Identified! UT - Juab Co, WhtFem UP8382, 18-22, at Yuba Lake, Sep'78 - Marilee Bruszer

[dogperson]

Time of death was way off then if this is her.

At one time I wondered if this was a Bundy victim but since Marilee went missing in 1978 that date is too late.

 

[Dionysia]

Carl certainly got the strong jaw bit right!

 

[EmmaliLucia]

Wowza! Talk about discrepancies all over the place.

But the recon and the pictures look about the same in overall skull shape.

How did her stats get so badly mangled? How could she have appeared to be at least 11 years younger than she was? Boggles the mind

 

[CarlK90245]

Yeah, there are SO many discrepancies that I don't think I would have ever suggested her as a match. She doesn't even much resemble the recons (and Carl's are usually spot on or very close).

Carl certainly got the strong jaw bit right!

The only thing I really got off was the slant of her eyes, and of course, her hairstyle. All I had was a single frontal photo of her skull with three of her four upper-front teeth missing.

Had I been able to examine the skull, I could have pinpointed the anchor points on the orbits where the corners of her eyes were positioned and could have easily gotten the slant of her eyes right. But from the photo available, I could see the points on the outer side of the orbits, but I could not see those anchor points on the inner side of the orbits (adjacent to her nose).

With only two modifications - (1) change her hairstyle to a bob cut, and (2) rotate her eyes so that they slant inward, instead of outward like I had it, and it would have been spot-on.

 

[Springrain]

Wow, that first one was really good, but with the slanted eyes it looks identical.

I'm really confused as to how there were so many discrepancies. Age could be wrong in any case with skeletal remains, but the post-mortem interval was so completely off. How could they confuse two-week old remains with two-year old remains?

RIP Marilee.

 

[EmmaliLucia]

Wow, that first one was really good, but with the slanted eyes it looks identical.

I'm really confused as to how there were so many discrepancies. Age could be wrong in any case with skeletal remains, but the post-mortem interval was so completely off. How could they confuse two-week old remains with two-year old remains?

RIP Marilee.

Well, remember the Hannah Graham case? I remember people saying that it couldn't have been her because her body couldn't possibly be reduced to skeletal remains in less than five weeks

There's also the possibility that she disappeared earlier than what was reported, in almost 40 years police files could have gotten mixed up, dates could have been misread, all sorts of things

 

[tifflee]

This one really throws me for a loop. I've posted on both Marilee's missing person thread as well as this UID's thread - and never once thought they might be the same case file. It really highlights that long distances separating a LKA and found UID aren't always out of the realm of possibility, and that estimates are indeed best (hopefully educated) guesses at the time they are issued.

Here's a Google Mapping of how far apart Long Beach, CA and Yuba Lake, UT are: https://goo.gl/maps/gCdajre3zKF2.

Another article on her identification: http://www.sltrib.com/home/3011126-155/utah-police-identify-two-cold-case-murder

 

[bflocket]

This one really throws me for a loop. I've posted on both Marilee's missing person thread as well as this UID's thread - and never once thought they might be the same case file. It really highlights that long distances separating a LKA and found UID aren't always out of the realm of possibility, and that estimates are indeed best (hopefully educated) guesses at the time they are issued.

Here's a Google Mapping of how far apart Long Beach, CA and Yuba Lake, UT are: https://goo.gl/maps/gCdajre3zKF2.

Another article on her identification: http://www.sltrib.com/home/3011126-155/utah-police-identify-two-cold-case-murder

This seems to be one of those "needle in a haystack" cases that both gives me a "hopeful" feeling AND an "I give up. Who cares? This is stupid" cynicism.

Things weren't too terribly far off (other than distance she was found from where she went missing), but they didn't actually MATCH-UP at all.

The only thing that was correct was that she was indeed a "she," or however you'd choose to phrase that.

I'm posting the links (via wayback-machine in case the DoeNet files are deleted). Charley's is already gone.


Doe Network: Case 751UFUT
W/F 18-22 y/o (dead 2-3yrs)
Yuba Lake, Utah
9/3/1978

Charley Project: Marilee Bruszer
W/F 33-y/o
Long Beach, California
8/22/1978


That just boggles my mind.

It's quite humbling for me in the cases when someone on here will suggest, for a case where it's pretty much known who did what and in what area, somebody that bears only a slight resemblance on the other side of the country as the ID of a UID.

That type of thing usually grinds on my nerves, but this case is kind of proof that crazy $#!^ really does happen.

 

[tifflee]

I posted this over in Marilee's missing person thread and thought I'd share here, too. She had a family who cared about her disappearance, friends and neighbors who offered a reward for her return... Marilee Bruszer was loved and hopefully law enforcement are able to make headway in their newly opened homicide investigation.

Interviews with some of her surviving family members: http://www.presstelegram.com/genera...n-discovery-of-long-beach-womans-body-in-utah

On Aug. 20, 2015, Ryan learned that the DNA in the victim’s hair matched samples taken from Bruszer’s mother and a sibling, the sheriff’s news release said.

The Long Beach Police Department is reopening her case as a homicide investigation.

During the intervening years, Don Bruszer said he and his family had hoped she would be found, but knew police hardly had any leads.

“You start to wonder if this was some kind of white slavery thing, if she was taken away and kept,” he said. “We expected she would come in one day and say, ‘I know I’ve been gone. I was finally able to get away.’ ”

Don Bruszer, who is also a pastor at Grace Bible Church in South Gate, said he at least has a measure of peace from the faith he shared with his cousin.

“She wasn’t a member of our church, but she was Catholic,” he said. “We believe she’s home with the Lord.”

 

[Earth]

About her being skeletonized, maybe it was due to the method of death? Maybe she had skin tore away as well as strangulation? I know that sounds disgusting, but it's possible.

Also, forensic investigations in 1978 weren't very good. I am, however, astonished at the differences between 18-22 and 33. DNA unknown to anyone since 1978? Why didn't they log it?

I am appalled at this, I truly am.

 

[CarlK90245]

About her being skeletonized, maybe it was due to the method of death? Maybe she had skin tore away as well as strangulation? I know that sounds disgusting, but it's possible.

Also, forensic investigations in 1978 weren't very good. I am, however, astonished at the differences between 18-22 and 33. DNA unknown to anyone since 1978? Why didn't they log it?

I am appalled at this, I truly am.

A body can easily skeletonize in two weeks, especially in a wooded setting where there are lots of animals and insects. Nevertheless, they should have easily recognized that the bones had been there for only two weeks. The bone would still have a pinkish color. Bones that had been there for two years would have been dry and white.

 

[Tulessa]

He found some hair in the evidence locker, and it was only labeled: 'Hair from Yuba Lake body.' That's it.

Wow.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=36762352&ni...e-victims-identified-in-juab-co-thanks-to-dna

 

[alllads]

WOW. Glad that she's been identified, but another reminder to not take estimates all that seriously - especially ones made this far in the past...

 

[Earth]

It almost sounds like this doe case got mixed up with another case somewhere when the information was put in.

That actually scares me. Is some other Jane Doe out there with Marilee's information?