Name Beth Doe | Resting place Weatherly | |
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Status Unidentified for 39 years, 1 month and 5 days Cause of death Homicide by strangulation Ethnicity Unknown, most likely Western or Central European Known for Unidentified victim of homicide Height 4 ft 11 in (1.50 m) (minimum)
5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) (maximum) Died December 1976, White Haven, Pennsylvania, United States | ||
Body discovered December 20, 1976 | ||
Beth Doe (known officially as Incident No. N3-27244) is the name given to an unidentified young European-American woman who was found murdered on December 20, 1976, in White Haven, Pennsylvania. The brutality of the crime, the fact that she was pregnant when she was killed and the length of time that she has remained unidentified created national attention.
Contents
Death and discovery
Beth Doe, who was carrying a nine-month female fetus, had been sexually assaulted, strangled and shot in the neck by an unknown person. Her body was then dismembered with a serrated blade. Her nose, breasts, and ears were severed and have never been found.
The parts of her body and that of her unborn daughter were placed into three suitcases, two were striped with red, blue, and white, and the other one was tan with a plaid design. They were of vinyl material and were of the same size. It was evident that the suitcases had been spray-painted black at some point and that their handles had been severed.
To dispose of the body, the suitcases were thrown off a bridge over the Lehigh River in White Haven, Pennsylvania, along Interstate 80. They fell about 300 feet before hitting the ground. It is believed that the suitcases were thrown out of a vehicle traveling west. The killer most likely intended to have the suitcases land in the water below, to lessen the chance of their being found. Two of the suitcases landed in the woods, 20 feet from the river; the third, containing the head and fetus, was found on the river bank.
Beth Doe's body was found by a teenage boy at approximately 4:30 p.m., within 7 hours to a week after her death.
Having fallen a long distance, two of the suitcases had opened and parts of the body had emerged. The head, fetus, and the two halves of the torso were exposed.
Other evidence included straw, packaging foam, a bedspread, and waterlogged fragments of a newspaper later determined to have been The New York Sunday from September 26, 1976. The bedding and newspaper fragments had been wrapped over some of the body parts. The newspaper was linked to the northern part of New Jersey, where the perpetrator may have had ties. The bedspread in the suitcases had a reddish-orange color, was made of chenille fabric, and was wrapped around some of the body. It had yellow and pink embroidered flowers.
Investigation
After the body was found, the victim was fingerprinted. Her teeth were examined and recorded on a dental chart.
The medical examiner noted that a set of numbers had been written on the victim's body. The ink, believed to have been from a pen, was on the left hand of the victim, indicating that she was right-handed, if she had indeed written it herself. The writing consisted of the letters WSR and the numbers 4 or 5, followed by 4 or 7.
Her fingerprints were submitted to the FBI, but they did not match anyone in national databases. When she remained unidentified, a sketch was made and the public was asked for assistance. This resulted in few solid leads. Information about the case was subsequently published across the country to generate leads.
The body was buried in 1983 after the victim remained unidentified for a number of years. In 2007, her remains were exhumed to obtain additional forensic evidence and to create a new facial reconstruction. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released two reconstructions, the latest in May 2015.
Nine missing women have been excluded as a possible identity of Beth Doe:
Examination and physical description
The body was removed by authorities and transported in plastic bags to the nearby Gnadden Huetten Hospital for examination.
After a three-hour autopsy on December 23, 1976, it was determined that she was a white woman in her late teens or early twenties. However, her identity could not be established. The cause of death was determined to be that of strangulation, although she had been shot in the neck as well.
Beth Doe was between 4 feet 11 inches and 5 feet 4 inches tall. She weighed 140 to 150 pounds (due to her pregnancy}. Her hair, which was shoulder-length, was an undyed dark brown. The medical examiner classified her blood as type O.
She had some distinctive markings on her body. A 2- to 6-inch scar was visible above one of her heels. Two moles on her face, one above her left eye and one on her left cheek, may have developed during her pregnancy.
Before becoming a teen, some of her molars had been extracted, and she had received fillings in her teeth. However, she had likely not seen a dentist in some time, as she was suffering from severe tooth decay. One of her front incisors had a visible fracture, which was noted to likely cause severe pain.
It is believed that she was probably born in Europe and moved to the United States before reaching her teenage years, as examination of her tooth enamel indicated. An initial anthropological examination indicated she may have originated from Serbia or Croatia. Isotope testing was conducted on her hair, teeth, and bones. She had lived in the U.S. for 5 to 10 years, and most likely had resided in Tennessee or a nearby state. Examination on the unborn girl indicated that the child had gestated while the victim was in the Southeastern part of the country.