UNSOLVED NY - Bronx (East River), WhtFem, Unk Age, Possibly Named 'Linda', May'84

This is quite a strange case. I don't know if this is allowed here, because I was unable to find a Doe Net or NamUs page for her, but she is still UNIDENTIFIED, and may have been connected to Princess Doe.

http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/wife-tells-slay-records-article-1.806136
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/21/n...984-slaying-of-woman-found-in-east-river.html
https://issuu.com/longislandpress/docs/v10i30 (page 17 + 18)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Doe (mentioned as one of the two still-unidentified women killed by Arthur Kinlaw)

The NY Times article is old ('98) but she is still unidentified and it's a good source of information.

She was 5'4, 130 lbs., with short black hair. She called herself "Linda" and met Arthur and Donna Kinlaw at the Blackberry Jam club in Bay Shore, NY, in early 1984. She may have lived with her grandmother in Bay Shore or Brentwood. She was killed after refusing to become a prostitute, and threatening to go to police.

This woman was found in the East River off of Hunts Point (the Bronx), not Bay Shore. A lot of people on LI must remember the Blackberry Jam club. I wonder if they were ever interviewed?

Was the body that was found in the river identified as Linda or someone else.. or did the body remain unidentified.. I am a bit confused.. I know there was another woman found in the east river I believe in 1998 wearing a red body suit.. I had not heard of this.

the only thing I found of girls missing from Long island in 1984 were these girls 2 turned up but one is still missing.. but she is Blonde


http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/264dfny.html

Springrain said:

This is quite a strange case. I don't know if this is allowed here, because I was unable to find a Doe Net or NamUs page for her, but she is still UNIDENTIFIED, and may have been connected to Princess Doe.

http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/wife-tells-slay-records-article-1.806136
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/21/n...984-slaying-of-woman-found-in-east-river.html
https://issuu.com/longislandpress/docs/v10i30 (page 17 + 18)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Doe (mentioned as one of the two still-unidentified women killed by Arthur Kinlaw)

The NY Times article is old ('98) but she is still unidentified and it's a good source of information.

She was 5'4, 130 lbs., with short black hair. She called herself "Linda" and met Arthur and Donna Kinlaw at the Blackberry Jam club in Bay Shore, NY, in early 1984. She may have lived with her grandmother in Bay Shore or Brentwood. She was killed after refusing to become a prostitute, and threatening to go to police.

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A young woman whose body was found in the East River 14 years ago is believed to have been killed by a couple who were angered when she refused to work for them as a prostitute, the police said yesterday.

The couple, Arthur and Donna Kinlaw, were charged on Friday with the murder of the woman, who was never identified, the police said. Lieut. Steven M. Boldis, commanding officer of the Bronx Cold Case Squad, said the Kinlaws ran a prostitution ring in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx until fleeing New York more than a decade ago. He said they set out on a life of robbery, prostitution, burglary, forgery and welfare fraud in seven states. They were arrested while in jail in El Centro, Calif., where they were serving an eight-month sentence for welfare fraud, Lieutenant Boldis said.

The woman's body was discovered in the East River off Hunts Point on May 3, 1984. When pulled from the water, the short, black-haired woman was wearing a ripped blouse and blue jeans, and appeared to have been bludgeoned and suffocated, the police said. Her hands had been tied behind her back with parts of her blouse, and other sections of the blouse were stuffed down her throat, said Sgt. Nick Vreeland, a police spokesman.

There were few clues. But in April, welfare fraud investigators in California told investigators in New York that a woman whose name was being used as an alias by Mrs. Kinslaw said she had information about a murder.

The informer said that the dead woman's first name was Linda, that she was probably of Italian-American origin and may have lived with her grandmother in either Brentwood or Bay Shore on Long Island, the police said. Detectives narrowed down the possible victims to the body found in the East River in 1984.

With that statement and other evidence, the police concluded that Mr. Kinlaw, then 46, and his 39-year-old wife met the woman at a club called Blackberry Jam in Bay Shore sometime in 1984. There, the Kinlaws, who have nine children from their 20-year marriage, befriended the woman and then tried to persuade her to become a prostitute, the police said.

now this article has a little different info and seems like she is still unidentified

http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/cops-hope-slay-finally-solved-article-1.806535

A California couple is due in Bronx Supreme Court tomorrow to be arraigned in an unusual murder case that some cops see as long-overdue justice for an anonymous outcast. The killing took place 14 years ago, and the victim remains unidentified. The indictment charges the couple with second-degree murder of Jane Doe, a young woman who was thrown into the East River off Hunts Point. "I have been practicing law for 25 years, and this is the first time I've come across a Jane Doe [victim]," said defense lawyer Michael Torres, who was assigned to represent one of the defendants. "Nobody knows the true identity of this person, including my client," Torres said. "It's amazing after 14 years they were able to make an arrest on this matter.

Detectives have not given up trying to identify the victim.
"I'm looking at the family angle," said Lt. Steve Boldis of the cold case squad. "She was someone's daughter, niece, granddaughter. Someone has been wondering about her. After 14 years, I would love to be able to knock on someone's door and lay it to rest for them. It would be closure.

Police theorize the victim was killed because she resisted working in a prostitution ring in the Hunts Point area allegedly run by the defendants, Arthur Kinlaw, 44, and his wife, Donna, 39. The Kinlaws have criminal records in Florida, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Texas. Donna Kinlaw was arrested numerous times for prostitution in the Bronx in the 1980s. The couple was arrested last November in Sonoma, Calif., in welfare fraud.

Investigators checking their backgrounds developed information that the Kinlaws may have thrown a woman into the river in the South Bronx in the early 1980s.

California authorities called the NYPD; Boldis and Detective Vincenti Nitti found a case to match the tip: A woman had been asphyxiated, bludgeoned, bound and gagged and was found floating in the East River on May 3, 1984. The victim was determined to be 18 to 25 years old, with dark brown hair, 5-feet-4, 130 pounds. The body had been in the water about two weeks and was not recognizable. Shortly after the body turned up, the Kinlaws left New York for Florida, Boldis said. They have traveled around the US. with their nine children.

Cold case cops went to California to talk to the Kinlaws, and on June 19, they arrested them. They were extradited to New York. Cops believe the victim's first name was Linda, and that she came from Suffolk County. Boldis said the Kinlaws were known to have enlisted women from bars in Bay Shore and other towns in Suffolk as prostitutes. "Whatever she was doing maybe she was just a teen enjoying the bar scene and got caught up, maybe she worked for them and wanted to stop we have to put it to rest," Boldis said. He said cops plan to check Suffolk high school yearbooks, and he hopes a sketch of the short-haired, plain-featured woman will jar someone's memory. .

The article states of a sketch of the woman but I have not found one or any other info about this girl

now knowing these Kinlaw people would enlist prostitutes and apparently left to florida after they killed the girl and dumped her in the Bronx in May 1994


I came across this

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1259dffl.html

Sandra Faye Norman
Missing since July 2, 1984 from Florida.
Classification: Endangered Missing



Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: February 13, 1958
Age at Time of Disappearance: 25 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'3"; 100 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Straight, thick blackish brown hair; brown eyes. Very slender frame. Was a smoker.
Dentals: Had good teeth.
AKA: Her married name is Thompson.***




Circumstances of Disappearance
Norman was last seen in Florida July 2, 1984. No one is really sure of circumstances surrounding her disappearance. A friend of hers told her family that she had been hanging out with a drug dealer shortly before she went missing. It is unknown if a missing persons report was filed.
Norman had a daughter with her husband prior to her disappearance.
She was known as a prostitute. View attachment 127776






I know it still does Not solve who the girl in the East River is BUT.. I just thought it was interesting of the girl in Florida missing not to long after the Kinlaws go to Florida.. Now makes me wonder also if they went around the country killing girls that would not cooperate with them.. It would be interesting to know where they traveled to...

Oh never mind I just found my answer ...... Police theorize the victim was killed because she resisted working in a prostitution ring in the Hunts Point area allegedly run by the defendants, Arthur Kinlaw, 44, and his wife, Donna, 39. The Kinlaws have criminal records in Florida, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Texas. Donna Kinlaw was arrested numerous times for prostitution in the Bronx in the 1980s. The couple was arrested last November in Sonoma, Calif., in welfare fraud.

Sandra Faye Norman was last see in Florida July 2, 1984. The body washed up May 3rd 1984, she was murdered 2 weeks prior. Great find but could not possibly her.

houndpounder said:

Sandra Faye Norman was last see in Florida July 2, 1984. The body washed up May 3rd 1984, she was murdered 2 weeks prior. Great find but could not possibly her.

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Oh maybe I was not clear in my above post. But the reason I included Sandra Fay Norman in Florida is because the article says right after the murder of the Bronx River girl in May the Kinlaws picked up and left to Florida.. so I thought it was interesting 2 months later there is a woman who has the same look pretty much and is a prostitute and goes missing in Florida...

madamx said:

now knowing these Kinlaw people would enlist prostitutes and apparently left to florida after they killed the girl and dumped her in the Bronx in May 1994


I came across this

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1259dffl.html

Sandra Faye Norman
Missing since July 2, 1984 from Florida.
Classification: Endangered Missing



Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: February 13, 1958
Age at Time of Disappearance: 25 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'3"; 100 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Straight, thick blackish brown hair; brown eyes. Very slender frame. Was a smoker.
Dentals: Had good teeth.
AKA: Her married name is Thompson.***




Circumstances of Disappearance
Norman was last seen in Florida July 2, 1984. No one is really sure of circumstances surrounding her disappearance. A friend of hers told her family that she had been hanging out with a drug dealer shortly before she went missing. It is unknown if a missing persons report was filed.
Norman had a daughter with her husband prior to her disappearance.
She was known as a prostitute. View attachment 127776






I know it still does Not solve who the girl in the East River is BUT.. I just thought it was interesting of the girl in Florida missing not to long after the Kinlaws go to Florida.. Now makes me wonder also if they went around the country killing girls that would not cooperate with them.. It would be interesting to know where they traveled to...

Oh never mind I just found my answer ...... Police theorize the victim was killed because she resisted working in a prostitution ring in the Hunts Point area allegedly run by the defendants, Arthur Kinlaw, 44, and his wife, Donna, 39. The Kinlaws have criminal records in Florida, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Texas. Donna Kinlaw was arrested numerous times for prostitution in the Bronx in the 1980s. The couple was arrested last November in Sonoma, Calif., in welfare fraud.

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ooops I ment 1984

Launa Renee Merritt
Missing since February 23, 1983 from Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York
Classification: Endangered Missing





Vital Statistics

• • Date of Birth: October 10, 1966
  • Age at Time of Disappearance: 16 years old
  • Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 4'11"; 130-145 lbs.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; brown eyes.
  • Marks/Scars: Surgical scar on abdomen
  • Clothing: Usually wears jeans and T-shirt. Brown rabbit fur coat, and brown boots.
  • AKA: Tina, Colleen, and Lisa
  • Dentals: Available in NCIC
  • Fingerprints: Available
• 
  
• She also went by the name of Lisa..which is close to Linda and who knows she could of told them the story she lived with her grandmother in Long Island and it could of been made up.. she is a little shorter but I thought I would include her.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)



Debra Fardella, Female, White / Caucasian
Date of Last Contact June 23, 1983
Missing FromBrooklyn, New York
Missing Age 22 Years


Missing Age22 Years

First Name Debra
Middle Name--
Last Name Fardella
Nickname/Alias Debbie

Sex Female
Height 5' 4" (64 Inches)
Weight 105 lbs
Race / EthnicityWhite / Caucasian

Date of Last Contact June 23, 1983
NamUs Case Created February 21, 2019
Last Known Location Map
Location Brooklyn, New York 11224
CountyKings County

Circumstances of Disappearance Debra was last seen on June 23, 1983, at approximately 1630 hours. She was last seen at Mermaid Avenue and West 23 Street in Brooklyn New York.


Hair Color Brown

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

NY - NY - Debra Fardella, 22, Brooklyn, June 23, 1983

A Mysterious Death and a Woman From Nowhere | Mysterious Universe
I found another interesting article o Donna and Arthur talking about this girl in the East River but they also killed a woman in Bellport who remains unidentified also..

I sent an email to Donna Zorn of Doe Network to have this case entered in the Doe Network database but I was replied to this

This Princess Doe article is from 2012 but mentions Linda as still unidentified to this day so getting closer.

Identifying Princess Doe: 30 Years After She Was Slain, New Technology May ID Her and The Killer | Long Island Press

Romulus said:

I sent an email to Donna Zorn of Doe Network to have this case entered in the Doe Network database but I was replied to this

View attachment 290772

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Thank you for contacting the Doe Network. I wonder how we can confirm if she was identified or not.

Triss said:

Thank you for contacting the Doe Network. I wonder how we can confirm if she was identified or not.

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Have contacted also Namus for entry this case in database, but nothing reply

Now that Princess Doe has been identified, it would be nice to identify this woman, too. What happened to her remains? And is there a thread on here for the woman Arthur Kinlaw killed who was renting a room in his and Donna's home? It's kind of surprising they didn't know her real identity considering she wasn't in the same position as their other victims and was renting a room in their house. She was black and Hispanic and needed crutches to get around. As to Linda, if that was her real name, her grandmother would be long dead, but she likely has other family wondering what happened. If the story about her living with her grandmother was true, how did she react when "Linda" never came home? Princess Doe is Arthur Kinlaw's most well known victim, but it would be nice to solve the identity of his two other victims as well.

summergirl1 said:

Now that Princess Doe has been identified, it would be nice to identify this woman, too. What happened to her remains? And is there a thread on here for the woman Arthur Kinlaw killed who was renting a room in his and Donna's home? It's kind of surprising they didn't know her real identity considering she wasn't in the same position as their other victims and was renting a room in their house. She was black and Hispanic and needed crutches to get around. As to Linda, if that was her real name, her grandmother would be long dead, but she likely has other family wondering what happened. If the story about her living with her grandmother was true, how did she react when "Linda" never came home? Princess Doe is Arthur Kinlaw's most well known victim, but it would be nice to solve the identity of his two other victims as well.

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This really is so frustrating, only to have bits and pieces. I have a feeling Linda and the renter woman have not been identified. They prob ended up being buried on Hart Island but not identified are my thoughts.