Author Topic: ROCHESTER MILLS JANE DOE: F, 30-40 - Partially buried skull found North Mahoning Township - Dec 29,  (Read 115 times)

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Partially buried skull and other skeletal remains found at a residential construction site at Leisure Run Road in North Mahoning Township, northern Indiana County. Partially wooded area. Most of skeleton located except for bones of hands and feet. She apparently had been shot in the back of her head and had been dismembered. Long bones show clear evidence of post-mortem saw marks

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Dentals: Available. Partial plate dental device - well preserved.

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http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/768ufpa.html

Date of Discovery: December 29, 2008
Location of Discovery: Rochester Mills, Indiana County, Pennsylvania
Estimated Date of Death: 1993-2003
State of Remains: Skeletal Remains
Cause of Death: Gunshot

Physical Description
Estimated Age: 30-40 years old
Race: Black/Hispanic
Sex: Female
Height: 5'1"
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown

Identifiers
Dentals: Available. Partial plate dental device - well preserved.
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Available; University of North Texas

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Elastic-banded shorts - similar to running shorts. Size not identified. Possible gray in color.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Discovery

Partially buried skull and other skeletal remains found at a residential construction site at Leisure Run Road in North Mahoning Township, northern Indiana County. Partially wooded area. Most of skeleton located except for bones of hands and feet. She apparently had been shot in the back of her head and had been dismembered. Long bones show clear evidence of post-mortem saw marks

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: Indiana County Coroners Office
Agency Phone Number: 724-349-4511
Agency Case Number: 08-DOEJ
NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: UP5063

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https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/usedtobedoe/paf081229-t20587.html

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 07732.html

Skeletal remains indicate woman shot, dismembered

By The Tribune-Review
Sunday, January 18, 2009

Investigators believe the skeletal remains found in a secluded area of Indiana County last month belong to a black woman who was shot and dismembered.

Indiana County Coroner Michael Baker revealed more details Saturday about the remains found by a construction worker Dec. 29 in an undisclosed location in North Mahoning Township.

Baker and state police at the Punxsutawney barracks are being assisted in the investigation by Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat, a forensic anthropologist at Mercyhurst College in Erie, in the effort to identify the remains.

Baker said a bullet wound is clearly visible in the back of the woman's skull. There is evidence that the woman's body was dismembered prior to being disposed of at the site.

Investigators said they believe the woman was between 30 and 40 years old and that her remains were dumped between three and 10 years ago.

In addition to the skull, the woman's mandible, several long bones, vertebral bones and an artificial dental appliance were found, Baker said. Investigators will use dental records to identify the victim.

In the coming days, additional excavation work of the area will be conducted, Baker said.

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Skeleton's identity a mystery

By CHAUNCEY ROSS, chauncey@indianagazette.net
Published: Sunday, January 18, 2009 1:40 AM EST
For each answer forensic investigators have found, they've generated another new question about the skeletal remains found last month in a remote section of North Mahoning Township.

The signs so far show the bones are those of a black woman who was in her 30s and died between three and 10 years ago, Indiana County Coroner Michael Baker said Saturday. She apparently had been shot in the back of her head and had been dismembered.

Investigators still don't know who she was. Or who did this to her.

''I don't have anything to say that I believe it was a gang - it could just be an isolated incident,'' Baker said ``But when you hear people talk about executional type killings, that's what you think of. But I couldn't say for sure that's what we're dealing with. It could have been a domestic, a robbery, God only knows.''

Where the woman came from also is anybody's guess.

''What it makes me think is that this did not occur at the place where the body was found - that it occurred somewhere else, dismemberment took place and it was dumped,'' Baker said.

A worker stumbled upon the remains Dec. 29 as he prepared to drill a water well about one to two miles east of Route 119 between Covode and Juneau, according to Baker. He said a smooth round object caught the worker's eye about 10 feet from the dig spot. He kicked it and discovered it was the skull.

State police from Punxsutawney and Baker are jointly investigating. They collected the skull, jaw bone, several long bone and some vertebral bones.

They also found a partial upper denture. Then they sent the remains to a forensic anthropologist, Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat, of Mercyhurst College in Erie, for study.

More study will be required to confirm the estimates of the victim's age and when she died, according to Baker. And they still have avenues to search for her identity, such as dental records. DNA will be checked, too.

DNA, like dental records, requires that you have some idea who the victim is,'' Baker said. ''You have to have something to compare.''

''The next step would be either to solicit help from the public or to compare this through databases of missing persons.''

Baker said the military compiles DNA records, and courts require people convicted of serious offenses to be sampled.

He also said the forensic investigators might be able to generate an image of what the victim's face looked like.

''Some of the things that may be helpful down the line would be to look at instrument or tool patterns. Some of the long bones were sawed through. We could look at striations and tool marks to determine ... what kind of tool or instrument had been used. That could be helpful down the line.''State police at Punxsutawney referred questions to the station's public relations officer, who was not available.''

http://online.indianagazette.com/articl ... 009409.txt

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http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/n ... lling.html

Posted on Mon, Apr. 20, 2009
Coroner: Pa. woman's remains show definite killing
The Associated Press

MARCHAND, Pa. - A western Pennsylvania coroner says skeletal remains found over the weekend are from the same body as bones found in December, and are from a woman who was shot to death and dismembered at least three years ago.

Indiana County Coroner Michael Baker says more bones were found Saturday in Mahoning Township by workers from his office, the state police and an anthropology team from Mercyhurst University in Erie.

Baker says the bones are those of a black woman who was shot in the head three to 10 years ago.

Baker says the body was dismembered after death and investigators are trying to determine if she was shot in other parts of the body. DNA and dental records will be used to try to identify the woman from various missing persons databases.