Buckskin Girl

"Buckskin Girl"

Reconstruction of the victim
Born 1954-1963 (approximate)
Status Unidentified for 35 years and 5 days
Died April 23, 1981 (aged 18-26) [1]
Troy, Miami County, Ohio
Cause of death Homicide by strangulation
Body discovered April 24, 1981
Resting place Riverside Cemetery, Troy, Miami County, Ohio, United States
Other names Miami County Jane Doe, Miami Jane Doe
Known for Unidentified victim of homicide
Height 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) (minimum)
5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) (maximum)
Weight 125 lb (57 kg) (minimum)
130 lb (59 kg) (maximum)

Buckskin Girl is the nickname given to an unidentified female murder victim discovered in 1981 in Troy, Miami County, Ohio. She is known for her unique hairstyle along with the tasseled suede jacket she wore.[2][3][4][5] The victim may have been murdered by a serial killer that had killed many prostitutes or dancers in the area, although this specific case had no indication of sexual activity.[2][6]

Discovery and death

Morgue photographs

She was found within thirty-six and fifty hours of her death off of Ohio State Route 55, near Greenlee Road in Newton Township, Troy, Ohio after police responded to a call stating that a woman's body was found along a road.[1][7][8] A passerby had first noticed the victim's poncho and later discovered the victim's body.[9]

The body had been placed face-down and she had suffered trauma to the head, was strangled and her shoes were absent from the scene.[10][11]

Authorities believed she had been killed elsewhere and left on the road after her death.[12][13] Some believe she may have been a teenage runaway or a possible victim of a serial killer who had murdered multiple prostitutes in the region.[2][11][14] However, the scene showed no signs of sexual assault, rape or other sexual activity, indicating the Buckskin Girl was not a sex worker.[2] Because of the absence of footwear, some believe she may have been murdered by an abusive significant other.[15] A retired investigator stated that the victim was not likely from the area that she was found.[9]

Description

The young woman's reddish-brown hair was braided into pigtails on both sides of her head.[2][3][16] Blue rubber bands had been used to hold the braids in place.[13] Her eyes were a "light brown" and she had many freckles across her face.[2][5] Her nose was described to be "very pointed" as well.[15] Her personal hygiene was described to be well maintained, and all of her teeth, including the wisdom teeth, were in good condition and had no evidence of fillings or other dental work, except for a porcelain crown on her upper-right incisor.[17] The victim was described to have had a "normal" amount of pubic hair that was reddish-brown, indicating that she did not dye her hair.[1] The victim had a ruddy complexion, indicating she spent a lot of time outdoors.[2][5][14] She was between 5'4" and 5'6" and weighed 125 - 130 pounds.[5][13][16] Several scars were also found on the body, including a vertical scar under the chin, on one wrist, the arms and the ankle.[18][19] Her bra size was 32D.[2]

She wore Wrangler jeans, a patterned brown and orange turtleneck pullover sweater, a white bra, as well as a deerskin poncho that appeared to have been handmade with purple lining.[3][14][18] She wore no shoes or socks.[5][16][18][19]

Investigation

Reconstructions of the Buckskin Girl, also illustrating the jacket and sweater the victim wore.

The body was autopsied on the afternoon that it was discovered. The coroner officially ruled she had died from strangulation.[7] Early efforts to identify Buckskin Girl involved the creation of a sketch of the face that would be published in local newspapers and television networks on April 28, 1981 in hopes to learn her identity.[12] About two-hundred leads were followed after the media attention, yet none amounted to solving the case.[7] She was eventually buried, but her clothing remains in storage at the local police department.[9]

Because of the short time the victim had been deceased, it was possible to obtain her fingerprints. Her dental information and DNA were also taken.[1][9] Although these three elements are considered vital for identifying a body, they have not led to her identity. Approximately 165 missing women and girls were ruled out as possible identities of the victim, including Tina Kemp, Pamela Harvey Rousseau and Karen Zendrosky.[1][20] Some believed she had been a runaway teenager or a transient, although her excellent personal hygiene suggested she had not been out of access from hygiene products for a significant amount of time.[2] Since her body was located near a town road instead of a highway, the probability of her being a "wanderer" for a significant amount of time was minimal.[15]

The case was featured on Unsolved Mysteries in attempts to generate new leads for the case.[2]

In 2016, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released a forensic facial reconstruction of the victim and added her case to their website, depicting her with and without her braided hairstyle.[17] Later that year, the Miami County Police Department approved forensic palynology tests on the victim's clothing, which suggested she had spent time in the Northeastern part of the United States as well as in the Western part of the country or northern Mexico.[21] Soot particles were also found on some of her clothing, which suggested she had been in a populous region, most likely near vehicles.[22]

Serial killer theory

Some investigators speculate that the Buckskin Girl was the first of many victims killed by an unidentified serial killer in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as others that had occurred in Ohio until 2004.[23][24] Such a serial killer was suspected to have killed approximately seven to ten other women, presumed prostitutes and exotic dancers in Ohio.[6][25] In 1991, a press conference was conducted where investigators discussed a task force that was created that connected various murders in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois.[25] These cases were originally connected by a reporter who discovered similarities with other unsolved murders in the area.[6]

On an episode of Unsolved Mysteries, the case was briefly detailed along with several other cases connected to the unidentified serial killer. Unsolved Mysteries connected the case to that of Shirley Dean Taylor, Anna Marie Patterson, Hebron Jane Doe and additional cases. All of the victims had been beaten or strangled and had some clothing or jewelry missing. The Buckskin Girl wore no jewelry and had her footwear removed and had also died the same way that the other victims had.[6]

Buckskin Girl was missing shoes when she was found, yet there was no indication that she had participated in any sexual activity prior to death and was fairly well-groomed, unlike many of the other victims. Some, like the Hebron Jane Doe had participated in sexual activity before their deaths, which indicated they were sex workers. Patterson had her body wrapped in a sleeping bag and was likely stored in a refrigerated area for "nearly a month" before it was located on the side of a highway.[6][25]

It is thought that the women who may have been victims of the serial killer could have met with a man at a truck stop while working as prostitutes. In the case of Anna Marie Patterson, there was a suspect identified as "Dr. No" on a CB radio, believed to be between the ages of 25 and 40.[6][26] Patterson's husband, who was involved with her work as a sex worker stated she was uncomfortable accepting the man's requests, as other local prostitutes, some speaking over the radio, had expressed that they were suspicious of the man and did not wish to meet with him. Police suspect that the person involved with her death may have been this individual.[26]

Earlier, it was presumed that she had been a victim of a different span of killings, known as the Redhead murders, but this case was ruled out to be linked to these, which spanned somewhere between 1978 and 1992.[27] Early speculation also made a connection to the murder of a 27-year-old woman in February 1981, yet police never made an official link between these two murders.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "NamUs UP # 4790". identifyus.org. National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. 10 December 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Case File 133UFOH". The Doe Network. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Besso, Donna (25 July 2008). "Need Help Identifying "The Buckskin Girl"". Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  4. ↑ O'Neill, Helen (30 March 2008). "Volunteers use computers to name the dead". USA Today (Associated Press). Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Buckskin jacket key to solving cold case". 26 March 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Prostitute Serial Killer". unsolved.com. Unsolved Mysteries. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 "Victim still unidentified". 30 April 1981. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  8. ↑ O'Neil, Helen (30 March 2008). "Amateur sleuths restore identity to the dead". Seatle Pi. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Miami County authorities still working on Jane Doe case". WHIO (Cox Media Group). 24 April 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  10. ↑ Ramsey, Rachelle (29 August 1994). "Jane Doe Doesn't Have a Name or Suspect". Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  11. 1 2 DeBrosse, Jim (6 August 2007). "'Somebody cares about them. We do.' - Jane Doe cases could be solved 'overnight' if database utilized, police say.". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 "No identification yet". April 28, 1981. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  13. 1 2 3 "Strangulation cause of death". 27 April 1981. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  14. 1 2 3 "Miami County Jane Doe, OH". Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  15. 1 2 3 "HELP CRIME WATCH DAILY AND CARL KOPPELMAN GIVE NAMES TO THESE 5 MURDER VICTIMS". Crime Watch Daily. Fox. 10 October 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  16. 1 2 3 "Miami Ohio Jane Doe April 1981". Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  17. 1 2 "Jane Doe 1981". missingkids.org. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  18. 1 2 3 "Ohio Unsolved Homicides". Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  19. 1 2 "Miami Ohio Jane Doe April 1981". 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  20. ↑ "Will the "Buckskin Girl" Finally have a Name?". nickscrimeblog.blogspot.com. Blogger. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  21. ↑ Baker, Steve (27 April 2016). "New developments could ID 'Jane Doe' found dead 35 years ago". WHIO (Cox Media Group). Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  22. ↑ Kennedy, Megan (27 April 2016). "Miami Co. cold case heats up with facial reconstruction, other developments". WDTN News (Media General). LIN Television Corporation. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  23. ↑ "The Stargazer killer". everything2.com.
  24. ↑ "Still No Answers". The Blade. 2004.
  25. 1 2 3 "Investigators of 10 Killings to Meet". The Pittsburgh Press. 15 March 1991. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  26. 1 2 "Mysterious 'Dr. No" sought in Ohio truck stop prostitute murder". The Pittsburgh Press. 19 April 1987. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  27. ↑ Aldrich, Marta W. (25 April 1985). "OFFICIALS PUZZLE OVER STRING OF REDHEAD MURDERS". Associated Press (Nashville, Tennessee). Retrieved 16 April 2015.

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