LA LA - Belle Chasse, WhtMale 16-17, UP88342, hanged, suicide note, Feb'75 #2

[Beekarina]

There are several good quality pics of Bayard Cousins here. VA - Bayard William Cousins, 22, Virginia Beach, 1 Feb 1975

In this one, he is clearly wearing braces. IF the UID had prior Orthodontia, that seems something that would have stood out and been mentioned, right?? And he probably would not have had protruding teeth.

 

[Ciriii57]

I cleaned up the yearbook images of Charles Wallace, shared previously. One is still B&W, the other a color edit, may be slightly off. It seems CW may have had a "lazy eye"? I thought it might be useful/interesting. View attachment 483977View attachment 483978

Thanks for doing that it's great to see.
I don't think it's a lazy eye though, there seems to be some issue with the original photo, perhaps a problem during development? (I'm not an expert at all!). The right hand side is blurred and if you look at the right lens of his glasses the shape is all wrong it almost looks like it was stretched or pulled somehow. It has also affected the shape of his mouth and I'd guess his hairline did not look like this where he appears to be balding somewhat.
It's a shame this is the only photo because it has some distortions. Does he perhaps appear elsewhere in the yearbook? Member of a club for instance?

 

[Beekarina]

Thanks for doing that it's great to see.
I don't think it's a lazy eye though, there seems to be some issue with the original photo, perhaps a problem during development? (I'm not an expert at all!). The right hand side is blurred and if you look at the right lens of his glasses the shape is all wrong it almost looks like it was stretched or pulled somehow. It has also affected the shape of his mouth and I'd guess his hairline did not look like this where he appears to be balding somewhat.
It's a shame this is the only photo because it has some distortions. Does he perhaps appear elsewhere in the yearbook? Member of a club for instance?

Sorry about the distortion! Although i think his mouth may be related to the injury with the internal scar?

I think he may have been balding a bit. I cropped in the original pic and the thinner patch of hair is still present.

Will see if I can find any additional images in addition to this one circulating from he earlier thread.

 

[Ciriii57]

Sorry about the distortion! Although i think his mouth may be related to the injury with the internal scar?

I think he may have been balding a bit. I cropped in the original pic and the thinner patch of hair is still present.

Will see if I can find any additional images in addition to this one circulating from he earlier thread.View attachment 484008

You're right, his hair looks a bit like a comb over, i wonder if he was receding. Because BCJD looks to have had quite a full head of hair (well at least from the reconstruction)

You know, when the files become publicly available next year we ought to be able to get an actual photograph of him taken by the coroner or funeral home. That could be absolutely invaluable (unless the medical examiners records were also destroyed in the flood?)

 

[Sweetluv]

From what I have read, EVERYTHING was destroyed during the hurricane pertaining to the UID....frustrating and sad.
That's why I have mentioned, how can anyone compare a possible missing person to this young man?

 

[Sweetluv]

Unless...an actual copy of his suicide note exists..and I have not been able to gather a definitive answer. And if it does, we would have to hope (since before 1975) a loved one would have held on to a handwriting sample of the missing to compare against the suicide note.

 

[carbuff]

Thanks for doing that it's great to see.
I don't think it's a lazy eye though, there seems to be some issue with the original photo, perhaps a problem during development? (I'm not an expert at all!). The right hand side is blurred and if you look at the right lens of his glasses the shape is all wrong it almost looks like it was stretched or pulled somehow. It has also affected the shape of his mouth and I'd guess his hairline did not look like this where he appears to be balding somewhat.
It's a shame this is the only photo because it has some distortions. Does he perhaps appear elsewhere in the yearbook? Member of a club for instance?

That can happen during the printing process when the paper slips slightly as it's being printed.

 

[Sweetluv]

In the previous thread someone, thank you, posted pics of Wallace and Cousins along side the deceased...I can see a likeness with both. Thanks Beekarina for adding these photos.

 

[Beekarina]

There is a snippet of the note preserved online. One source is the Medium article, The Boy in the Tree: a Tragic End in Louisiana. Screenshot below just in case that should ever vanish. (Edited--Although, I am not 100% certain this IS the BCJD's handwriting? Can anyone confirm?? The order is not the same as I have seen in some of the saved articles which printed more of the letter.)

 

[Beekarina]

@Sweetluv In the original thread @Tony1902 mentioned the death certificate would not be available until 50 years had passed. This leads me to have hope there is a possibility it was archived online prior to Katrina, and we may be able to get it next year if this is still unsolved.

 

[Diavola]

Talking about possible identities is kind of useless if we can't do anything about them.
Locating the body should be a priority. I don't know if GG companies like Othram would get involved if the body isn't located. I guess it's up to the LE department to locate it, but since this is a suicide I'm afraid it's considered low priority.

 

[Beekarina]

We know where his remains are located. The funeral home or cemetary would not provide the exact location--understandably.

 

[cenazoic]

Talking about possible identities is kind of useless if we can't do anything about them.

I kind of agree. There's something so unresolved about this young man (on several levels), and the case seems to exert a powerful draw to coming to a conclusion about likely identity, likely so one can rid themselves of the discomfort of this un-resolution.

I've always assumed the Mothe family knew where he was buried (cemeteries have to have a plot map) but it's possible it's been lost or even graves themselves have been upset in the intervening years and hurricanes.

The Louisiana State Police (who were never involved to begin with) nor Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's have any records, evidence, or other files related to this Doe due to Hurricane Katrina.

There is the thinnest possibility that some dusty police records room may have a copy of the note, or his fingerprints, sent out nationwide by the sheriff back in 1975, but how you would track those possibly existing fragments down I can't begin to imagine!

 

[Diavola]

We know where his remains are located. The funeral home or cemetary would not provide the exact location--understandably. View attachment 484038

I guess then it's an issue of getting someone to exhume obtain DNA. This case is pretty popular, at least in these circles, funding wouldn't be a problem.

 

[Sweetluv]

Can someone clarify something for me pls...It is my understanding that the body was "washed away" during Hurricane Katrina and never recovered...
Is this accurate?
I'm reading through the threads...buried in an unmarked grave at one of three possible cemeteries....then there is talk of cremation...

 

[cenazoic]

@Sweetluv, he was buried in Westlawn Cemetery in Gretna, LA sometime during the week of 8 June 1975. He was not cremated. He was buried in a section of the cemetery that was not open to the public, at least in 1975. (The attached article says it’s unmarked.).

What has been lost is his casefile - any images, fingerprints, the note, etc the police may have had was lost due to water damage from Katrina. Not his body (that I know of!)

 

[carbuff]

Can someone clarify something for me pls...It is my understanding that the body was "washed away" during Hurricane Katrina and never recovered...
Is this accurate?
I'm reading through the threads...buried in an unmarked grave at one of three possible cemeteries....then there is talk of cremation...

Because all the records were lost, it wasn't easy to determine where he had been buried. @Tony1902 (and others) tenaciously followed clues to locate him.

 

[Sweetluv]

cenazoic and carbuff..thank you for clarifying! I feel a little relieved now.

 

[carbuff]

Because all the records were lost, it wasn't easy to determine where he had been buried. @Tony1902 (and others) tenaciously followed clues to locate him.

That said, I'm not sure they have a precise enough location for exhumation. There may need to be more work before that could happen.

 

[Ciriii57]

@Sweetluv, he was buried in Westlawn Cemetery in Gretna, LA sometime during the week of 8 June 1975. He was not cremated. He was buried in a section of the cemetery that was not open to the public, at least in 1975. (The attached article says it’s unmarked.).

What has been lost is his casefile - any images, fingerprints, the note, etc the police may have had was lost due to water damage from Katrina. Not his body (that I know of!)

Hi @cenazoic , with your experience of older cases, Would you know if the local coroner or medical examiner would also hold a copy of the file? I'm not sure because this is a rural area that the the coroner would not be a full time ME and therefore probably not, or was it just the funeral director?
The FBI would have had the information at some point, I doubt it was destroyed, but it's probably buried very deeply in some archives and as good as lost.

So...are absolutely sure that no photos of BCJD exist anywhere? I mean this kid was in an open casket for weeks and weeks, I canr believe that some hack didn't take a photo for the newspaper? What were the local papers at the time and do they have archives? And finally what is the local library? They may have archived photos in some box somewhere...I have found librarians a vital and underused source in other cases.