NJ NJ - Blairstown "Princess Doe", WhtFem 36UFNJ, 14-18, Jul'82

Richard · #1 10-14-2004, 01:39 PM

"Blairstown Princess Doe" Unidentified girl murdered July 1982 Blairstown, NJ

BLAIRSTOWN NJ UNIDENTIFIED GIRL
DOB: Jan 1, 1968 (Approximation)
Found: Jul 15, 1982
Age at time of discovery: 14 (Approximation)
Age Now: 36
Sex: Female
Race: White
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Unknown
Height: 5'2" (157 cm)
Weight: 110 lbs (50 kg)
Found: BLAIRSTOWN, NJ, United States
NCMEC-Unidentified

Circumstances:
On July 15, 1982, the remains of a white female were found at the north end of Cedar Ridge Cemetery on State Hwy 94, in Warren Co., NJ. This homicide victim, between 14 and 18 years of age, is believed to have been deceased for up to one week before her discovery. Her hair was shoulder-length. Her weight was estimated between 100 to 120 lbs. Her eye color couldn't be determined.

Clothing and Accessories:
She was wearing a red V-neck shirt with yellow piping on the front portion of the shoulder and blue and black piping around the neck, sleeves and waist. She had a wrap around skirt colored red, white and blue with a border print of peacocks on the lower portion. She had a gold chain with white beads and a 14K gold cross with ornate design.

The image shown in the linked poster is a computer-assisted facial reconstruction done by forensic artists at the NCMEC. The "DOB" and "Age" fields are approximations.

At one time, a woman called NCMEC and said she was working at a local motel (near Blairstown) when the "Princess" checked in - about two nights before she was probably murdered. She did not recall the name, but did recall "Princess" was looking to be a hotel maid and said her father was dentist and that she was a runaway from FL. Dental charts of "Princess" were compared with those of Emma Vaughn, a missing girl from Orlando, Florida, but there was no match.

ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT--
Warren County Prosecutor's Office (New Jersey), Attn.: Sgt. Steve Speirs Jr. -1-908-475-6624

Link
http://www.missingkids.com/missingki...archLang=en_US

shadowangel · #2 05-20-2005, 08:21 PM

I thought that someone would have commented on this case, another of those that just boggle the mind....It is just so hard to understand that this girl has not been identifed. Her movements in the days and weeks before her death have been traced, and LE have even spoken to people in MD who had met her...
If anyone is travelling through the Blairstown, NJ area, I recommend stopping by the memorial erected to this young lady...

http://www.poconorecord.com/special/doe/doe1.htm for more info on the investigation

I've even been wondering if there's a connection to the young lady found in Caledonia NYa couple of years earlier (this story has its own thread)....Simlar age, build, general description, both disposed of in similar ways...There's been a lot of speculation about the racing connection, and Blairstown is about 30 miles from Long Pond PA and the Pocono Raceway-and July is prime racing time.....

Fronkensteen · #3 05-23-2005, 10:05 AM

This case has often been held up as a possible match to "Princess Doe":

http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/129dfca.html

I am not sure if any DNA comparisons were done, or if she was ruled out in any other way.

Rachael · #4 05-23-2005, 10:13 AM

I can see the similarities between the two (from the first post and the last post pictures). Did LE ever look into the possibility of the NJ body being the girl from CA?

Fronkensteen · #5 05-23-2005, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rachael

I can see the similarities between the two (from the first post and the last post pictures). Did LE ever look into the possibility of the NJ body being the girl from CA?

Thanks for your reply. It's been investigated, but I'm not sure if they were ever able to rule her out one way or the other.

Rachael · #6 05-23-2005, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fronkensteen

Thanks for your reply. I believe it's been investigated, but I'm not sure if they were ever able to rule her out one way or the other.

It says they have dental records for the girl from CA. I would think there is someway to identify the body.

Fronkensteen · #7 05-23-2005, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rachael

It says they have dental records for the girl from CA. I would think there is someway to identify the body.

You're right. However, I believe the results of the dental comparisons were inconclusive, meaning they couldn't definitively prove whether Diane was or wasn't Princess Doe.

sharon25 · #8 05-23-2005, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fronkensteen

You're right. However, I believe the results of the dental comparisons were inconclusive, meaning they couldn't definitively prove whether Diane was or wasn't Princess Doe.

how odd,

I also thought that a woman name Diane (different than this Diane) looked similar to the
remains of the Jane Doe found in Caledonia NY.

Could that just be a coincidence?

shadowangel · #9 05-23-2005, 12:48 PM

In '99, DNA testing was conducted on Princess Doe, attempting a match to Diane Dye-the results were "inconlcusive". At one time, it was thought that she may have been an early victim of Joel Rifkin, the serial killer of 17 prostitutes in NY. However, no connection could be established. There were also several unsolved murders along I-80 during that time frame, indicating the possibility of an as-yet unknown serial killer at work.

HesterMofet · #10 05-23-2005, 07:07 PM

I'm thinking that given the age range for Princess Doe -- 14-18, she must've been in the latter half of that range. If she died in 82 and had been working since 79, that would make her 11 or 12 when she started work if she was 14 when she died. Highly unlikely unless she was an extremely mature child. When I was 12 I looked 16, but certainly didn't act it. My bet is that she was 17 or 18, just given the time span for working.

Make sense?

Mullins · #11 07-05-2005, 01:19 PM

I think I found a couple of the I 80 homocides you referred to---but do you have a list by chance? I would be interested to research further. If not that's ok I can continue to look....

I've noticed several in Montmouth County also. Blunt force traumas that might be comparable to Princess Doe's. Do you know if the ones along I 80 were gunshots or blunt force---or other?

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadowangel

In '99, DNA testing was conducted on Princess Doe, attempting a match to Diane Dye-the results were "inconlcusive". At one time, it was thought that she may have been an early victim of Joel Rifkin, the serial killer of 17 prostitutes in NY. However, no connection could be established. There were also several unsolved murders along I-80 during that time frame, indicating the possibility of an as-yet unknown serial killer at work.

shadowangel · #12 07-06-2005, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mullins

I think I found a couple of the I 80 homocides you referred to---but do you have a list by chance? I would be interested to research further. If not that's ok I can continue to look....

I've noticed several in Montmouth County also. Blunt force traumas that might be comparable to Princess Doe's. Do you know if the ones along I 80 were gunshots or blunt force---or other?

Here are a few of the missing/unidentified's I found, there are more. I looked for possibles that were either located within a few miles of I-80 (NJ/PA) or missing from towns on I-80.
1976-white female found under I-80, White Haven PA strangled, shot in neck, dismembered and remains placed in suitcases
1978-Joanne Williams, missing from Scranton PA-car found on street near I-380, an I-80 to I-81 connector
1982-"Princess Doe", found in Blairstown NJ
1990-partial skeleton of 20-30 year old white female found in Wayne NJ, believed deceased in 1985
1990-15-22 year old white female found, Monroe PA, blunt force trauma
1991-"Tiger Lady", so named for tiger tatoo on leg, found Warren City NJ
1992-remains of 30-40 year old white female found dismembered, bagged and in suitcase, in Hackensack NJ
2002-remains of white female, 22-32 years old, found in Denville NJ
2004-Sherry Gallagher, 40 years old, missing from Wharton, NJ
2005-Marrissa Schiffert, 17, missing from Dumont NJ

I-80 connects with I-95, the "East Coast Highway", near Ft Lee NJ (just across the Hudson from NYC). It then travels west, crossing PA.

Mullins · #13 07-14-2005, 09:14 AM

This will be helpful thanks so much

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadowangel

Here are a few of the missing/unidentified's I found, there are more. I looked for possibles that were either located within a few miles of I-80 (NJ/PA) or missing from towns on I-80.
1976-white female found under I-80, White Haven PA strangled, shot in neck, dismembered and remains placed in suitcases
1978-Joanne Williams, missing from Scranton PA-car found on street near I-380, an I-80 to I-81 connector
1982-"Princess Doe", found in Blairstown NJ
1990-partial skeleton of 20-30 year old white female found in Wayne NJ, believed deceased in 1985
1990-15-22 year old white female found, Monroe PA, blunt force trauma
1991-"Tiger Lady", so named for tiger tatoo on leg, found Warren City NJ
1992-remains of 30-40 year old white female found dismembered, bagged and in suitcase, in Hackensack NJ
2002-remains of white female, 22-32 years old, found in Denville NJ
2004-Sherry Gallagher, 40 years old, missing from Wharton, NJ
2005-Marrissa Schiffert, 17, missing from Dumont NJ

I-80 connects with I-95, the "East Coast Highway", near Ft Lee NJ (just across the Hudson from NYC). It then travels west, crossing PA.

Mullins · #14 07-17-2005, 12:54 PM

I think so too and it looks like her manager/supervisor from Harrison Hall at Ocean City could have given some more details about that. I wonder if they did...I started a thread a while back on two girls that were missing runaways from Nashville TN (Shannon Elmore and Tanya Rogers) and the picture I have of Shannon from the newspaper looks so much like the computer generated composite of Princess Doe. I know it's a longshot but I would love to go back and research further --- haven't made it back to the TN Library and Archives though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HesterMofet

I'm thinking that given the age range for Princess Doe -- 14-18, she must've been in the latter half of that range. If she died in 82 and had been working since 79, that would make her 11 or 12 when she started work if she was 14 when she died. Highly unlikely unless she was an extremely mature child. When I was 12 I looked 16, but certainly didn't act it. My bet is that she was 17 or 18, just given the time span for working.

Make sense?

smile22 · #15 07-17-2005, 07:44 PM

they said the dentals were inconclusive do they have dna on the california girl? that they could match up to princess doe?

coco · #16 07-18-2005, 01:52 PM

On a website it says that just the top half Princess Doe was found. Anyone know if thats right? I didn't think it was.

shadowangel · #17 07-18-2005, 08:32 PM

I know the site you're talking about, the site took some freedom with the facts (the statement about only half of her being found was based on the reconstruction of Princess Doe,from the waist up). It also confused Princess Doe with another unidentified female found nearby, confirmed to be a victim of Joel Rifkin (the victim's head was found in a bucket on a golf course, her lower torso found nearby some time later). Known only as "Susie", she is believed to be a prostitute from NYC. Her identity is still unknown.

coco · #18 07-19-2005, 04:09 AM

It also confused Princess Doe with another unidentified female found nearby, confirmed to be a victim of Joel Rifkin (the victim's head was found in a bucket on a golf course, her lower torso found nearby some time later). Known only as "Susie", she is believed to be a prostitute from NYC. Her identity is still unknown.

Was "Susie" the one who was supposed to have had AIDS? Or did I read that wrong?

shadowangel · #19 07-19-2005, 06:15 AM

"Was "Susie" the one who was supposed to have had AIDS? Or did I read that wrong?"

Yes, "Susie" was HIV positive.

Mullins · #20 07-19-2005, 11:55 AM

Which do you believe is the more accurate pictorial account of Princess Doe, the bust or the computer generated composite? I feel the latter, but appreciate the efforts put into constructing the bust. The bust does look like the image of someone who would've been older than the range of Princess Doe too IMO. What do you think?

coco · #21 07-20-2005, 06:09 AM

Were investigators able to find out if " Princess doe" had been sexually assualted or anything in that nature? Actually if they were able to determine if she had been sexually active full stop may be able to rule out her having been a prostitute, as had been speculated.

Mullins · #22 07-29-2005, 08:58 AM

I don't know if they collected evidence such as a rape kit, but I would say that they did due to the fact that she was found partially clothed. It would be helpful to know if LE suspected or determined sexual assault.

shadowangel · #23 08-05-2005, 11:22 AM

I'm just curious...Has Leah Van Schoick ever been looked at as a possible match to Princess Doe? She was reported as having last been seen in August of '82, however she was reported to have been living with a biker, so the accuracy of the information may be suspect. The age and general appearance is correct...and her family is from New Jersey. A possible scenario...she leaves the boyfriend to return home (or is working her way home, or simply wants to hide in familiar surroundings), and he catches up to her...this would explain the savagery of the beating which killed her.

The MD information has never been confirmed, and members of LE disagree as to whether or not Princess Doe was ever there.

Here is her Charley Project page:
http://charleyproject.org/cases/v/vanschoick_leah.html

Just thinking out loud.

mere · #24 08-05-2005, 04:44 PM

It looks really good, but the time does not match up.

shadowangel · #25 08-05-2005, 06:38 PM

Yeah, I know, this was a long-shot...I came across Schoick while checking out something entirely different. Not just the appearance, but the fact that she is originally from NJ caught my eye. There is just so little reported in the Schoick case, but from what little I can find I don't think she was in close contact with her family (17 and living in FL with a biker?) Could be, in my scenario, the boyfriend kills her in NJ in July, returns to FL, and a few weeks later starts asking around about her...I don't think she was hanging with a politically correct crowd.