Identified! WY - Sweetwater, "Bitter Creek Betty", Wht/HispFem 24-32, 213UFWY, rose tatt/jewelry Mar'92 - Irene Vasquez

[Alleykins]

Great reconstruction by Carl K:

An actual image is available here:

*Morgue Image at this Link*

http://unidentified.wikia.com/wiki/File:Bitter_Creek_Betty_Postmortem.jpg

That is a great reconstruction.

 

[Jeccas]

I have been doing some research on this case, as it stands it has been successfully linked to another Jane Doe case in Wyoming case file 390UFWY. They have linked these cases via a DNA match. It is my opinion that this is the work of a serial killer. The tattoo that "Bitter Creek Betty" had on her R breast has been identified as being "inked" at a tattoo parlor close to the Tripple T Truck stop in Tucson Arizona.. Also in my opinion if this was the work of a serial killer it is highly likely that the perp was a truck driver. I do not think in my mind that the victim spent much time with the perp before he committed this heinous murder. I believe that the victm was hitchhiking.

 

[creepedout]

This very likely is connected to the heavily discussed series of serial killings involving truck drivers. It would be interesting to find out if the unknown male DNA has been run through the most modern of systems available nowadays.

The tattoo artist stated that this woman was a leaper, one who hops rides across the country with random truckers. It is not likely that she knew her assailant well.

Some more details:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_...ctims_in_the_United_States#Bitter_Creek_Betty
http://trib.com/news/local/casper/j...cle_5c344f71-66d7-5270-ae0a-ef2a350dd56d.html

 

[cvaldez1975]

that is the consensus here as well.

I have been doing some research on this case, as it stands it has been successfully linked to another Jane Doe case in Wyoming case file 390UFWY. They have linked these cases via a DNA match. It is my opinion that this is the work of a serial killer. The tattoo that "Bitter Creek Betty" had on her R breast has been identified as being "inked" at a tattoo parlor close to the Tripple T Truck stop in Tucson Arizona.. Also in my opinion if this was the work of a serial killer it is highly likely that the perp was a truck driver. I do not think in my mind that the victim spent much time with the perp before he committed this heinous murder. I believe that the victm was hitchhiking.

 

[WesternArtist]

I really wish NamUs would update the rule outs on this case. I decided to independently look for matches before reading this thread (then I read it all). Most of the ones I thought were close have already mentioned here. Here's the one I found that hasn't been discussed: Tina Marie Finley http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/f/finley_tina.html

Her demographics fit but the circumstances are troubling. She went missing from the Coeur D'Alene Reservation in 1988. She is Native American, 5'5"-5'7", 135 lbs. Her possessions were found in various towns in Northern Idaho so it sounds like she may have met foul play shortly after her disappearance but prior to that she had a history of running away to Washington and California so that could fit the "leaper" description. No mention of the scar or tattoo either but I do see a resemblance with her.

 

[Migmuu]

Not super familiar with this case, but Bitter Creek Betty was listed as a possible victim of the Great Basin Murders in an interactive article posted by APB News in the late 90s (found using the Wayback Machine).

On March 1, 1992, a trucker pausing at an Interstate 80 turnout known as Bitter Creek spotted a body lying face down in the snow, probably dumped from a truck months earlier.

The victim, a still-unidentified 24- to 32-year-old woman, was probably killed elsewhere and dumped near the westbound side of the highway between October 1991 and February 1992, said Detective Ed Robinson of the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office.

The body, completely nude, appeared as if it had been dropped out of a truck and came to rest at the bottom of a slope. The cause of death was listed as an ice pick or similar object inserted in the victim's left nostril, penetrating her sphenoid bone. Examiners also found signs of strangulation, beating trauma to the face and jaw, as well as anal and vaginal sexual assault.

Authorities described the victim as a white woman with predominately Hispanic characteristics or Hispanic woman with American Indian characteristics. She was about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 125 to 130 pounds with dark brown or black hair and brown or black eyes. She had a vertical Cesarean scar on her abdomen and a one-inch scar on her left calf.

A distinctive tattoo of a rose on the victim's right breast led officials to Ralph Holley of Kick Ass Tattooing near Triple-T Truck Stop in Tucson, Ariz. Holley, under hypnosis, remembered the woman and was able to give detectives a good account of their meeting. Listen to the interview.

The victim's only visible possessions were a gold-colored necklace and plain gold-colored wedding-type ring, which sat on her left ring finger. Detectives found a pair of pink panties and a pair of sweat pants nearby. Investigators managed to obtain an excellent set of fingerprints from the victim but have yet to learn her identity. Detectives have determined the killer's blood is type O.

Robinson said the sophistication of the killing points to the possible involvement of a serial offender.

 

[Migmuu]

This might be a little "Captain Obvious" of me, but the great distance between her and the Sheridan County Doe, the fact that both were found on interstates, and the information from the tattoo artist that Bitter Creek Betty was a "leaper" (someone who constantly traveled by hitching rides with truckers) leads me to believe we are dealing with a trucker serial killer.

ETA: Anyone have any trucker serial killers who they think might be responsible for these two? I was thinking Robert Ben Rhoades due to the sexual assault and brutality of the murders, but he was arrested in April 1990, so it can't be him.

 

[WesternArtist]

Now, I apologize for this detail being pretty graphic but in reading old articles about this case, the manner of death is very specific and unusual. This could be important in considering potential matches based on the postmortem photos.

UTAH, WYOMING POLICE TRY TO LINK MURDERS
ASSOCIATED PRESS. The Salt Lake Tribune; Salt Lake City, Utah [Salt Lake City, Utah]24 Mar 1992: C2.

ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. -- Sweetwater County authorities are working with Utah officials to determine whether the murder of a woman found along Interstate 80 is linked to two or three Utah murders.

Police still have not identified the body of the woman found off the interstate near Rock Springs early this month.
She was in her 20s or early 30s and possibly of Hispanic descent. She also had a rose tattoo on her chest and a scar on her stomach, according to a police report.
Sheriff Gary Bailiff was in Utah on Monday comparing notes with Utah officials, who have three unsolved murders of involving woman found dumped along roadsides

This info is repeated in several articles; in some the method was suspected to be related to martial arts.

 

[WesternArtist]

It looks like part of that quote was accidentally cut off -the manner of death I was referring to from the same article is:

The woman's body was found naked with a sharp object inserted through her nostril penetrating into her brain.

 

[WesternArtist]

I submitted Tina Marie Finley a while back and received a response that she has already been considered. Refocusing on finding a match and considering that the nose would have been altered in the trauma it incurred I found two possible matches.

Cheryl Lynn Vasquez http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/v/vasquez_cheryl.html went missing from El Paso, TX in 1987. Her demographics fit. The circumstances with her husband are very troubling but there appears to be a strong resemblance.

Sylvia Lourdes Standley http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/standly_sylvia.html went missing from Modesto, CA in 1986. The Speed Freak killers are suspected in her case. The demographics fit although she would have been a bit older. She has an appendectomy scar and two children.

 

[ghostINshell]

Bump

Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk

 

[carbuff]

Ruleouts as of 24 June 2017 on Namus https://identifyus.org/en/cases/8894

Sherry Bynum
Pamela Dalton
Tiffany Sessions
Virginia Uden

Sent from my SM-T560NU using Tapatalk

 

[Moonwalker9]

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/38554/3/ long shot msybe but still

 

[Alleykins]

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/38554/3/ long shot msybe but still

I don't this could be her because there is over a foot difference in height, Patricia is only listed at 57" which isn't even 5 ft, and she has a tattoo of the name Dolores. However, once her DNA hits CODIS, we'll know for sure.

 

[WesternArtist]

I have two possible PMs for this case that I don't recall seeing mentioned here:

Janet Doglea
Her circumstances aren't great as she went missing from Ohio over a year before Bittercreek Betty was found. While she is listed as White I see a resemblance and the other demographics fit fairly well.http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1105dfoh.html http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?91284-OH-Janet-Dolgae-28-Trumbull-County-1-Oct-1989

Shantelle Hudson
She went missing from Dayton, Nevada at 16. She would have been a bit younger and shorter than the estimates for Bittercreek Betty. I'm having a hard time telling how close the resemblance is because to me one of the most distinctive features of Betty is her wide-set eyebrows and with Shantelle's glasses and bangs I can't get a sense of this feature on her. http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/943dfnv.html http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?56154-NV-Shantelle-Hudson-16-Dayton-14-Nov-1988

 

[Alleykins]

Both Janet and Shantelle have DNA in CODIS, so I'm thinking there would have been a hit had one of them been a match.

 

[creepedout]

Both Janet and Shantelle have DNA in CODIS, so I'm thinking there would have been a hit had one of them been a match.

Unfortunately that's no guarantee. Just because two cases have DNA entered does not mean they have been compared. It makes any possibility worth submitting if it's not already shown as a rule-out.

 

[Alleykins]

Unfortunately that's no guarantee. Just because two cases have DNA entered does not mean they have been compared. It makes any possibility worth submitting if it's not already shown as a rule-out.

RBBM for clarity.

This is what I was told by the NamUs reps I've dealt with:
If both the missing person and unidentified remains have a status of "Sample submitted - Tests complete" in NamUs, then you can be guaranteed they've been compared. When they are compared this way, it is an automatic rule out. Automatic rule outs do not appear on the rule out lists.
They only update rule out lists with manual comparisons as it would be too time consuming to update them with the auto rule outs.

 

[CarlK90245]

RBBM for clarity.

This is what I was told by the NamUs reps I've dealt with:
If both the missing person and unidentified remains have a status of "Sample submitted - Tests complete" in NamUs, then you can be guaranteed they've been compared. When they are compared this way, it is an automatic rule out. Automatic rule outs do not appear on the rule out lists.
They only update rule out lists with manual comparisons as it would be too time consuming to update them with the auto rule outs.

To elaborate on Alleykins comments:

The only circumstances where DNA is available, but is not subject to an automated comparison

(1) If the only available DNA Family Reference Samples (FRS) come from a relative or relatives not in the maternal line, then a mitochondrial DNA comparison cannot be performed. A maternal line relative of the missing person would include mother, maternal grandmother, maternal-side aunt or uncle, maternal-side cousin (if he or she is the son or daughter of the maternal-side aunt), son or daughter (if the MP is female).

(2) If only a single relative has submitted a FRS, then CODIS will not compare nuclear DNA. However, CODIS will compare mitochondrial DNA from a single FRS, assuming it meets the maternal line requirements mentioned above.

(3) Some states hold their DNA profiles in their own state databases, and don't submit to CODIS.

If none of these complications exist, then the NamUs MP DNA status will be labeled "Sample Submitted - Tests Complete", and we can safely presume that CODIS has automatically compared the MP profile to all UP profiles in the national CODIS system.

 

[Deleted member 165632]

To elaborate on Alleykins comments:

The only circumstances where DNA is available, but is not subject to an automated comparison

(1) If the only available DNA Family Reference Samples (FRS) come from a relative or relatives not in the maternal line, then a mitochondrial DNA comparison cannot be performed. A maternal line relative of the missing person would include mother, maternal grandmother, maternal-side aunt or uncle, maternal-side cousin (if he or she is the son or daughter of the maternal-side aunt), son or daughter (if the MP is female).

(2) If only a single relative has submitted a FRS, then CODIS will not compare nuclear DNA. However, CODIS will compare mitochondrial DNA from a single FRS, assuming it meets the maternal line requirements mentioned above.

(3) Some states hold their DNA profiles in their own state databases, and don't submit to CODIS.

If none of these complications exist, then the NamUs MP DNA status will be labeled "Sample Submitted - Tests Complete", and we can safely presume that CODIS has automatically compared the MP profile to all UP profiles in the national CODIS system.

Thanks for clarification CarlK.

I have an additional question, what about dental charts in NamUs? Are they automatically compared?