CA CA - Los Angeles Co., Wht/HispFem UP7573, AsianMale UP7571, Angeles Forest, Dec'09

[CarlK90245]

If it was a murder suicide, the weapon would still be there.

 

[JLMcKenna83]

I have the exact same ring as the sapphire one.. they are commonly birthstone rings, I gave two of them (one emerald and one sapphire) to my sister when her children were born. The necklace looks like a man's necklace..

 

[CarlK90245]

... Or they could be totally unrelated... which implies that the only person ever to discover the first dump site was going to dispose of his own victim... unless of course the two were quite widely separated.

I tend to believe that option. The highway is long, but there are only so many turn-outs or service roads where one can park a car unnoticed. With a limited number of inconspicuous stopping points, it may just be just coincidence that two unrelated killers saw the same convenient parking spot next to the same easily accessible hillside.

The reports say that the bones were found above the Big Tujunga Reservior near mile marker 19.36. This would place it in the vicinity of the spot shown in this Google Earth view which I found by looking at the roadside mile markers in Google Earth's street view.

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=34.307822,-118.152369&spn=0.003261,0.005466&t=h&z=18

(Note to anyone who read my earlier comments: after looking at the Google Earth street view, I completely revised my comments and map link after realizing that my earlier comments were way off.)

 

[PMLsmom]

Here is a couple who disappeared from NV...Can't seem to post link, here is case number from Doe:

The Doe Network:
Case File 540DFNV - Wife

The Doe Network:
Case File 294DMNV - Husband

 

[Mensch]

This article includes a picture of the rings, which look like women's rings to me:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-skulls15-2010jan15,0,5043903.story

And this one has the necklace:

http://www.insidesocal.com/sgvcrime/2010/01/officials-release-photos-of-je.html

Obviously robbery was not the motive.

Thanks for posting the photos carbuff. The three rings do go together. The ruby-emerald-saphire threesome set came in many designs and became very popular in the early 80's - could be late 70's. the link chain is very unusual. The first one I saw like that was a bracelet in the 70's. I will try to pinpint the time. The style is "Mariner" link
Edited to say: Maybe someone wants to check the author of the article. The stones are listed there as "black" but I bet the farm they are dark blue saphires. That was the trend in the three in set.

 

[carbuff]

Thanks for posting the photos carbuff. The three rings do go together. The ruby-emerald-saphire threesome set came in many designs and became very popular in the early 80's - could be late 70's. the link chain is very unusual. The first one I saw like that was a bracelet in the 70's. I will try to pinpint the time. The style is "Mariner" link
Edited to say: Maybe someone wants to check the author of the article. The stones are listed there as "black" but I bet the farm they are dark blue saphires. That was the trend in the three in set.

I agree, I thought it looked like those nested rings. Emerald-ruby-sapphire was certainly the most common set, but one of my friends had diamond-sapphire-topaz because those were the birthstones of her children.

 

[LovinTK]

I was just wondering if anyone had heard anything about this case?

 

[CarlK90245]

I've been watching (and listening) for it on the local news and radio, and doing a google searches every couple of weeks. I haven't heard anything .

 

[TripleA]

The three rings do go together. The ruby-emerald-saphire threesome set came in many designs and became very popular in the early 80's - could be late 70's. the link chain is very unusual. The first one I saw like that was a bracelet in the 70's. I will try to pinpint the time. The style is "Mariner" link

That was my immediate thought (having grown up in the 70s and 80s) that the ring set was from the early 80s. I also had a bracelet with that same link in the 80s. They were worn by both men and women at that time.

 

[Texas Mist]

KTLA News
9:17 AM PDT, July 8, 2010

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles County Coroner is asking for public help to identify a mystery woman whose remains were found in the Angeles National Forest ten months ago.

Investigators say the skeletal remains of the woman were found on a hillside along Angeles Forest Highway in the Angeles National Forest on December 26, 2009.

The remains were determined to be a White or Hispanic female between 20 and 40 years old. The victim may have been at this location for an extended period of time, possibly several years prior to the "Station Fire" in August 2009, according to detectives.

more here

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-jane-doe-coroner,0,7094191.story

 

[CarlK90245]

Thanks, TexasMist. For months, I've been periodically looking for addtional info on these two skulls.


Michalle Houchman?

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

Her family members' passports, wallets, and photos were discarded on the side of the Antelope Valley Freeway (Hwy 14) near Acton. That is right at the North end of Angeles Forest Highway, where the skulls were found.

ETA: From a skeletal standpoint, they are quite similar.

Michalle has quite fleshy cheeks and squinty eyes, neither of which the forensic artist would have any way of knowing with just a skull to work from.

The main thing that raises doubts is her age (15), well below the estimate for the UID (20 - 40).

 

[Claudette]

I think it is worth keeping an open mind on the rings being children's birthstone rings. If this were the case:

Ruby = July
Emerald = May
Sapphire = September

 

[Claudette]

Also, that necklace is most likely a guys necklace, at least if it is within the last 10-15 years (at least). Typically "tough" guys wore them, or those that liked to dress that way to appear tough

 

[carbuff]

Also, that necklace is most likely a guys necklace, at least if it is within the last 10-15 years (at least). Typically "tough" guys wore them, or those that liked to dress that way to appear tough

Also popular with young professionals.

 

[CarlK90245]

I called in Michalle Houchman to the LA County Coroner and spoke with Daniel Machian. He took down the info and said that he would get right on it.

I am somewhat doubtful about this, but nevertheless, they should be aware of any young females whose bodies were thought to have been dumped in Angeles Forest.

I doubt that with all of the MP's in Los Angeles, they are probably not able to come up with a screen of people whose circumstances tie them to likely disposal in that vicinity. I'll let them decide whether or not the age discrepancy is too significant.

 

[CarlK90245]

I made a follow-up call to Daniel Machian, to see if Michalle Houchman was ruled-out. He said that she was not ruled out yet.

While I had him on the phone, I told him that Michalle had gone missing along with her father and brother, and the narrative indicates that Sol was probably killed by a gunshot. Consequently, it might be worth looking into whether the male skull with the bullet hole might be that of her father Sol Salomon.

He also provided some additional info. He said that they can't do a facial reconstruction on the male skull because the skull was not complete enough to be able to reconstruct the face.

He also said that the male was approximately 25-40 years old, and was of either Caucasian or Hispanic ethnicity. That might be a little young to be Sol Salomon, but who knows how accurate the estimate is.

 

[carbuff]

I made a follow-up call to Daniel Machian, to see if Michalle Houchman was ruled-out. He said that she was not ruled out yet.

While I had him on the phone, I told him that Michalle had gone missing along with her father and brother, and the narrative indicates that Sol was probably killed by a gunshot. Consequently, it might be worth looking into whether the male skull with the bullet hole might be that of her father Sol Salomon.

He also provided some additional info. He said that they can't do a facial reconstruction on the male skull because the skull was not complete enough to be able to reconstruct the face.

He also said that the male was approximately 25-40 years old, and was of either Caucasian or Hispanic ethnicity. That might be a little young to be Sol Salomon, but who knows how accurate the estimate is.

Charley project says Sol was 35 when they disappeared, so that's within range.

Any idea why Michalle is the only family member Charley lists as missing?

 

[CarlK90245]

Charley project says Sol was 35 when they disappeared, so that's within range.

Any idea why Michalle is the only family member Charley lists as missing?

:doh: For some reason, I thought he was older and did not go back and check the Charley page.

Michalle is the only one in Charley because she is the only one for whom a photo is available.

 

[carbuff]

:doh: For some reason, I thought he was older and did not go back and check the Charley page.

Michalle is the only one in Charley because she is the only one for whom a photo is available.

Thanks. That seems odd they wouldn't have photos, but...

You would certainly expect the father of a 15-year-old to be older. But that makes it more likely to be a match. I don't know CA geography very well -- is the place where the skull was found anywhere near the place where the family was supposed to have been buried?

 

[CarlK90245]

Thanks. That seems odd they wouldn't have photos, but...

You would certainly expect the father of a 15-year-old to be older. But that makes it more likely to be a match. I don't know CA geography very well -- is the place where the skull was found anywhere near the place where the family was supposed to have been buried?

Yes, it is very close. I have a friend who lives on Angeles Forest Highway near Acton just off of the 14 freeway. The 14 winds through a long, arid canyon area, and Acton is just a couple of turnoffs before the 14 turns north into the flat desert communities of Palmdale and Lancaster. If you turn-off at Acton, you get right onto the Angeles Forest Highway, which takes you into the Angeles Forest. But don't let the name "Angeles Forest" fool you into thinking it's all green trees. The terrain near Acton is more dry, rugged, and desert-like, than it is green and forest like.

The narrative indicates that wallets, passports, and photos were dumped at the side of the 14 freeway near Acton. So it's entirely possible that they exited in the Acton area. From the first exit past Acton, the only logical route to the most desolate area possible is up Angeles Forest Highway, where the skulls were found.

ETA: I measured the distance up Angeles Forest Hwy from Hwy 14 to the area where the skulls were found and it is about 20 miles.