MD MD - Judith 'Judy' O'Donnell, 19, Baltimore, 30 Nov 1980

[carbuff]

Thanks, that's very helpful. What a sad story. And so awful for you to have to deal with.

When you saw her at the inauguration party -- do you remember what she was wearing, how she looked, who was around her, or anything like that?

Do you have any kind of gut feeling about whether she's still alive?

Do you remember her ever talking about places where she might like to live or move to? Or connections (family, friends) besides NYC, Minnesota, and Maryland?

 

[JudysSisterMaureen]

today someone came forward and alleged that he heard, from Judy, that she had been verbally and sexually abused by someone in her immediate family. I confronted my mother whose trip down de Nile was immediate. It's possible that she was lying to this person - but why? And why would my mother not be horrified, aghast - instead of getting immediately defensive?

Whatever the case-I'm going to be like white on rice on the defrocked priest who I suspect "turned" her in the first place. He was defrocked for getting girls drunk and having sex with them. Hm My sister was running from something - maybe that? Or maybe she told my parents and they said she was lying ? Who the hell do you trust when that happens?

The truth is out there. I'll find it eventually. Thanks for letting me rant.

 

[carbuff]

today someone came forward and alleged that he heard, from Judy, that she had been verbally and sexually abused by someone in her immediate family. I confronted my mother whose trip down de Nile was immediate. It's possible that she was lying to this person - but why? And why would my mother not be horrified, aghast - instead of getting immediately defensive?

Whatever the case-I'm going to be like white on rice on the defrocked priest who I suspect "turned" her in the first place. He was defrocked for getting girls drunk and having sex with them. Hm My sister was running from something - maybe that? Or maybe she told my parents and they said she was lying ? Who the hell do you trust when that happens?

The truth is out there. I'll find it eventually. Thanks for letting me rant.

You have my deepest prayers and sympathies for your painful situation.

I've been poking around county medical examiners and sheriff websites in the Northeast looking for cases that haven't been entered in the national databases. Nothing so far...

 

[JudysSisterMaureen]

if any law enforcement is reading - what can I do with information that _may_ be relevant to this case - but it's so old that I might not?

My father is an alcoholic. He was never treated for it - but for quite a while drank- heavily- every night. He was physically and verbally abusive to each of us. He was organist and choirmaster at our church. HE DRANK EVERY NIGHT to escape or hide SOMETHING. WHAT DID HE KNOW? Damn it, my parents just won't talk. Judy was running from something. Maybe this guy:
http://www.nyclergyabuse.com/documents/Syracuse/William Lorenz.pdf

I've tried to get in touch with him. No luck yet - but I'm still hot on the trail. He was guidance counselor while my sister attended that same high school. Before she allegedly showed up drunk at the convent. And Fr. Lorenz called my folks to come get her. What are the chances she tried to tell them that he had gotten her drunk and took advantage of her - and they denied it - accused her of lying -

Sorry. I know this isn't supposed to be a place where people vent about cold cases. I'm just so wanting answers. And for 30 years there have been so few.

 

[Cazzie]

JudysSisterMaureen, I'm hoping that you'll be able to find your sister.

Her latest photos remind me of an Edie Sedgwick of the next generation...the "look", the lifestyle, NYC, etc. Reading about her history made me sad (so many risks taken).

I'll bet she'd be comforted to know that you still love her and want to find her. Your determination is inspiring.

Have you considered hiring a PI (one familiar with the NYC "scene" who might be able to find some of the people that Judy knew)?

 

[JudysSisterMaureen]

JudysSisterMaureen, I'm hoping that you'll be able to find your sister.

Her latest photos remind me of an Edie Sedgwick of the next generation...the "look", the lifestyle, NYC, etc. Reading about her history made me sad (so many risks taken).

I'll bet she'd be comforted to know that you still love her and want to find her. Your determination is inspiring.

Have you considered hiring a PI (one familiar with the NYC "scene" who might be able to find some of the people that Judy knew)?

with 3 small kids and a hubby who is already in our target city where we are moving, there's little enough do re mi to go around. That said, I have had many friends who dabble helping all along -- sometimes turning new stuff up, sometimes not. thanks for your kind words. I just want to get the truth - brutal not withstanding - so I can live my life without all this anger and frustration. I don't want my kids to get it from me. I want the cycle to STOP with my generation, at least with my kids.

 

[JudysSisterMaureen]

i had a long talk with the communications person from the diocese today. The more I cogitate on this, the more it all fits, like a puzzle. Now to get the priest to call me - I really just want answers. I just want peace. I'm never going to get answers from my parents. But I might _might_ be able to get them from the priest. Hopefully.

 

[JudysSisterMaureen]

how do I find out if my sister is among the bodies found on Jones Beach? Can any of you help with that?? The investigator with the NYS police hasn't returned any of my emails for the last 6 months. Another mention that Judy was raped on the facebook page, and another assertion that she withdrew the assertion, perhaps fear of reprisal? It makes me sick to think about what may have happened to her while she was alive, and how she may have met her fate.

 

[carbuff]

The Suffolk County and Nassau County sheriff's departments are in charge of the investigation and apparently the FBI is also heavily involved. You could try contacting any or all of them. Another person who might be interested in helping you is Jaclyn Gallucci at the Long Island Press. She's written a couple of their more thoughtful articles about missing women and the need for justice. They have an online contact form here: http://www.longislandpress.com/about/contact/


I've been looking through all the medical examiner websites I can find. So far I've looked about about 30 and haven't found any trace of anybody who matches Judy's description. Which I guess is good news.

 

[dsntslp]

I wonder if it is possible she knew Rodney Alcala when she lived in Greenwhich Village and he photographed her before he was arrested. That would be at least 1 1/2 years before she went missing though. When did Judith move to Greenwhich Village?

Alcala Timeline
TIMELINE - Where was Alcala and when? - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

Thread for the girl in the Alcala pic.
Funky colored shirt girl - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community
She does appear to have a scar on her chin.

 

[dsntslp]

The palms in the background of the Alcala pic sure don't add up to NY though.

Is there a possibility Judith's picture has been flipped so that we now see the image in reverse? Judith has a mole (if it is not artifact in the pic) that appears to match the girl in the Alcala pic if so.

Where exactly is the scar on Judith's chin, which direction does it run, how wide, how long and how old was the scar, please?

 

[JudysSisterMaureen]

there is no family resemblance between that picture and Judy. The mouth, the teeth, the chin, and the cheekbones. The nose could be - hers was broken at least once, I think.

today is her birthday she is, or would be, 50. She's been missing much longer than she was not.

 

[carbuff]

there is no family resemblance between that picture and Judy. The mouth, the teeth, the chin, and the cheekbones. The nose could be - hers was broken at least once, I think.

today is her birthday she is, or would be, 50. She's been missing much longer than she was not.

Happy birthday Judy!

I'm sorry she's been gone so long.

 

[JudysSisterMaureen]

I wonder if it is possible she knew Rodney Alcala when she lived in Greenwhich Village and he photographed her before he was arrested. That would be at least 1 1/2 years before she went missing though. When did Judith move to Greenwhich Village?

Alcala Timeline
TIMELINE - Where was Alcala and when? - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

Thread for the girl in the Alcala pic.
Funky colored shirt girl - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community
She does appear to have a scar on her chin.

Possibly. Judy had been living in the City for about a year before she went missing. She frequented Studio 54. She also hitch-hiked frequently, had a rap sheet in Myrtle Beach and NYC (prostitution). Alcala doesn't sound familiar but the alias sure as hell does.

 

[carbuff]

Possibly. Judy had been living in the City for about a year before she went missing. She frequented Studio 54. She also hitch-hiked frequently, had a rap sheet in Myrtle Beach and NYC (prostitution). Alcala doesn't sound familiar but the alias sure as hell does.

You might want to look through all the Alcala photos to see if you recognize Judy in any of them. This thread has pointers to several sites that published the photos he had hidden: ***Alcala's PICTURE LINKS*** - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

 

[JudysSisterMaureen]

The pages were all pretty slow-loading - any one of the girls posing could have been her, but either the ages, the skin, the eyes, didn't match. I cried my eyes out looking at those photos. I wonder if their parents/siblings/friends have seen them and identified them - dead or alive?

 

[carbuff]

The pages were all pretty slow-loading - any one of the girls posing could have been her, but either the ages, the skin, the eyes, didn't match. I cried my eyes out looking at those photos. I wonder if their parents/siblings/friends have seen them and identified them - dead or alive?

It's heart-wrenching. (And yes, slow loading...) But many of them have been identified as alive and well -- there's a list in that forum of the ones we know about, but many more didn't want to have their names released. As far as I know, nobody has been identified for sure as a missing or dead person, at least not that the public has been told about. The few I've heard that might be associated are of young women already believed to be dead.

I'm glad none of them is Judy.

 

[JudysSisterMaureen]

God she was/is beautiful. Choking back the tears today. Just got this picture today from my uncle. He took it in his driveway - just before we made our way to the bus station with her, then the train station with my other sister and her infant son.

 

[JudysSisterMaureen]

i just wanted to say thank you -- to all of you -- you can't imagine what your support has meant to me. i'm working with the editor you told me about earlier in this thread, she has been better than fantastic. I'm scared, I'm happy, I'm nervous about what will happen once this pops open, but i'm eternally grateful to each of you for your support. Sometimes going on is hard to do - it's easier for some to simply accept not knowing. You've each given me immeasurable strength to persevere. Thank you.

 

[dsntslp]

All I have are prayers and hugs...

A lot of both...

Peace and prayers,
Dsn