she has protruding front teeth--possibly passing that trait onto her child.) the wavy brown hair and the cute button nose.

youtube.com/watch?v=zA7U6HVuXgU - 81k (Unsolved Mysteries segment)

The most identyfying factor to me was a man who called and wrote several letters to missing children agencies stating he had Nyleen. The letters/postcards were postmarked from the Madison, WI area. The shirt Jane Doe was found wearing was distrubuted in 1984 possibly purchased by the abductor and why Jane Doe was wearing the shirt.

I realize the shape of Jane Doe's face and chin compared to the shape of Nyleen's is a little off, but with Jane Doe being malnourished I am assuming could change the structure of Jane Doe's face. Also, Nyleen being only 5 when abducted, she had that chubby child-like face that so many young children have but outgrow as pre-teenagers.

This entire scenario has reminded of the true crime story "American Crime" about a girl living with a childhood friend's family in the 1960's who was abused and tortured and ultimately murdered by the hand's of her friend's mother and other family members.

So possibly our Jane Doe could be Nyleen. Maybe once she became older, a little wiser she started to recollect her childhood memories and questioning those memories, maybe she became too much to handle. The abductor may have been abusing her all of these years or maybe just shortly before the time of her death.

Maybe she was a runaway (repeatedly running away) and the parents have just given up and maybe she has just been lost in the system. Or maybe a prostitute or a drug addict and no one realizes she is gone or had not reported it. Maybe she's not even from this country--which is much harder to try and locate online especially in regions of Russia (Ukraine) where children and women are bought and sold just to be slaves to their owners in America.

Then again, Jane Doe could have been abused by her parents or husband/boyfriend. Maybe the abuser said she left him or ran away. With that in mind, people that knew her would never question Jane Doe's whereabouts.

I have wracked my brain trying to find the identity of this poor girl. I am so frustrated that she can't be identified. Someone knew her!! I know this is just one case out of thousands (understatement) but I just can't understand how someone just disappears without any trace.

I was never associated with the detectives or police of this crime, but I can't help but to care and wonder what happened to her and who could be so cold to inflict such violence on another human being.

I am a mother of three and I could never imagine being in the shoes of parents with missing children. I don't know how I could live on. But I would hope that someone whether it be law enforcement or just an everyday person wanting answers would do everything in their power to help locate my child.

So anyways, I am just wondering if anyone out there has followed either one of these cases and if anyone else has the same ponders as I do with the comparison of Jane Doe and Nyleen.

 

[AmandaBrown23]

Hi everyone. I am new to this website. I have been reading the forums on Websleuth for a few weeks now.

I remember reading the newspaper from July 1999, an unidentified female who was found dead in a Racine Co., WI cornfield not far from Interstate 94. She was tortured for some time prior and ultimately resulted to her demise. The senseless murder of this still unidentified female has saddened me and brought tears to my eyes nearly everytime I look at her poster.

I lived in Racine, WI for all my childhood life and into my early adult years, then moving to Kenosha County, WI. So I have always felt some kind of pull drawing me to finding the identification to this girl.

Recently and I don't know why or what has intrigued me so much so that I have spent countless hours viewing possible matches of disappearances throughout the country, including as much I could view internationally, mostly Canada. Thoroughly searching missing persons agencies online for the midwestern states and the states I-94 travels through. Someone, somewhere must have knew this woman. Here are a few links describing her appearance and the nature of the crime.

http://www.find-missing-children.org/Posters/poster274.htm
WARNING-POST MORTEM

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbRUhe5HmQA
Video

http://www.racineco.com/sheriff/crimebulletin.aspx
Computer generated photo

http://canyouidentifyme.blogspot.com/2007/10/crystal-rae-1999-unidentified-racine.html
More info including a better photo of the shirt Jane Doe was wearing

I have viewed every single possible match fitting Jane Doe's description on numerous websites for women disappearing around the time frame in which she was found (Charley Project, NCMEC, Porchlight, etc..) There was always some sort of identifying characteristic that would rule out the possible match. Even going back 5-6 years thinking maybe she was a runaway.

So I started thinking that maybe she wasn't even an adult but maybe a child abducted many years prior to her being found. I looked through the countless children missing in the U.S. for same color eyes, hair, etc..

Then I came across Nyleen Kay Marshall who was abducted in 1983. The eye color doesn't match but in my opinion the shape of her face and the possible protruding front teeth (a video of Nyleen's disappearance aired on Unsolved Mysteries shows Nyleen's mother speaking of her child--to me it looked as if she has protruding front teeth--possibly passing that trait onto her child.) the wavy brown hair and the cute button nose.

youtube.com/watch?v=zA7U6HVuXgU - 81k (Unsolved Mysteries segment)

The most identyfying factor to me was a man who called and wrote several letters to missing children agencies stating he had Nyleen. The letters/postcards were postmarked from the Madison, WI area. The shirt Jane Doe was found wearing was distrubuted in 1984 possibly purchased by the abductor and why Jane Doe was wearing the shirt.

I realize the shape of Jane Doe's face and chin compared to the shape of Nyleen's is a little off, but with Jane Doe being malnourished I am assuming could change the structure of Jane Doe's face. Also, Nyleen being only 5 when abducted, she had that chubby child-like face that so many young children have but outgrow as pre-teenagers.

This entire scenario has reminded of the true crime story "American Crime" about a girl living with a childhood friend's family in the 1960's who was abused and tortured and ultimately murdered by the hand's of her friend's mother and other family members.

So possibly our Jane Doe could be Nyleen. Maybe once she became older, a little wiser she started to recollect her childhood memories and questioning those memories, maybe she became too much to handle. The abductor may have been abusing her all of these years or maybe just shortly before the time of her death.

Maybe she was a runaway (repeatedly running away) and the parents have just given up and maybe she has just been lost in the system. Or maybe a prostitute or a drug addict and no one realizes she is gone or had not reported it. Maybe she's not even from this country--which is much harder to try and locate online especially in regions of Russia (Ukraine) where children and women are bought and sold just to be slaves to their owners in America.

Then again, Jane Doe could have been abused by her parents or husband/boyfriend. Maybe the abuser said she left him or ran away. With that in mind, people that knew her would never question Jane Doe's whereabouts.

I have wracked my brain trying to find the identity of this poor girl. I am so frustrated that she can't be identified. Someone knew her!! I know this is just one case out of thousands (understatement) but I just can't understand how someone just disappears without any trace.

I was never associated with the detectives or police of this crime, but I can't help but to care and wonder what happened to her and who could be so cold to inflict such violence on another human being.

I am a mother of three and I could never imagine being in the shoes of parents with missing children. I don't know how I could live on. But I would hope that someone whether it be law enforcement or just an everyday person wanting answers would do everything in their power to help locate my child.

So anyways, I am just wondering if anyone out there has followed either one of these cases and if anyone else has the same ponders as I do with the comparison of Jane Doe and Nyleen.

YOu are off to a good start. I do think that she does resemble her. The eye color is off though.