NY NY - Niagara Falls, Blk/WhtFem 25-50, UP487, in vacant bldg, beaten/burned, jewelry, purse, July'03

The Doe Network:
Case File 416UFNY

Reconstruction by Wes Neville

Unidentified Black / White Mixed Female

• 
  [*]The victim was discovered on July 14, 2003 in Niagara Falls, Niagara County, New York
  [*]Estimated Date of Death: July 14, 2003
  [*]Cause of Death: Homicide
• State of Remains: Burned
• Formerly Hot Case # 19

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Vital Statistics

• 
  [*]Estimated age: 33 - 46/25 - 50 years old
  [*]Approximate Height and Weight: 4'10"- 5'3"
  [*]Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair with blonde streaks; dark eyes. Light skinned with slender build. She may have been wearing a wig. She has an extra lumbar vertebra in her back.
  [*]Clothing: Unknown.
• Jewelry: She was wearing a necklace with a charm that is a heart with a cross inside of it; it hung from a gold-link chain. She also wore two gold rope necklaces, one thick and one thin. In addition, she was wearing a gold link bracelet made with a series of three small, round links and a big oval link. She also had what appeared to be a silver-colored toe ring with her. It had raised heart shapes all around it.
• Other: Items in her purse indicate that she was a hypodermic user.

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Case History
The victim was located inside a burning building in Niagara Falls, New York on July 14, 2003.
The building, which formerly housed Pharoah's nightclub is located at 1919 Whirlpool Avenue in the city of Niagara Falls. There have been reports that people broke in to the building sometimes to have parties. The fire was apparently set to cover the homicide and a gasoline container was found near the body.
The body had multiple blunt force injury to head, face, neck and severely burned in the fire.
She had a business card in her purse from a Home Improvement business that was picked up from the window sill of Russ's Bait Shop at 1226 Niagara Street, Buffalo, NY. It is suspected that the victim may have been a prostitute from that area.

Left: Heart pendant; Right: Toe Ring

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Investigators
If you have any information about this case please contact:
Niagara Falls Police Department
Detective Bureau
716-286-4553
or
Detective Paonessa
716-286-4576
OR
Erie County Medical Examiner's Office
716-961-7591
You may remain anonymous when submitting information.
Agency Case Number:
03-33484

NCIC Number:
U310004460
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
Source Information:
NAMUS

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/487

New York Missing Persons
UDRS

Bump.

Original link no longer works (http://www.lockport-ny.com/today1.htm) - it was posted on Porchlight in 2007:

Another murder in Niagara Falls. Police have launched a homicide investigation after finding a badly burned female body inside the former Pharaoh's nightclub at 1919 Whirlpool Street. The victim is believed to have been in her 20's. The former trouble spot partially burned early Monday, 7/14 and police feel the blaze was set to conceal the crime. Damage has been pegged at about $50,000. The woman's killing is the 7th murder this year in Niagara Falls, the fourth in the past two weeks. Niagara Falls Police Superintendent Christopher Carlin was cautious with his comments on the city's current murder rampage. He told the Niagara Gazette, "My gut feeling is that we are dealing with more hardtimers, people who are repeat offenders who are out there in society (on parole)." (7/15/03)
http://z10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/index.php?showtopic=7320

Could this be related?

31st August 2003, just month after UID, Noel Rodriquez, 25 year old, was found burned to death at bar called the Solo Lounge which was purposefully set on fire. Bar was at 16th and Niagara Street.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink....406270419&id=509001829187881&substory_index=0

Mar 18, 2007 NIAGARA FALLS: Cops say tey never stop working on cold cases

Body at the bottom of the stairs

Falls Police Lt. Angela Munn thought she saw smoke coming from the boarded-up windows at Pharaoh's Nightclub, as she drove past the one-time hot spot the morning of July 14, 2003. She called for the Falls Fire Department. When they arrived, they found the vacant club was engulfed in flames.

As firefighters battled the blaze, they made a grim discovery.
“Chief (Rick) McHenry informed Officer (David) Bower, that they had found a body at the bottom of the stairs at the southwest entry door and that it was badly burned,” Palmer said.

Crime scene investigators later discovered a gas can near where the body was found. They also took note of blood on the ground outside the entrance door.
“It appeared she had been dragged (into the nightclub stairwell),” said Coney. “There was blood at the rear of and in the building.”

Investigators quickly concluded the victim had been killed or injured at another location, brought to Pharaoh's, taken inside and the nightclub was set on fire. Later, an advanced autopsy determined that the victim had, most likely been alive when the fire started.

The first hurdle that confronted detectives was determining the identity of their victim. They didn’t have much evidence to work with.
“There wasn’t much left of the torso,” Coney said.

Her hands were so badly burned that her fingerprints could not be retrieved. The only surviving documents on or near the body was a single business card for a company on the West Side of Buffalo and a prescription bottle for a drug used by heroin addicts.

A hypodermic needle was discovered near the victim’s body, but investigators say they can’t tie it to the woman they call “Jane Doe.”

“We did everything,” Coney said. “We checked missing persons reports for every police agency in this area. We did a lot of follow up in Buffalo (in the neighborhood of the company from the recovered business card). We even checked out pharmacies and clinics up there who deal with the medication indicated on the bottle we found.”

Not a single lead resulted.
“No one called so say my daughter is missing, my wife is missing,” Coney said.

Because of Pharaoh's proximity to the Whirlpool Bridge, cops checked missing persons reports with Canadian police agencies. That didn’t yield any clues either.
“It’s possible she could be an illegal alien,” Palmer said, “but how do you track her then? If we could figure out who she is, that would tell is a lot about what happened.”

An examination of the remains by a forensic anthropologist did give detectives some information about their victim.
“She was probably Hispanic, 20 to 50 years old, though most likely 30 to 45 years old and between 4 feet 10 inches and 5 feet 3 inches tall.”
The examination showed she had a fused vertebrae. She also had “defensive wounds,” a broken forearm and a gash in her head.

Some jewelry the victim was wearing survived the inferno, but no one has been able to link it to the woman’s identity.

As forensic technology increases, Palmer said “Jane Doe’s” bones and DNA samples remain safe and secure at the Erie County Medical Center.
http://www.niagara-gazette.com/news...cle_bb33f01f-71b0-5137-8693-1e9d3fc571e2.html

On July 13, 2003 at 1919 Whirlpool Street Niagara Falls, NY fireman responded to a fire at a closed nightclub “Pharohs”. During that investigation, the badly burned remains of a unknown young woman were discovered in the stairwell. Detectives have been trying to identify the badly burned remains since and are looking for any information that may assist. Victim was wearing a size 6 ring with a synthetic sapphire and two cubic zirconia stones and a necklace with a heart pendant and pieces of a gold colored ankle bracelet.

http://niagarafallsusa.org/governme...f-niagara-falls-police-department-cold-cases/

This UID's estimated height/weight - 4'10" and 69lb … is that weight even possible? Is it likely this was the 'burned' weight after loss of fluids?
www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/487/details?nav

Demographics
Sex Female
Race / Ethnicity Other
Estimated Age Range (Years) 25-50
Estimated Year of Death0- 2003
Estimated PMI--
Height 4' 10"(58 inches) , Estimated
Weight 69 lbs, Estimated
Circumstances
TypeUnidentified Deceased
Date Body Found July 14, 2003
NamUs Case Created June 30, 2007
Location Found Map
Location Niagara Falls, New York 14305
County Niagara County
Circumstances of Recovery Body severely burned in fire
Details of Recovery
Inventory of Remains - All parts recovered
Condition of Remains - Not recognizable - Charred/burned
Distinctive Physical Features
has extra vertebrate in lower back
Clothing and Accessories
Wearing a size 6 ring with a synthetic sapphire and two cubic zirconia stones and a necklace with a heart pendant and pieces of a gold colored ankle bracelet, and gold or silver toe ring.

Bump!

Bump!

Larger versions of recons

@Caring1 Hey could you post the current list of NamUs exclusions for this Jane Doe? I would greatly appreciate it.

John/Jane Doe said:

@Caring1 Hey could you post the current list of NamUs exclusions for this Jane Doe? I would greatly appreciate it.

Click to expand...

0 Missing Person Exclusions

Hochman said:

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Larger versions of recons
View attachment 406733View attachment 406734View attachment 406736

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She is described as 'mixed' -- extra vertebra -- could she be Peruvian (this article says the trait is inherited)?

So disheartening that she hasn't been identified yet. Pharaoh's is still standing, but abandoned:

Former Buffalo Restaurants & Bars | Pharaoh's Nightclub in Niagara Falls NY near the Whirlpool Bridge | Facebook

There was an urban exploration video of the grounds that I'd found a while ago, but it looks like it was deleted. I'll post it here if I can find it again!

ETA: Found the video!