IN IN - Greenwood, Male Skeletal UP1828, 14-30, sternum anomaly, Apr'93

I found this possible match on Doe Network but wanted to run it past you all before I considered submitting it. I tend to miss important details/info?

The unidentified woman was found in a farmers field about 50 yards off I65 in April 93. Approximately 1.5 years prior the farmers children had found a few human bones but their father thought they were from an animal. Once the second discovery was made the police did a search and found 70% of human skeleton. There is not a lot of info on the UID woman though ie no reconstruction or anything, no personal effects or clothing were found either.
Here are the links
Hot Case 1791
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1723umin.html
Unidentified White Female The victim was discovered on April 17, 1993 in Greenwood, Johnson County, Indiana
Estimated Date of Death: 1 1/2-3 Years
Cause of Death: Foul play suspected
State of Remains: Partial Skeleton - 70% recovered at the scene.
Estimated age: 18-30 years old
Approximate Height and Weight: 4'10"-5'3".
Distinguishing Characteristics: Detectives found the sternum with two holes rather than the more common single hole. The trait is shared by only 5 percent of the population.

and the potential match-
Julie Dalton Johnson
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/354dfin.html
Missing since March 1, 1991 from Kokomo, Howard County Indiana
Classification Involuntary
Date of Birth: November 11, 1961
Age at Time of Disappearance: 29 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'3; 118 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Dark brown hair; brown eyes.
Dentals: Available.

Both have dental records listed on their file so perhaps this has already been ruled out? Julie Johnson lived about 1.5 hours from Greenwood IN where the unidentified woman was found.
Let me know what you think about this, or any other possible matches?

IMO:
This certainly could be a possible match.
If both have dental records, it should not be too hard for them to match them up.
You could also email the NaMus case manager as well as the Howard County Sheriff's Dept.
Good luck.

I think it's worth an email.

lorelei said:

Let me know what you think about this, or any other possible matches?

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An interesting thing that I noticed is that Kokomo (where Julie Dalton Johnson lived) and Greenwood (where the bones were found) are connected by a single highway (i.e., State Hwy 31).

Worth an email!

Has anyone called in this potential match? If not, I will.

I just submitted the following letter to the case manager.

I got a reply already from the case manager.

He writes:


It's great to get such a prompt reply.

Hope this comes to somthing!

"Jane Doe" of this case listed on the Charley Network?

PFF said:

"Jane Doe" of this case listed on the Charley Network?

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As I understand it, the Charley Project lists missing persons, but not unidentified decedents.

Additional Info re Julie Dalton Johnson:

http://www.kokomotribune.com/local/local_story_188165914.html

Quote:


Interesting that she worked at Crisis Center, Inc. (i.e., an organization that provides crisis intervention and advocacy for domestic violence victims). I wonder if there is some connection between her disappearance and her occupation. For example, maybe someone did not appreciate her intervention in their domestic issues.

Maybe you could let the detectives on the Johnson case know that the UID has a "sternum with two holes rather than the more common single hole. The trait is shared by only 5 percent of the population."? If Julie Johnson left behind medical records, this may be a way to confirm/rule her out if they don't have her dna?

I just spoke with Sgt Eirc Klinkowski of the Greenwood, PD about this submission. He seemed quite enthusiastic about this possible match. He spoke very positively that the age fits well, and the timeframe between MP disappearance and UID est. date of death is very consistent. He indicated that in addition to the bullet points that I had outlined in my e-mail to him, there were other factors (which he didn't specify) that make this a strong possible match.

He said that he doesn't think that this possible match has been pursued yet (although he doesn't have a list of any exclusions). They have a DNA sample on this UID, but they have not yet completed all of the work to construct the DNA profile. He also said that the skeleton was significantly damaged from two to three seasons of plowing the field in which the UID was found. They only have eight of her teeth, and parts of the mandible are still missing, so it will be quite difficult to do a dental comparison.

He also mentioned the situation about the holes in the sternum. He says that this is a genetic condition that is passed from one generation to another, and there is a strong possibility that the condition might also be present in siblings or other relatives. This condition significantly weakens the sternum, and since the sternum protects the heart from any objects that strike the chest, Anyone with this condition should be made aware of it so that they are careful when engaging in activities that might risk physical damage to their sternum or injury to the heart. For example, a person performing acupuncture therapy should be aware that the needle could easily penetrate the sternum and and pass through to the heart.

He spoke a little about the CODIS system, and stated his opinion that CODIS is not as foolproof as many think it is. He said that the CODIS database consists of multiple systems (e.g., a prison system, a sex offender system, a missing persons system, et. al.), and they have had some complications merging the different systems. He said that there is not so much of a problem of "false positives" or "false negatives" per se, but more that the different component systems are indexed differently. He says that there is a training course for the use of the system, and someone who is not properly trained may run the submissions incorrectly.

Overall, his attitude was encouragingly enthusiastic and positive. He is going forward in pursuing this possible with Kokomo authorities, and he will keep me posted as to the results.

For several months, I have been trying to get ahold of Detective Klinkowski for an update on my submission of Julie Dalton Johnson as a possible on this case. He never answers his telephone, and I have left both e-mail and telephone messages, and receive no response. I also attempted to leave messages with the Kokomo LE and they have not returned my messages either.

I have not forgotten this case though, and will continue to try to get an update on this submission.

CarlK90245 said:

For several months, I have been trying to get ahold of Detective Klinkowski for an update on my submission of Julie Dalton Johnson as a possible on this case. He never answers his telephone, and I have left both e-mail and telephone messages, and receive no response. I also attempted to leave messages with the Kokomo LE and they have not returned my messages either.

I have not forgotten this case though, and will continue to try to get an update on this submission.

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Thanks for keeping up with it. I suppose like most cops these days he's working overtime due to budgetary issues and swamped with more urgent everyday crime.

I located a different e-mail address for Detective Klinkowski, and sent him a request for an update. He responded right away.

I spoke with detectives in Howard County and they seemed confident that our cases were not congruent. However, in the meantime, someone has sent me a box of items concerning the case. No idea what exactly what the box of items has to do with anything, but I will be looking into it.

Eric

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I followed up on Det. Klinkowski's e-mail with the question:

"Any indication from them why they felt that the cases weren't congruent?"

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He replied with the following:

I think they believe in the evidence and stories they have already and for whatever reason are not open to other possibilities.

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I remind my fellow WS'ers the following statements from the Kokomo Tribune article posted earlier in this thread (referring to Major Steve Rogers with the Kokomo Sheriff’s Department):

http://www.kokomotribune.com/local/local_story_188165914.html

“We are operating under the assumption there is evidence we haven’t found yet. We would love to hear from someone with information on this case.” ...

... Rogers said any time a female body is found in the country that meets certain criteria like gender, age and size, the department checks to determine if it is Johnson.

“We respond immediately,” he said. “There have been no close matches.”

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Those words ring a little hollow - don't they?

Frustrating, to say the least. You can hear it in the detective's words...

AFAIK, they don't have an admission of guilt, they have no body, and the primary POI (i.e., the husband) isn't talking, so any stories they have are just that - stories - until they are corroborated.

They say that they check out every female body with the right age, and size. These female remains are the right age, and size, and they can't be bothered because it doesn't fit into their uncorroborated theories.

Go figure.

One would think that even if the Kokomo people don't want to follow up on leads, at least they would cooperate with another LE agency (i.e., Greenwood) that does.