Identified! NV - Washoe Co., WhtFem 156UFNV, 25-35, Sheep's Flat Trail, Jul'82 - Mary Edith Silvani

[tamar]

Charlie,

The circumstances of his death are certainly coincidental enough to warrant further examination.
And, it may not have been as long as 6 weeks between her death and his...
Tara Exposito's body was found within a couple of weeks of her disappearance, but if I remember correctly, the coroner thought the UID had been deceased 6 months or more, and Tara wasn't initially considered a match based on that misinformation. That is to say, nailing down a date death is notoriously difficult after decomposition and the 2 UIDs could have even been killed the same day/week/month.

I'd like to know what the "Eastern European" supposition was based on... dental work?

Also, it might still be worth looking into Germany's missing, sex trafficking, runaways, estranged family member... I just can't seem to find a good site.

 

[Charlie99909]

Good news guys, the detective emailed me back today and I will talk to him after 3pm.

I'm excited, I can't wait!

 

[tamar]

Not sure if this was mentioned before, but the Moon Phase Calendar for Reno in 1982 shows that July 16th had only a sliver of moon. 22%. At that luminance level in a remote area (without other light sources) they would have been stumbling around in the dark. So if she was killed that night, I take it to mean that the killer knew this area very well, and/or that he was probably carrying a flashlight. I doubt she carried the flashlight, because it would give her some level of control, and an opportunity to escape. That said, I think she was was most likely forced there at gunpoint (most likely a small caliber handgun). My thought is that even if she knew her murderer ( let's say 'husband') who tried to dupe her into going on a midnight hike by saying, "Come on, honey, let's get out here and walk this cold lonely dark meadow path, just for ****s & giggles." Her most likely response would have been, "Uh, uh, NO WAY I'm going in there, it's too dark and I'm freezing!."

She may have been acquainted with her killer, but I don't think he was a lover or spouse. She was executed. To the back of the head. It appears impersonal to me, like a job. Whereas, a personal attack based on the anger a betrayed or vindictive lover/spouse might display is more likely face to face-- Waving the gun in front of her nose, yelling at her, "YOU did this" and "YOU did that" and "now YOU will pay" kind of thing.

Association with organized crime/drugs or prostitution human/trafficking seem more likely,

but this is all just my very unprofessional opinion.

 

[Charlie99909]

I was actually thinking today about how dark it would have to be out there. I was wondering what moon phase we were in at that time. Now it makes more sense.

 

[Charlie99909]

I just noticed there is a camp group on the north east part on the trail. What if he was a derelict or something staying at the campground. They met that day and kinda formed a friendship and then it all goes down hill from there.

 

[buffetoflies]

Did you get to talk to the deputy yesterday, Charlie?

 

[Charlie99909]

Unforunatly no. But I will call him today myself.

 

[Charlie99909]

Well still no call. I left a message, hopefully today I'll talk to him.

 

[Charlie99909]

I talked to the detective today, we rescheduled for monday after 3.

He is coordinating a city wide event. I totally forgot it's the one time of year that all the west coast bikers come to town for half the week.

So it's on for Monday.

 

[Charlie99909]

Well folks. I found her grave site. I visited it today. She has no headstone to mark her location. Just a number. There's a tree to provide her shade in the hot Reno days though.

 

[Charlie99909]

Her grave has no marker.

A simple yellow patch of grass and the ground depresses a bit.

The Trail

This is the beginning of the trail. In, I believe is the direction of where she was found. I'll confirm it tomorrow with the detective.

It is beautiful up there.

So many logs in the path. I can't help but wonder if these were near she was found.

In the months to come I will return. There is no snow there. But when the time comes, I will take pictures so you can get an idea of what it looked like when she was found.

 

[Charlie99909]

I spoke with the detective again today. He is a real good guy. He is very involved with this case.

I didn't get any new answers, but I did get some new insight. Let me say this, we are on the right track. Those pictures are in the right area.

 

[Charlie99909]

Alright, from what I can gather, I believe the most accurate location of her body is the second to last picture. It is a more open area on the path, from what was said, there was foot traffic around her! People actually thought she was sleepy and decide to move around her as fast as they could. That is a total wtf thing.

They came from the road, not the camp site.

No further description on the dental other than it was European.

The baby's DNA was not compared.

They had checked with immigration to see if anyone matching her description had applied for citizenship.

It could be a possibility that she could have been married to a service man.

I also mentioned the body found in Colorado with the t shirt from Fallon to the officer. Also I sent him a link to NAMUS because he had not heard of it. Hopefully a profile for her could be started there. Also, they never posted her on doe network, doe network just used whatever information that was out there to create a profile for her.

He said that I am the only person who has inquired about the case. I told him that I plan to keep up with the case because I want to and it sparked an interest in me.

 

[high voltage]

I wonder if LE have tried figuring out where her clothing was purchased or manufactured.
If she was a foreigner, she might've been wearing some items of clothing that were manufactured or purchased abroad. Especially people living in the Eastern Bloc at that time would likely to be wearing clothing manufactured in the Eastern Bloc.

 

[Charlie99909]

The jeans were Lee jeans. Popular in this area at the time. I wonder if her shoes had sand in them. That way we could tell for certain she was at a beach that day.

 

[tamar]

Lee jeans were common, but inexpensive, and definitely not 'cool' by the Gen X standard-- that is to say, her 'sensible' or 'mom' type jeans don't fit the profile of a dancer, or yuppie, young western European expatriate, or even a prostitute for that matter.
Now, if they had been Guess? or Calvins...

Military wife, suburban soccer mom, or eastern European makes more sense.

I know, I know, I keep waffling.

 

[punklove]

Well folks. I found her grave site. I visited it today. She has no headstone to mark her location. Just a number. There's a tree to provide her shade in the hot Reno days though.

I dont know why but the idea of her being there with only a number really breaks my heart. Whomever she was she deserves better than that.

 

[punklove]

Alright, from what I can gather, I believe the most accurate location of her body is the second to last picture. It is a more open area on the path, from what was said, there was foot traffic around her! People actually thought she was sleepy and decide to move around her as fast as they could. That is a total wtf thing.

They came from the road, not the camp site.

Do you know if the people around her (the ones that thought she was sleepy) were interviewed in detail? Is it possible they still have a way to contact these people now?

Something that confuses me.. (Sorry I know it seems sexist)

If you are hiking and happen to see a woman that is alone that seems to be 'sleepy' wouldnt you think that 9 times out of 10 people would attempt to make sure she was ok?

People actually thought she was sleepy and decide to move around her as fast as they could.

Did they do a tox screen? Is it possible the people were using the word sleepy as a nice way to say she appeared drunk or on drugs? That would make more sense considering they wanted to get by her quickly.. There had to be something that made them feel the need to get away from her quickly and Im not buying that it was because they thought she was sleepy.

If so, could it be possible that the people assumed she was inebriated but had really been assaulted by someone and was dazed from being punched (or something similar)? She has a lot of facial wounds in the photo (of course most of which would more than likely be from the shooting) but is it possible to tell the difference from the wounds that were inflicted by the shooting vs something that could have been there before?

The reason I ask - her right eye looks as like its black and I didnt think people bruise after death. Im also curious about the wound on the tip of her nose?

I wonder how long went by from the time the people saw her and the time she was killed?

I wonder if she actually got into a fight with the person she was there with and once it got violent she attempted to run away from him but tripped over the log that she was found slumped over and that was when he was able to catch and kill her?

This may sound silly but that could account for her bathing suit being 'pulled down' revealing her breasts.. if something is ill fitting (sometimes even if it isnt) when a girl is running with that sort of thing on her *advertiser censored* can fall out - this is why you will often see a girl holding her arms over her *advertiser censored* when running.

 

[punklove]

Also, was ANYTHING (even "garbage") found near or around the area where the body was found?

Was ANYTHING found on the body that might indicate her origin? Tickets to the opera?Movie ticket stub? coins in her pockets? Anything?

If I were a killer, I would strip the body of anything in the pockets. And that might alter the actual position of the body - leading me to set the body up after searching. Which may mean she wasn't really "bending over to tie a shoe".

Thats a major question Ive had.. from what I understand nothing was found in the area, which makes me feel sure that someone made sure to leave nothing behind. Even more confusing is that nothing was found on her person or in the surrounding area, one would assume that she would have something in her pockets - wouldnt they have noticed if someone had gone through her pockets though?

Did they ever go and interview any local gas station employees or restaurant employees to see if they had noticed any couples coming in or a man/women that was acting strangely? It seems that it was pretty out of the way and chances are they had to stop and get gas or eat somewhere around where they were hiking?

 

[Charlie99909]

Hey punklove and tamar, good to have you back,

Regarding the reports of "she just looked asleep to us" sounds more to me like "I didn't want to get involved so I walked away and let someone else deal with it."
Nevermind that she had a gaping gunshot wound in the back of her head that I'm sure had pooled blood.

The wounds on her face look like she suffered from them when she fell face first after being shot. It also looks that they cleaned up the right eye digitally. It appears patchy. I feel they could be coverig up the exit wound.

Now the first time I talked to the officer he said he could not comment on a possible sexual assault or if one had occured. So we might not know why the top was pulled down.

As for possibly still interviewing witnesses I'm seeing if it is still possible. But I'm sure their names would not be released to me. But after almost 30 years, it could be hard to remember details. That's why I love microfilm newspapers. It's all there.

As for gas station and restaurants, this area is about as secluded as you get. I'm trying to think of the closest gas station to there and back at that time I imagine they would be much farther away than now even.

One thing I want to know, did anyone receive speeding tickets that evening in the general area. In my mind I imagine the killer would want to get the hell out of there after killing her. I mean now you're alone in the middle of no where and it's dark. I'd be hauling *advertiser censored*.

Yeah not having a grave marker is not cool in my book. Even something that just said Jane Doe and give some kind of recognition that she is at least there in the ground. I wish I could do something.

Tamar you have to also remember they believe she had given birth already thus being a mom. It could explain those jeans as being pregnancy jeans or something comfortable that she had. Heck those could even be a friends jeans or thrift store jeans for all we know.

What i like is that all of her clothing is still locked away as evidence. I read some agencies just throw everythin away after 15-20 years because it's an old case. After talking to the detective I realize that this case is not forgotten as he actively pursues the case and still works it.

She was buried a month and a half after she was found. 9/9/82. When I went to the cemetery I caught a peek at the information card about her.