Identified! The Doe Network, Part 4: Who is Princess Blue? - Julie Gwenn Davis

Actually, there is a chance that the ring was Princess Blue's. It is unlikely, but it is possible. This is because according to the new autopsy report whereby a panel of forensics specialists did not offer a date of death. So, it is possible that Princess's remains had been out there anywhere from 1975 to about late 1989 or early 1990.

I have worked and researched for a long time to find good scientific info concerning the topic of remains conditions in a humid, warm temperate climate such as in the Houston area. Unfortunately, there are no, "body farms" or good scientific data to show how long there would be DNA in bone marrow that is still viable for DNA and drug testing--for the conditions that Princess was found in (warm temperate, humid climate, out in the open, etc...). It is true that scientists have extracted DNA from remains that are thousands of years old, in these cases the conditions were either cold (in snow that fell hundreds/thousands of years ago where remains were preserved) or in hot, dry conditions of a desert/desert tomb. We just don't know if DNA stays viable for testing (drugs and DNA) under the conditions in which Princess's body was found. If we did her date of death could better be pinpointed.

Just to be sure that the school ring issue is cleared up, we know that the ring was from Robert E. Lee HS (now Lee HS) because, "Houston" is clearly on the ring.

Does anyone know if there was a Leona who graduated that year?

Let me check..it doesn't sound familiar but I will check now and get back here with the information.

Claycat said:

Does anyone know if there was a Leona who graduated that year?

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There is no Leona listed in the 1975 REL- Houston yearbook or in the 1974 REL jrs.

Thank you, RKnowley!

LionRun said:

Actually, there is a chance that the ring was Princess Blue's. It is unlikely, but it is possible. This is because according to the new autopsy report whereby a panel of forensics specialists did not offer a date of death. So, it is possible that Princess's remains had been out there anywhere from 1975 to about late 1989 or early 1990.

I have worked and researched for a long time to find good scientific info concerning the topic of remains conditions in a humid, warm temperate climate such as in the Houston area. Unfortunately, there are no, "body farms" or good scientific data to show how long there would be DNA in bone marrow that is still viable for DNA and drug testing--for the conditions that Princess was found in (warm temperate, humid climate, out in the open, etc...). It is true that scientists have extracted DNA from remains that are thousands of years old, in these cases the conditions were either cold (in snow that fell hundreds/thousands of years ago where remains were preserved) or in hot, dry conditions of a desert/desert tomb. We just don't know if DNA stays viable for testing (drugs and DNA) under the conditions in which Princess's body was found. If we did her date of death could better be pinpointed.

Just to be sure that the school ring issue is cleared up, we know that the ring was from Robert E. Lee HS (now Lee HS) because, "Houston" is clearly on the ring.

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My own experience living a decade 30 miles from Houston in both Liberty & Baytown is that it is HOT & HUMID!!! And seems to rain everyday.

I would rather be here in Death Valley's dry 128 degrees then there at 90 degrees with 90% humidity. Tho I do truly LOVE Texas that humidity is something else down there.

Which brings me thinking/remembering something else... dead body smell real bad fast down there. When we first moved to Baytown I got some groceries a store that was filthy inside. I never did go back. When I was leaving and getting into my truck I smelled a horrible smell. The breeze wasn't coming my way when I parked there. A week later a body was found maybe 100 feet from where I had parked. That corner about 2 miles from home always gave me the creeps.

It was a female who had been dead 2 weeks. So when I was smelling her she had only been there a week. It freaked me she was my height & weight even with auburn hair. I was seriously rethinking living there but did love our home.

This was the end of November. And we always hung up our xmass lights on Dec. 6th, most the time sweating in out shorts. And the bugs there, I never seen so many different kinds of bugs. My Son had over 300 vials of different specimens.

Princess Blue was found right off a HWY so people had to be smelling her decompose. But it also smells real bad down there with all the refineries and such. Pasadena is right next to Houston and is referred to as Stinkadena.

Sly

yw, Clay

Claycat said:

Thank you, RKnowley!

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LionRun said:

Gina, thank you so much for posting this link!.

Okay, I didn't find any ring that could be Princess's ring in the lost section. So, I emailed the owner of the sight to ask her if she would print something about it in the found section. This is what I asked her to quote.

"Found 9/10/90 in Manvel, Texas - 1975 Robert E. Lee High School, Houston, TX, ladies ring, size 9 1/2. The ring is made with a silver metal alloy, has a blue stone with an engraved, "L", and has no detectable engravings on the inner band. The words, "Houston, Texas" is clearly visible and surrounds the stone. Please email (my email addy) if you have information about or have lost this a ring like this."

Lion

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You might want to add something about 9 1/2 not being the original ring size.

I don't know if anybody else has found this or not - but here is a historic Houston website with a poster talking about riots at Robert E Lee High in 1975. HE WAS A SENIOR THERE AT THAT TIME!

I registered for the site and will send him a PM if no one else already has. He last posted 12-18-2008 from his profile so he should be still active.

Please, please let me know if I should proceed.

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/index.php?showtopic=7660

Hi Leve, he has been contacted in the past. He came over here to WebSleuths and answered a couple of questions. That was some time ago though. It sure wouldn't hurt to get in touch with him again and see if he may recall anymore or perhaps some friend of his from REL may recall more.

Leve said:

I don't know if anybody else has found this or not - but here is a historic Houston website with a poster talking about riots at Robert E Lee High in 1975. HE WAS A SENIOR THERE AT THAT TIME!

I registered for the site and will send him a PM if no one else already has. He last posted 12-18-2008 from his profile so he should be still active.

Please, please let me know if I should proceed.

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/index.php?showtopic=7660

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The Doe Network:
Case File 137UFTX

Reconstructions of Victim
Unidentified White/Hispanic Female

• The victim was discovered on September 10, 1990 in Brazoria County, Texas.
• Estimated Date of Death: 1-5 Years
• Skeletal Remains

Vital Statistics

• Estimated age: 15 - 25 years old
• Approximate Height and Weight: 4'11" - 5'3"; with a slight to medium build.
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Originally thought to be Hispanic, the new analysis indicates the young woman was White, with the probability of some Black traits. According to the forensic analysis, it is likely one parent or one grandparent was Black.
• Skeletal Findings: Two fractured ribs; and a "defect" on a bone beneath her left knee. The victim possibly had a tumor on her knee.
• Fingerprints: Not Available skeletal
• Dentals: Available. There were several teeth with untreated carries, and two amalgam fillings. Noteworthy though, is that tooth #10, an upper left, lateral incisor, which is right next to her two front most teeth was surgically removed prior to death and the corresponding alveolar space was partially obliterated by mature bone.
• DNA: Available IN CODIS
• Nickname: "Princess Blue"
• Jewelry: One pearl, beaded bracelet
  Six rings,
  One gold band ring with six clear stones
  One silver band with a scroll design,
  Two thin silver bands
  One silver-colored ring with a turquoise horse or unicorn,
  One 1975, size 9 1/2, Robert E. Lee, Houston, TX High School ring. This ring has a blue stone with a silver colored, inexpensive metal band. It is unknown whether or not there were ever engravings on the inner side of the ring's band. The ring was upsized twice, which would have removed evidence of previous engravings. However, it does have an inlaid, "L" which many students chose as an option that year that stands for the school mascot, Robert E. Lee himself.

Victim's Rings
Case History
The victim was located on a pile of debris at the end of a Brazoria County road (101) just east of Highway 288 inside the Manvel city limits on September 10, 1990.
The skeleton was found by a man who had pulled off the highway to relieve himself. He stepped behind a barricade and saw a skull in an old tire.
No purse, wallet, clothing or hair were located around the skeleton, six rings were on the fingers, and a bracelet around her wrist.
The company that made Robert E. Lee High School's (now Lee High School) rings doesn't have records from 1975. The Lee class of 1975 had about 300 girls. Authorities would like to hear from any of the girls who lost a ring or gave it to somebody else.
Toxicology tests yielded no trace of opiates in her bone marrow. However, it is unknown whether or not other drugs were present, tested for or could have been tested for.

Please see http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/137uftx.html for information on who to contact if you have any information regarding this case.

The Doe Network:
Case File 137UFTX

Reconstructions of Victim
Unidentified White/Hispanic Female

• The victim was discovered on September 10, 1990 in Brazoria County, Texas.
• Estimated Date of Death: 1-5 Years
• Skeletal Remains

Vital Statistics

• Estimated age: 15 - 25 years old
• Approximate Height and Weight: 4'11" - 5'3"; with a slight to medium build.
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Originally thought to be Hispanic, the new analysis indicates the young woman was White, with the probability of some Black traits. According to the forensic analysis, it is likely one parent or one grandparent was Black.
• Skeletal Findings: Two fractured ribs; and a "defect" on a bone beneath her left knee. The victim possibly had a tumor on her knee.
• Fingerprints: Not Available skeletal
• Dentals: Available. There were several teeth with untreated carries, and two amalgam fillings. Noteworthy though, is that tooth #10, an upper left, lateral incisor, which is right next to her two front most teeth was surgically removed prior to death and the corresponding alveolar space was partially obliterated by mature bone.
• DNA: Available IN CODIS
• Nickname: "Princess Blue"
• Jewelry: One pearl, beaded bracelet

• 
  Six rings,
  One gold band ring with six clear stones
  One silver band with a scroll design,
  Two thin silver bands
  One silver-colored ring with a turquoise horse or unicorn,
  One 1975, size 9 1/2, Robert E. Lee, Houston, TX High School ring. This ring has a blue stone with a silver colored, inexpensive metal band. It is unknown whether or not there were ever engravings on the inner side of the ring's band. The ring was upsized twice, which would have removed evidence of previous engravings. However, it does have an inlaid, "L" which many students chose as an option that year that stands for the school mascot, Robert E. Lee himself.

Victim's Rings
Case History
The victim was located on a pile of debris at the end of a Brazoria County road (101) just east of Highway 288 inside the Manvel city limits on September 10, 1990.
The skeleton was found by a man who had pulled off the highway to relieve himself. He stepped behind a barricade and saw a skull in an old tire.
No purse, wallet, clothing or hair were located around the skeleton, six rings were on the fingers, and a bracelet around her wrist.
The company that made Robert E. Lee High School's (now Lee High School) rings doesn't have records from 1975. The Lee class of 1975 had about 300 girls. Authorities would like to hear from any of the girls who lost a ring or gave it to somebody else.
Toxicology tests yielded no trace of opiates in her bone marrow. However, it is unknown whether or not other drugs were present, tested for or could have been tested for.

Investigators
If you have any information about this case please contact:
Manvel Police Department
Detective Sergeant Jay Coffman
281-489-1212
Email
or
Brazoria County Sheriff's Office
Investigator Richard Rosser
281-756-2218
Email
or
Harris County Medical Examiner
Jennifer Love
713-796-6827
713-796-9292
Email
Or
Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse
800-346-3243
You may remain anonymous when submitting information.
Agency Case Number:
TXDPS U0401002
NCIC Number:
U600005786
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case. Source Information:
Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse
Chron Com
My Fox Houston 6/7/07
TXDPS
UDRS

The links above don't work for me, so hopefully this one will: http://www.doenetwork.org/

then search for 137UFTX


Salem

froggierintexas said:

You might want to add something about 9 1/2 not being the original ring size.

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I was just curious if there were any reports of what fingers the rings were on when they found the body? If the ring was 9-1/2 it is quite possible she was wearing it on her index or middle finger. My index finger is a 9 and my ring finger is a 8-1/2.

Reading this thread I am amazed by the people who are being considered as matches. According to estimates of Princess Blue's age she would be born in 1968 to 1973. Anyone born before 1968 is simply too old to be her.

dee10134 said:

I was just curious if there were any reports of what fingers the rings were on when they found the body? If the ring was 9-1/2 it is quite possible she was wearing it on her index or middle finger. My index finger is a 9 and my ring finger is a 8-1/2.

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Good thought. Size 9 1/2 is very large for a small person. I would expect a size 6 would be about right for an average weight 5 foot tall female. The large ring size might have played a part in the original guess of 175 lbs.

WmHersey said:

Reading this thread I am amazed by the people who are being considered as matches. According to estimates of Princess Blue's age she would be born in 1968 to 1973. Anyone born before 1968 is simply too old to be her.

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WmHersey, that is just an estimate, it isn't exact. I have seen cases where they were way off. Just recently they estimated an UID to be about 12 and she was 19.

I'm a 1975 graduate of Robert E. Lee (now just Lee) High School in Houston. I attended Lee from 1972 to 1975, for my sophomore, junior, and senior years. I also lived close to Lee; I walked to school every day. I just found my way to this site yesterday through a Facebook post on a board for Lee graduates. There are over a thousand posts here about Princess Blue and I've only browsed through them, so forgive me if I'm repeating or ignorant of things already discussed.

I looked at the facial reconstruction drawings of Princess Blue and they don't resemble anyone I knew. Which doesn't mean much. It was a huge school, 650 in my graduating class alone, and I never had much of a social life at Lee. However, I have several suggestions and offers to make.

First, I have my Lee yearbooks for 1973, 1974, and 1975. Another post here says that the '75 yearbook has been scanned and is available online. I'm willing to scan the '73 and '74 yearbooks as well and make those scans available.

Second, several people have suggested contacting class members through Classmates.com. I'm a member of Classmates, and the last time I counted, about 250 of the 650 graduates of '75 were registered there. Another site, MyLife.com, has a similar registry. I'm a member there too, and I think they have 400 signed up from the class of '75. There's a lot of overlap between the 250 and the 400, but still, I think between the two sites anyone could quickly reach about two-thirds of the class of '75. I assume the numbers are similar for other graduating years.

I'm willing to post a notice on the Classmates and MyLife boards for the Lee class of '75 and other graduating years, describing Princess Blue and asking for help. I'm also willing to help with an effort to directly email every registered graduate from 1975 and other years.

I can also try to find yearbooks from other years and scan them too. I can look for them through Classmates and MyLife; I know who the class officers were for the classes of 1973-1975 and would contact them first; and I can visit Lee and the Houston Independent School District and see what I can find through them. I'm in Houston often; I have family and friends there and I live 4 hours away.

These are obvious things and they may already have been covered by police or members of Websleuths. If not, and I can help, I will. Please email me through the Websleuths board.

-- Chris Schulman, Class of 1975, Robert E. Lee (now Lee) High School, Houston, Texas

Salem said:

I have not been to this site in awhile, but did we ever find any yearbooks for Robert E. Lee High School? Has there been any communication with any of the class presidents? Princess Blue was found in Sept. 1990 right? Class presidents generally round everyone up for class reunions. I wonder if there is any one female that consistently does not come to the reunion and for which the reunion committee can never find contact information?

I believe this girl went to that high school at some point. She may be from a class as far back as 1985 and she may be from the 1993 class. All the known information about her is "best guess" except her DNA and her jewelry.

Is there more than one Robert E. Lee high school? I'm sure there is, I'll go google.

Salem

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I was just wondering if this girl has ever been looked into? -

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/hernandez_cynthia.html

I know that it isn't likely because of the date she went missing. The website has her missing as of August 26, 1976 but I'm not sure if that's correct. It says the photo of her is from 1978 and then goes on to state that her social security number hasn't been used since 1978 too so I think it's more likely that the date got mixed up and she actually went missing in 1978.

I think she looks similar to the composite sketch and the mention of her rings made me think hmm. Thoughts?

dee10134 said:

I was just curious if there were any reports of what fingers the rings were on when they found the body? If the ring was 9-1/2 it is quite possible she was wearing it on her index or middle finger. My index finger is a 9 and my ring finger is a 8-1/2.

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I too was wondering about which fingers the rings were on, but for a different reason. If any were on the left ring finger, that usually (though, not always) is reserved for a boyfriend's/husbands ring.

Also, I'm seeing that Princess Blue is estimated 16-22 yoa on some sites. If that is the case, and she died in 1990, then her dob years would have been 1968 - 1974. So, my question is what if she was 15 and was BORN IN 1975, decided when she found the class ring that she'd wear it sort of as an ID ring. If she was 15 it would explain her wisdom's not out yet too, yes???

Just a thought.