The Lost and the Found

https://www.ctpost.com/policereport...leases-new-images-of-1993-murder-12923813.php

Bridgeport PD releases new images of 1993 murder victim
By Tara O'Neill

Updated 9:08 pm, Thursday, May 17, 2018




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The Bridgeport Police Department released new composite images of an unidentified woman who was murdered and burned beyond recognition in 1993.The images of the victim were created using new DNA technology,

BRIDGEPORT — Police hope new images of what a woman might have looked like at the time of her murder will help them identify her nearly 25 years later.

The woman was found burned beyond recognition in a vehicle in a vacant lot at the intersection of Lafayette Street and Railroad Avenue on June 5, 1993. First responders had been dispatched for a report of a car on fire, Police Chief Armando Perez said Thursday.


The cause of death was listed as a homicide, but the manner was unknown because of how severely her body was burned, said Capt. Brian Fitzgerald, head of the Detective Bureau.

The medical examiner estimated the woman was probably between the ages of 25 and 35.

Police didn’t have much information in 1993, but the case wasn’t forgotten.


“When there’s nothing active going on, that’s when these guys can dig into our cold cases,” Perez said.

The department has 340 unsolved cold cases. The 1993 case is the only Jane Doe.

When she died, police interviewed witnesses, which didn’t lead to much.

“We did take some statements (in 1993) — nothing that pushed us in the direction of who the victim was at that time,” Fitzgerald said.

TV show sparks idea

One evening, Bridgeport Police Detective Christopher LaMaine watched a television show depicting the use of DNA phenotyping to produce images of victims whose remains were unrecognizable.

DNA phenotyping is the process of predicting physical appearance and ancestry from DNA.

LaMaine said the show inspired his idea to give it a try with unidentified victims in the city. About four months ago, police contacted a company in Virginia that could help.


“Detectives and investigators from 1993 did collect evidence from the scene that we were able to use in 2018 to gather DNA evidence from,” Fitzgerald said.

Parabon NanoLabs, a DNA technology company that specializes in DNA phenotyping, created images of the 1993 murder victim for Bridgeport police, using its Snapshot DNA Phenotyping Service.

The company uses this service to help law enforcement agencies generate leads in criminal investigations, Perez said.

Bridgeport police paid the lab $3,500.

“We think it’s worth it to try to identify the victim of a homicide and bring some closure to the family,” Fitzgerald said.

Who is she?

The Bridgeport Police Department is the first law enforcement agency in Connecticut to use this type of DNA technology in a criminal investigation, Perez said.

Using DNA taken from the victim in 1993, the company produced trait predictions of the victim, to varying percentages of certainty for particular features.

Once the traits were predicted, Parabon NanoLabs put together a composite of what the victim may have looked like at 25 years old.

The woman, as scientifically predicted through her DNA, likely had light brown skin — determined with 95.7 percent “confidence,” according to the lab — brown/hazel eyes, black hair and zero or a few freckles.

The system is one that the department will likely use again.

“It’s a great tool,” Perez said. “I’m sure we’ll use it more for other cases we have.”

Next steps

Now that the department has these images, detectives will go back and re-interview witnesses.

“This is a horrible case, a case that probably would not have been solved. But because of the efforts of these officers ... there’s a chance that we are going to find out who did this horrific crime,” Perez said.

The chief said the victim’s DNA could be tested to see if she’s a match for people who might come forward in the belief that they are related, after seeing the new images.

In this case, detectives have some information, but “identifying the woman who was murdered will bring our investigators closer to determining what led to the death,” Fitzgerald said.

With cold cases like this one, he said, the department will look at evidence that was discovered at the time that could be revisited with new technology.

“We are determined to solve this case and bring closure to the family of the ... victim,” Fitzgerald said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Bridgeport Police Department’s anonymous tip line at 203-576-TIPS.

An occasional series that looks at unsolved homicides, or cold cases, in Bridgeport, Fairfield and beyond.