List of unidentified murder victims in New York

Westchester County Jane Doe, unidentified since 1988

In New York state, there are a number of murder victims in the category of unidentified decedents.

In most of these cases, the murderer has never been identified.

Ulster County John Doe

External images

Digital reconstruction

Ring

Watch

A frozen male corpse was found on February 1, 1970 in Saugerties, Ulster County, New York, at the bottom of a hill near a highway by two children who were out sledding. He was aged between 35 and 45 and had been shot four times. The victim was approximately 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed about 155 pounds. He had dark brown hair, with balding at the crown. He appeared to be from outside the United States, as he wore a greyish-green suit described as "European-style", an Omega Seamaster wristwatch (serial number 16815714) that was sold in Portugal, and a gold ring with an imitation ruby of Portuguese manufacture.^[1] Other clothing included a tan raincoat, a dress shirt, a Playboy brand black tie, a green undershirt made in Taiwan, blue pajamas, a set of matching underclothes made in Korea, and grey socks. He wore black leather shoes with Canadian-made "Wings" brand rubber overshoes.^[2] The death is believed to be gang-related. Members of local organized crime groups were questioned, but never revealed who the victim was.^[3]

Chautauqua County Jane Doe

External images

Sketch

On December 6, 1983, the body of a woman was found in Ellery, Chautauqua County, New York. The woman had been shot multiple times: twice in the chest, once in the mouth and once in the back.^[4] The woman carried documents available in European countries and in Canada and had dental work appearing to use European techniques. The victim had brown eyes and graying brown hair, and was also estimated to have given birth to a child within the last fifteen years. She was between thirty-three and thirty-seven years of age when she had died, which had happened within hours of her body being found in a roadside ditch. She was around five feet four inches tall and weighed around 128 pounds. It is suspected that she may have been Canadian, as she carried a handwritten note with indecipherable abbreviations that originated from an establishment in British Columbia, Canada. She had some distinct characteristics: a wart was visible above her left eye, a mole was found behind the left ear and a scar was visible on her neck.^[5] The victim's clothing has caused some issues with determining her social class, as she wore both expensive and inexpensive clothing. The undershirt she wore originated from Italy and was not worth a lot of money. This product had also not been circulated globally. She also wore a multicolored trench coat that was fairly expensive, along with a pullover and a "handmade" skirt.^[6]

Putnam County John Doe (1985)

External images

Sketch

3D reconstruction

On April 2, 1985, a man's remains were found nearly two years after his death, in Philipstown, Putnam County, New York. He was found with a dress shirt along with shorts, two pairs of pants with army coloring and corduroy material and work boots. Several pairs of underwear and socks were also found at the scene. A map of New York and New Jersey, a comb, dental floss and playing cards were among his possessions. At one time in his life, he received orthodontic care.^[7][8]

Westchester County Jane Doe (1988)

Another reconstruction of the Westchester County Jane Doe

On February 14, 1988, the "posed" nude body of a woman was found on a street in Mount Vernon, Westchester County, New York. The victim had been dead for approximately six to twelve hours, and was bound at the wrists and ankles and had died from ligature strangulation as well as suffering a beating.^[9] She was aged 18 to 30, with hazel eyes and with bleached, light brown or blonde hair. She was 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighed 105 pounds, and had pierced ears without earrings. She had numerous freckles and moles (including a large and prominent mole on her neck). Her underarms had not been shaved for approximately two weeks, but her pubic area was recently shaved. This detail has led some investigators to presume she could have been a prostitute. The fact that the rest of the body showed an absence of shaving, it has also been suggested she was foreign to the United States, and could be of South American descent. Her nails were painted pink prior to her death.^[10] No clothing was found at or near the scene.^[11] An autopsy found that she had ingested cocaine and broccoli before her murder, which may have been the work of a serial offender.^[12]

Irondequoit Jane Doe

External images

Sketch

On July 31, 1988, a skeleton was found in a shallow grave by a boy who was digging at the edge of his family's property in Irondequoit, Monroe County, New York. No signs of trauma were found, but the cause of death was ruled as a homicide.^[13][14]

The remains were those of a white female between 4 feet 10 inches and 5 feet 5 inches tall. Her weight, hair color, and eye color could not be determined.^[15] She had significant dental restoration, which included gold foil fillings.^[16]

The victim, who was between 15 and 19 years of age, may have been deceased for as long as 10 to 30 years before being found .^[17] No clothing was found at the scene. A single white button, which may have belonged to the victim, was found near the remains.

Long Island serial killer victims

The dismembered corpses of several females discovered between 1996 and present day.^[7]

"Peaches"

The torso of a woman found in 1997. She is known for her unique peach tattoo.^[18]

Woodbury John Doe

External images

NCMEC reconstruction

Clothing

Digital reconstruction

On May 3, 1998, the skeleton of a black male was found in the Orange County town of Woodbury. He had been shot twice in the head by two guns of different calibers and left near a rest area for hikers. His body had been wrapped in plastic and he was fully clothed.^[19] He carried a hair pick, a lighter and a French to English dictionary, indicating that he may have been from a Francophone country. Although the body was found in 1998, he was believed to have died as early as 1985. He was knock-kneed and between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 11 inches in height, although he was more likely around five feet nine inches.^[20] He had been between seventeen and twenty-five years of age, but could have been as old as thirty-five.^[21] He wore a blue jacket, a black shirt containing a pot of gold design with the words "follow your dreams," jeans and sneakers from the Pony company.^[22][23] He had had dental work, including fillings, crowns and a possible root canal. He had suffered a fracture of his right hand some weeks prior to death.^[20]

"Julissa Doe"

Julissa Doe

The strangled body of a Hispanic, possibly Dominican, woman was located in New York City, New York County, New York on April 27, 2004. The woman was deceased less than a day and was between twenty and thirty years old when she was murdered.^[24] Because she wore a gold earring with the name "Julissa" engraved into it, some believe that it may have been her first name. The woman was allegedly killed after attending a party with three men and was murdered during an argument. She wore a tan and black shirt with two thermal shirts, a sports bra and mismatched socks. There scars found on her body as well, one which appeared to have been the letters "J" and "M".^[25]

"Cherries"

A torso and pair of legs discovered in 2007. Like the torso found in 1997, dubbed "Peaches", she may have been a victim of the Long Island serial killer.^[26]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to unidentified murder victims.

• The Doe Network
• National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• National Missing and Unidentified Persons System