Identified! PA - Export, BlkFem UP13512, 10-14, shallow grave in landfill, Sep'67 Teala Thompson

[Springrain]

They already have.

Oh, that's good. Hopefully Teala goes home.

 

[CCJD]

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2015...stmoreland-co-are-that-of-her-missing-sister/

Thompson said before her mother died, her mother told her that her sister had been murdered, and that, “she’s up in Greensburg.”

Greensburg is where the Potter's Field is. IMO, the ID will really be just a formality. I'd be shocked if it wasn't Teala. The sad thing is her being in that cemetery for decades as an unknown.

Found this in Google news. The link will go to the second half of the story. Just scroll back to page B1 to read the entire thing.
http://tinyurl.com/zws6y97

 

[KaylaraOwl]

Why does that article say that her body was thrown into a dumpster?

 

[Tulessa]

Why does that article say that her body was thrown into a dumpster?

Scratch that.

 

[cvaldez1975]

it seems like they knew it was her, but her mom was just always in denial.

 

[Richrd]

This 1967 UP case for a young girl was just recently added to NamUs. I've never heard of this one before.

There are no publicly listed girls from that era who even remotely fit the description. But I am starting this thread, so that everyone is aware of her case.

NamUs UP 13512 https://identifyus.org/en/cases/13512

No Image Available

Unidentified Female

The victim was discovered on September 19, 1967 near Story Road (formerly County Road) in Export, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.

Body Condition: Not recognizable - Insect/animal activity​

Vital Statistics

Estimated age: Adolescent - About 10-14 years of age.
Approximate Height: 5'5" (65 inches).
Approximate Weight: 115 pounds.
Hair Color: Reddish/Brown
Eye Color: Unknown
​

Clothing & Accessories

Clothing: None on Body. Small piece of white cloth clutched in the right hand

Footwear: White footie on left foot, Possible shoe 6-7

Accessories: Green zippered clothes bag
​

Identifiers

Fingerprints: Fingerprint information is currently not available
Dentals: Dental information / charting is available and will be entered later
DNA: Sample is currently not available
​

Case History

The body of this young girl was found on Tuesday morning, September 19, 1967 near the Colvan Sanitary Landfill on County Road about 1/8 mile off of Route 66, roughly 2 1/2 miles west of Slickville. She was partially buried a few yards off the road leading to the landfill. A passerby noticed a foot sticking up out of the ground and called authorities.

She has never been identified.

She was buried in the "Potter's Field" on the grounds of the Westmoreland County Home, just south of Greensburg
​

Wed., 5/25/16, WPXI-TV:

http://www.wpxi.com/news/pennsylvania-state-police-await-dna-results-from-exhumed-body/302980853

 

[CarlK90245]

The DNA is in. She is Teala Thompson.

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2016/08/04/dna-used-to-identify-girl-found-dead-almost-50-years-ago/

 

[cvaldez1975]

Thanks for the update Carl. Very sad story.

The DNA is in. She is Teala Thompson.

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2016/08/04/dna-used-to-identify-girl-found-dead-almost-50-years-ago/

 

[dotr]

Thanks for the update Carl. Very sad story.

The question that remains, is who would kill a 13 year old girl and why?
Hope that person feels very nervous right now, and guilty.

 

[AnnieOakley]

I'm very glad that this young Jane Doe has her name and that Teala's family has some answers after all these years. Hopefully more of the mystery will be solved soon and justice will be served.

I feel compelled to point out that this is another case where the height of a missing person was likely reported/documented incorrectly. Teala was reported as 4' feet tall (or 48") and 100 lbs. I was exceptionally small at age 13 and I was 4'4" tall. I would guess that Teala was 4'8" when she went missing, not 48". (Still not even remotely the 5'5" estimate for Jane Doe, but at least closer).

This isn't the first time we've seen a (probable) inaacuracy in reported height. It's worth keeping in mind as we look for matches.

 

[Jake479]

RIP Teala Patricia Thompson

 

[Earth]

This just makes me sad. A little girl. Fifty years. The fact the height may have been incorrect. This little girl, Teala, she could have been a grandmother by now. Her life was just snuffed out, like that. The fact that her family never knew what had happened. The problem is, it is extremely likely that her killer may be dead now. Even if she was one of his first victims, he'd likely be about seventy years old now. The good news I guess is that that means he is almost certainly in jail or had a record. But it's just heart-breaking.

 

[catherine.]

There was a 5 or so minute segment on Teala on the Pittsburgh news tonight that had an interview with her sister and photos from the old landfill. Very heartbreaking. I hope her family is able to find peace.

Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk

 

[passionflower]

http://www.wpxi.com/news/exhumed-body-in-westmoreland-county-identified-as-pittsburgh-teen/417093744

Theala Thompson was 13 years old when she disappeared in September 1967.

Later that month, a man found the body of a girl in a Salem Township landfill. The decomposed body could not be identified at the time.

Theala's family came forward when the body was exhumed in Hempfield Township last October, hoping that DNA testing would prove it was her.

 

[passionflower]

The case is now the oldest in the state in which DNA technology was used to positively match an unidentified victim.

State police are investigating Thompson’s death as a homicide.

"This has been a long unsolved mystery over the years. My mother was grief stricken over this,” Pamela Thompson, Theala’s sister, said.
http://www.wpxi.com/news/exhumed-body-in-westmoreland-county-identified-as-pittsburgh-teen/417093744

 

[cvaldez1975]

very sad. we have a thread for her in the UID forum (no under indentified)

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...grave-in-landfill-Sep-67-Teala-Thompson/page4

 

[TessDeco]

Teala's sister, Mary Thompson, never forgot her. The connection may never have been made without her. I hope they now find her killer but at least Teala will be home. RIP Teala

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...49-years-ago-finally-she-has-been-identified/


MHO

 

[Nikon]

From what I've read, it looks like it could have been solved as it happened almost half a century ago. What went wrong?

 

[gregjrichards]

"Thompson said Thursday: 'Although we may never know all the details of exactly what happened, we know this is her and we now have closure.'

The family believes a man Teala worked for at a dry cleaner might have been responsible for her death, or at least know how or why she disappeared after school one day, though police have never charged anyone in the case, Thompson said.

But Teala's siblings didn't know much about the investigation because their mother — who had 10 children and died in 2005 — kept to herself what she had learned from police, Thompson said."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...o-identified-13-year-old-Pittsburgh-girl.html

 

[Tulessa]

I spent almost an hour searching for this thread. R.I.P. Theala.