Anyone who’s into true crime has noticed the continuing parade of cold cases recently solved thanks to genetic genealogy. Although the most noteworthy case is Joseph DeAngelo‘s—the man believed to be the Golden State Killer who was arrested in 2018—genetic genealogy has closed a series of unidentified decedent cases, including the Buckskin Girl, Lyle Stevik, and Joseph Newton Chandler III.
Sometimes called “Does”—as in John and Jane Doe—unidentified decedent cases are often the most heartbreaking, serving as painful reminders that not everyone has someone looking out for them. Doe cases can also be the most frustrating, especially when the decedents appear to be easily-identifiable. And, with over 12,000 unidentified persons cases in NamUs—the national information clearinghouse and resource center for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases—it’s obvious that the scope of this problem is far too broad for each case to get the resources, attention, and publicity needed to close them.
That’s where weirdos on the internet like me—who relax after a long day by comparing missing persons to Doe cases—have (shockingly) actually helped investigations rather than hindering them. The highest-profile Doe identified via crowdsourcing is the Grateful Doe, identified by a Websleuths user as being Jason Callahan 17 years after his death.
I believe so many of these cases can be solved by a one-two punch of broadened publicity and DNA. To facilitate the first part of that equation, today I’m bringing you four Jane Does that I believe could easily be identified.
Kensington Doe – NamUs #UP17475
| Date Found: | December 10, 2017 |
| Location: | Philadelphia, PA |
| Gender: | Female |
| Race/Ethnicity: | White/Caucasian |
| Height/Weight: | 5’0″, 83 lbs |
| Hair/Eye Color: | Black hair Unknown eye color |
| Estimated Age: | 30-50 years |
Namus #UP17475 was discovered just minutes after her death on December 10, 2017. According to Namus, the decedent was dragged by vehicle on Frankford Ave in Kensington section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It’s unclear to me if this was a horrible car accident or a brutal way to kill someone.
Believed to be thirty- to fifty-years-old, the decedent was a tiny woman, weighing less than 100 pounds at five-feet-tall. She was wearing multiple layers of clothing at the time, including two coats and two pairs of pants. She lacked any tattoos, scars, or obvious distinguishing marks, according to her casefile.
I wonder if this decedent was homeless, based on her thinness and the multiple layers of clothing she wore. That may also explain why no one has come forward to identify her.
If you have any information about this decedent, please contact the Namus Regional Program Specialist contact for this case, Amy Dobbs, at (817) 304-8873 or Amy.Dobbs@unthsc.edu.
Tiana Doe – NamUs #UP17575
Artist’s rendering of Tiana Doe and her three distinctive tattoos
| Date Found: | March 03, 2018 |
| Location: | Newark, NJ |
| Gender: | Female |
| Race/Ethnicity: | Black / African American |
| Height/Weight: | 5’5″” (estimated) 133 lbs (estimated) |
| Hair/Eye Color: | Black hair Unknown eye color |
| Estimated Age: | 18-40 years |
Namus #UP17575‘s body was discovered in a body of water in Newark, New Jersey’s Weequahic Park on March 3, 2018. Believed to be 18- to 40-years-old, the black female decedent was so decomposed she was unrecognizable. She did, however, have three distinctive tattoos:
- Three stars on right side of her neck.
- A purple flower with green petals on right side of her chest.
- The name “Tiana” in cursive lettering, covered up by the purple flowers on her chest.
There’s not a whole lot out there about this case—even less than there typically is in an unidentified decedent case. I almost immediately noticed a similarity to Stevie Bates, a 19-year-old New Yorker who went missing in 2012. But, the six-year gap between Bates’s last contact and Tiana Doe’s discovery.
If you have any information about Tiana Doe, please contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office at (973) 621-4700, and reference case SI#11-2018.
Schuykill River Doe – UP16686
PHOTO OF SCHUYKILL RIVER DOE FROM HER ADMISSION TO BELMONT HOSPITAL TWO MONTHS PRIOR TO HER BODY’S DISCOVERY
| Date Found: | March 27, 2017 |
| Location: | Philadelphia, PA |
| Gender: | Female |
| Race/Ethnicity: | Black/African American |
| Height/Weight: | 5’6″, 244 lbs (estimated) |
| Hair/Eye Color: | Black hair Unknown eye color |
| Estimated Age: | 35-55 years |
Namus #UP16686—whom I’ve decided to call the Schuykill River Doe—was discovered partially decomposed in Philadelphia’s Schuykill River on March 27, 2017. The decedent, a Black woman estimated to be 33- to 55-years-old, likely stood 5’6″ tall and weighed just under 250 pounds. It’s unclear when or how she died, but the state of decomposition made the body unrecognizable.
While she lacked any personal effects, the Schuykill River Doe was wearing a hospital bracelet determined to be from a recent stay in Belmont Hospital’s psychiatric ward.
What’s interesting about this case is that we have a photo of the decedent when she was alive, taken during the hospital admission process. Unfortunately, the name associated with the intake was determined to be an alias.
If you have any information about the Schuykill River Doe’s death or identity, please contact the Namus Regional Program Specialist contact for this case, Amy Dobbs, at (817) 304-8873 or Amy.Dobbs@unthsc.edu.
Joanne English – Namus #UP2312
| Date Found: | October 11, 1980 |
| Location: | Rockledge, FL |
| Gender: | Female |
| Race/Ethnicity: | Black/African American |
| Height/Weight: | 5’6″, 120 lbs |
| Hair/Eye Color: | Black hair Brown eyes |
| Estimated Age: | 21-30 years |
On October 11, 1980, a motorist in Rockledge, Florida spotted the body of Namus #UP2312, a black woman, on the shoulder of a rural road. The last moments of her life were undoubtedly terrifying; she was likely beaten and raped before the fatal shot to the head was fired. Law enforcement determined the woman had been dead for roughly one day prior to the motorist’s discovery. She was young, estimated to be between 21 and 30-years-old, and dressed casually in a red Pringles tee-shirt, jeans, and white shoes. She stood 5’6″ tall and weighed 120 pounds.
Eventually, she was identified the victim as Joanne English, a one-time inmate at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Detention Center. They even had her mugshot! But at some point, investigators discovered that the name, Social Security Number and birthdate given at her arrest were false. Thus, Joanne English once again became Jane Doe
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The tattoo print seems to be Tiara not Tiana?