OH OH - Jane Gault, 17, Barberton, 14 March 1982

michelle

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I am so sorry to hear about your sister jan, was her case ever investigated? Where did this happen at if you dont mind sharing?
Thanks..
 
Her name was Jane, that was a type-o and It didn't have the thing to go back and edit it. I was eleven. She was 17. We have many other sisters and one brother.We lived in Barberton, Ohio. She ran away because my mom and her were always at odds. All of my older sisters were still in contact with her though and then suddenly she returned to my parents house begging them to take her back and that she was in trouble and that someone was after her....
 
My mother said no, much to my chagrin. And then no more contact for close to a year. Shortly before she returned she had been telling friends she was moving to Texas. She was rumored to be seeing a married Barberton police officer and also hanging out with this guy named Chuck. Well, about a year later some boys were throwing rocks into a canal that runs through Barberton and her body came up through a hole in the ice......
 
The police called my parents asking for dental records and saying that they could not see the body because it was too decomposed. They called later and said that they had confirmed that it was Jane, and that she had drowned. When my parents ordered the autopsy report it said cause of death undetermined and her legs and feet were bound. She was wearing mens clothing and the jeans had Chuck's wallet and i.d in the pocket.hmmm
 
All of her belongings she had with her were later recovered at a local bar called the White Front Cafe and this is where Chuck partied alot. My sister Sue started hanging out in there and trying to find out answers and the third night she went there her car windows got shot out as she was leaving by a car going the other direction, she luckily only wrecked her car and was fine. The police questioned Chuck and said he had an alibi and he was released, and we were never even told what that alibi was or how they could have actually even formed an alibi when we don't even know when she died. The police closed the case. Chuck moved to Texas. My parents recieved death threats telling them to just drop it because they knew where I went to school and they would hate to have to hurt me.
 
I'm 35 now, I have a hard time talking about this with my older siblings because half of them tell me to just drop it because they are scared and they all have children who live in this area and the other half are just to emotional about it so I really can't get alot of information out of them about it. Her purse and a small bible were found at the White Front Cafe. I don't have her autopsy report and I don't know how to get one. It's all very scary. I miss her.
 
My parents also recieved a call from a girlfriend who said she knows exactly what happened and made an appointment to meet with my parents and then didn't show up. Someone posted a memorial to her on a Barberton High School website this past year and someone is always putting flowers on her grave and it isn't any of my siblings.
 
Upallnite...Would you mind if I did a little digging on this? I may have a few questions, if thats okay.
 
oh my gosh thats all so strange, too bad unsolved mysteries isnt on anymore that would be a good show to air your story......Is there a way you can get a autopsy report and maybe police reports and try to do some investigating on your own? I wouldnt even know where to begin....I posted a link to a girl that i went to school with that went missing in baltimore county maryland in 1995 and all they found was her purse and Id too i think and i often wonder what is going on with her case because she was never found, it was obvious that she was abducted but how do you go about trying to pursue something like this on your own??
 
shadowangel said:
Upallnite...Would you mind if I did a little digging on this? I may have a few questions, if thats okay.
No, not at all, I wish somebody would. You can pm. me
 
michelle said:
oh my gosh thats all so strange, too bad unsolved mysteries isnt on anymore that would be a good show to air your story......Is there a way you can get a autopsy report and maybe police reports and try to do some investigating on your own? I wouldnt even know where to begin....I posted a link to a girl that i went to school with that went missing in baltimore county maryland in 1995 and all they found was her purse and Id too i think and i often wonder what is going on with her case because she was never found, it was obvious that she was abducted but how do you go about trying to pursue something like this on your own??
I don't know how to get an autopsy report and I'm actually sort of afraid to do it, I mean the police lied to my parents and then they shut the case down not even a month after they found her. One weird thing also was when I was around 16-17, I was sort of a naughty kid, but whenever the Barberton police would pull over me and my friends or come anywhere I was no matter what we were doing as soon as they found out who I was they just let everyone go. It was weird, like I'd actually try to get arrested and they wouldn't arrest me. LOL!!! who knows!!!
 
Well are the police of that town trained to investigate a murder you know how some towns mess up royally when it comes to a murder and ruin everything , evidence ect.....Maybe they were the kind of police that just didnt want to dig into this case for fear for them?? It sounds like something was holding them back and others back from talking about your sisters murder, its a shame though i just cant see how someones murder goes unsolved......They should be actively pursuing any leads or anything they have.....How are your parents ? I am sure they were devistated, what year did this happen and what town??
 
I think it was , pretty sure it was 1981. It is a very small town police department,but that still didn't excuse the fact that they told my parents she drowned and when they got the autopsy report there was no water in her lungs and her legs and hands were bound. Strange drowning, eh?
 
yea that doesnt sound right at all and what do they think she tied her own legs together and jumped in, geeze.......Do you have any articles or clippings of this case?
 
michelle said:
yea that doesnt sound right at all and what do they think she tied her own legs together and jumped in, geeze.......Do you have any articles or clippings of this case?
There was only one tiny article in the back of The Barberton Herald that a body had been found and that's it. Nothing else was ever printed about it. That's how the news is around here, about a year ago I heard that they found a human hand in a dumpster at a local mall and then never heard about it again. hmmmm.
 
that is so bad that they dont give more attention to these crimes, its like living in mayberry or something.....well i am gonna be saying prayers that justice will be served for your sis, that is so terrible......I wish there was something we could do..
 
michelle said:
that is so bad that they dont give more attention to these crimes, its like living in mayberry or something.....well i am gonna be saying prayers that justice will be served for your sis, that is so terrible......I wish there was something we could do..
Thank you!!!:blowkiss:
 
Well now you got my attention. Unfortunately, with small towns, things aren't always doccumented as well as they should be. Record keeping is not always up to par either. I assume that the medical examiners office is not in Barberton, Do you know where it is located? I would start with a copy of the death certificate, then a copy of the police report & autopsy report. I looked around a little but didn't find anything in News paper archives. If you want to pm me with name, date and anything else you know, I'll look around some more too.
 
You may be able to get a copy of the autopsy because you are a family member; however, it has been my experience, if a case is an open file (like Sharon Marshall in Oklahoma City) they will not give you a copy of the report. It never hurts to ask. If you have a friend who is an attorney, have them write a letter. They have xxxxxx of days to give you the report, or reject your request.
 
This case was listed a drowning, so I'm making the assumption that it is not an open case. The files (IF they exist) should be accessible to at least a family member. If I'm reading this right, Upallnite, do your parents have a copy of the autopsy report?
 

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