351UFDE
351UFDE - Unidentified Female
Date of Discovery: January 24, 2002
Location of Discovery: Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware
Estimated Date of Death: Months prior
State of Remains: Decomposed
Cause of Death: Undetermined
Physical Description
Estimated Age: 20-40 years old
Race: Black
Sex: Female
Height: 5'3" to 5'5"
Weight: 100 lbs.
Hair: Black with reddish tone. Short and tightly curled.
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown
Identifiers
Dentals: Available.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Available.
Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: She was wearing a gray, long-sleeve
Ralph Lauren shirt with the
Polo Jeans Company logo on the left sleeve. A pair of black
Results brand, denim jeans and size 4
Timberlandboots.
Jewelry: At least one yellow-metal earring with a blue stone was found at the scene. It may not be associated with the decedent.
Additional Personal Items: Stuart Hall notebook with "Work Book" handwritten on it. Appears to have been cut down to a much smaller size. Miscelaneous papers, one reading "From your wife" in red ink and other words in a darker color. Liquor bottles/cans were also found at the scene, as well as food/candy wrappers, a cigarette pack and a bottle of motor oil. All of these items may not be associated with the decedent.
Circumstances of Discovery
The decedent was discovered on January 24, 2002, by workers boarding up a vacant house in the 1400 block of West Third Street.
The state Medical Examiner could not determine the cause of death because of the advanced state of decomposition.
Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: Delaware Div. of Forensic Science - Medical Examiner Unit
Agency Contact Person: James Schaeffer-Patton
Agency Phone Number: 302-577-3420
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 2002-N-0141
Agency Name: Wilmington City Police
Agency Contact Person: Martin Lenhardt
Agency Phone Number: 302-576-3940
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: Unknown
Agency Name: NCMEC
Agency Contact Person: Hal Brown
Agency Phone Number: 1-800-843-5678
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: Unknown
NCIC Case Number: U910002196
NamUs Case Number: 6288
Information Source(s)
NamUs
The News Journal
Admin Notes
Added: Prior to 2005; Last Updated: 8/29/18
--------------------------------------------
I just found out about her case a few days ago and it is very interesting to me, particularly the items that were found alongside her, particularly the "WORK BOOK". I don't know what that would be for, especially considering how small it was (it looks like a regular notebook had been cut horizontally into quarters); I doubt it's actually for taking notes or doing homework. I wonder if investigators have looked through it at all to see what, if anything, is written in it. I also think the "from your wife" note is interesting, and I don't know in what context such a note would be written. I am not entirely sure any of these items are actually hers, and neither is law enforcement, apparently. To me, this suggests that this vacant house had served as a hub for some sort of (possibly illegal) activity that attracted several different people, including this woman, who ultimately died there.
Another thing: some of the possessions that are ostensibly hers seem to be rather nice and perhaps, even expensive. She was found with Ralph Lauren clothing and Timberland footwear; the clothing is confirmed to be hers. I'm thinking that she may have once been of stable means, but she could have fallen on hard times in the months or years leading up to her death. I did some research, and the zip code of the home where she was located (19806) actually might be relatively wealthy; about 30% of household incomes there exceed $100K a year, and over half exceed $50K. I'm not sure how uniformly distributed the wealth is, though; there could very well be disparaged areas, as well.
Additionally, one of her recons (the last one I have pasted here, which is next to the picture of her backpack) looks kind of funny. I don't know if it's because of the style of the artist who created it, but to me, it looks sort of like a person with African hair and dark skin, but with Caucasian features. There are other pictures of it on her Doe Net page that give a better idea of what I'm talking about. Also, it's never specified whether or not the reddish tint to her hair was natural or if she dyed her hair; if it is natural, I think she could very well be racially mixed.
There's a lot more I could say about this. I think this is definitely one of the stranger unidentified cases I've seen. I'm surprised nobody has posted a thread for her yet.
It also depends on what kind of DNA it is. If they're both the same kind, than yes, they should automatically match-up. But if one is mitochondrial and the other isn't, they're not going to match. It's better to assume they're different (if everything else seems to match) and have it double-checked than have the potential match go unchecked.
