Identified! MI - Detroit, WhtFem UP8272, 18-20, in garbage dump, recent childbirth, Feb'87 - n/a

[CarlK90245]

Have they released a cause of death? Unfortunately, I really do think this was a domestic situation and some poor baby lost its mama. So sad.

An earlier version of this Jane Doe's NamUs UP casefile indicated in the circumstances:

Victim of a homicide, found 1-2 days after her death

 

[capoly]

Just to clarify....do not think a botched abortion caused UID's death....not by a long shot. The lactation explanation was just that .... a (plausible) explanation for lactation.

Link to post on Erica Franolich thread:
Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - NY NY - Erica Jayne Franolich, 26, Middleburgh, 13 Oct 1986

 

[capoly]

Have sent an email to Justin Mason the reporter at The Daily Gazette who wrote the articles on Erica Franolich asking him to take a look at this UID. Is hard to shake the death of this UID in Feb 1987....and the words he wrote in his preview re Erica's family got frantic in Feb 1987 so initiated a missing persons report. Premonition of loved ones? Hardly scientific...but hardly ignore-able.

 

[SunsetGirl]

This is my first post on Websleuths (long time lurker, first time poster!). I thought I would get my feet wet with this one! I stumbled across this girl on Namus: Sheri Swims.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/11914/0/

~ snipped ~

Excellent first post! I also came across Sheri Swims on Namus & thought the same as you. Her photos come so close to the sketch! I have a lot to learn when it comes to researching - I didn't know to compare the case file on Namus with The Charley Project - the info about Sheri having dentures is pretty significant so it's too bad that's not included in her Namus file! Thank you to FiveFelines for pointing that out & helping educate us!!!

 

[FiveFelines]

Excellent first post! I also came across Sheri Swims on Namus & thought the same as you. Her photos come so close to the sketch! I have a lot to learn when it comes to researching - I didn't know to compare the case file on Namus with The Charley Project - the info about Sheri having dentures is pretty significant so it's too bad that's not included in her Namus file! Thank you to FiveFelines for pointing that out & helping educate us!!!

You're welcome! I only know to do that because of all the awesome posters here. :blushing:

Now I always cross check with Charley and sometimes Doe. It's amazing what Namus sometimes leaves out (like tattoos, etc.).

 

[EmmaliLucia]

Oh my God. Namus leaves out so many things when it comes to circumstances, too! Everytime I look for a missing person I always check out the Charley to get an idea of what possibly happened to them.

I also agree that she was likely a victim of domestic violence, we have a lot women missing where their circumstances were like "The husband said she took off but the family claims she'd never leave her children."

 

[capoly]

Received email from NYSICAP....Inv Kim Law.

Ms...,
this possible match is ruled out as Missing not pregnant at time of disappearance, dental records also eliminate. Thank you for your interest.

Inv. Kim Law, NYS ViCAP


So Erica Franolich was already a rule out. Do wish all agencies would list rule-outs on UID's NamUs record. Some agencies are awesome...others...not so much.

But now know that although it is not noted as such on NamUs record...... dental records are available for this UID.

 

[jenstar]

I've went through every possibility in my head as to what would a person do with a newborn..some say "adoption" which resonates with me the strongest. Some others say "abortion". Something that would settle it would be what kind? of milk she was secreting, how "mature" it was. I know the thought seems gross to think about that..but if it were "clear or bluish" it could be colostrum aka "first milk". Meaning that the baby hadn't suckled yet or was a few days old. Or if it were "mature whiteish milk" it would mean that the baby was at least 1-3 months old or older if it were "yellowy white" meaning 3 months or older. It would give us some perspective as to what we're looking for.
Another thought came to me of "abandonment" or "surrender" of a baby. I looked back on all the possibilities. Unless the father surrendered the baby (and we were able to see the reports) there would be no linking a baby to the Mom.
Still, even finding an abandoned child wouldn't lead to any clues as to who our UID is. Unless she had the baby at a hospital and walked out? Random thoughs and MOO, of course.
I'll keep scouring news articles.

 

[killarney rose]

I think we need to consider what a healed episiotomy means. First, healed means she is at the minimum 6-8 weeks post partum. Which would mean with almost certainty she has been nursing a baby.

I remember weaning after mine was one year old. After a few days, there was no spontaneous. Leakage of milk, but it could have been expressed had I chosen to do so. So that leads me to question, how was it known she was lactating? And based on my own experiences, she was most likely wearing a nursing bra, and probably had experienced some leakage into it before she was killed. Maybe even had nursing pads in it.

Other than that, why would the ME have known she was lactating? I don't think breasts are dissected at autopsy are they?

As for the episiotomy, again, from experience, they aren't usually routinely done until the baby's head is crowning and the dr does the episiotomy to prevent the mother from having a large tear. Because the straight cut of it will heal faster than a jagged tear. Usually if it is going to be a small tear that doesn't require a stitch, or one that only requires one or two stitches the dr will not do an episiotomy as the small tears will be less painful than an episiotomy. So the healed episiotomy is why I think we are dealing with a woman that gave birth to a full term baby and not a miscarriage or abortion before full term.

So all that, deduced from my own experiences, leads me to believe this UID left behind a baby that has been told its mother abandoned it.

 

[jenstar]

RSBM:

Other than that, why would the ME have known she was lactating? I don't think breasts are dissected at autopsy are they?
.

Maybe she was really engorged. That or she was "leaking". I know that the body "releases" all of its fluids, but could breast milk be one of them? IDK something to ponder. MOO
o/t I wanted to say that I like working with you KR. You have a great mind and we've always been able to "bounce" ideas back and forth. It really is a pleasure.

 

[killarney rose]

RSBM:

Maybe she was really engorged. That or she was "leaking". I know that the body "releases" all of its fluids, but could breast milk be one of them? IDK something to ponder. MOO
o/t I wanted to say that I like working with you KR. You have a great mind and we've always been able to "bounce" ideas back and forth. It really is a pleasure.

Thanks you... You make me blush...:loveyou:

You put what I was trying to say about engorgement much better than me. I was trying to say that.

 

[jenstar]

I'm always double and triple checking myself and asking for reassurance because this UID just resembles everybody. I mean she looks to me like the "all american girl next door" almost something that you would expect to find on TV. I just cant believe that there's not something "spot on" about one of our "missing" people to run with. MOO

Another possibility.https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/8546/0/ I know that height/weight/date and age are off by a long shot but the similarities in the face is something I just have to consider. Also the weight of this girl vs the height, and the fact that she was wearing a maternity top tells me she was either pregnant or nursing. (even though there's nothing in the profile). Take a look and see what you guys think. TIA for the feedback.

 

[tatertot]

Assuming milk production abruptly ceases when a postpartum woman dies, did the UID merely have some milk the coroner noticed or were her breasts engorged (overly full to the point it would be downright uncomfortable?) Engorgement would suggest she was away from her infant or at least unable to nurse the baby for some time, a few hours or more, before she was murdered.

I hope the date she gave birth was based on the appearance of the episiotomy scar and not on the fact that she was still lactating. Many women do nurse well past a year.

The report doesn't say if she had a linea nigra, a dark line below her navel running along the midline of her abdomen. Wikipedia states they are seen in three-quarters of pregnancies and they usually fade within months of giving birth, and while her not having one wouldn't mean anything, if she did have a dark line that hadn't faded yet it might mean she'd given birth more recently.

She was five feet six inches tall and only 114 pounds, which would be quite thin. Unless she's one of those women who loses the baby weight quickly, this might be a hint that she gave birth closer to the one-year end of the scale.

(ETA: I had this window open a long time before posting, so sorry for repeating what a few above me already wrote.)

 

[jenstar]

RSBM

She was five feet six inches tall and only 114 pounds, which would be quite thin. Unless she's one of those women who loses the baby weight quickly, this might be a hint that she gave birth closer to the one-year end of the scale.

(ETA: I had this window open a long time before posting, so sorry for repeating what a few above me already wrote.)

Thanks for That! I never thought about her being malnourished. That could put her as being stressed to the max or (god forbid, on drugs). (I know I don't eat while stressed but thats just me.) Her home life must've been pretty awful. Probably not knowing where she was going to end up was stressful on her. This could mean that she was homeless or held captive for quite some time. That could mean we have to broaden our timeframe in searching for who she is..moo

 

[killarney rose]

I think Linda House fits the description enough that she should be ruled out.


I have a feeling our UID was never reported missing as it was probably her husband or boyfriend who killed her.

Or possibly it might be one of those cases where the family tried to report her missing but the police didnt take them seriously due to her past history,circumstances, or something the husband told them.

 

[jenstar]

I guess the only way to "reach out" would be to go on topix in search of the baby? I mean it's worth a shot for someone that was told "your mom ran off"; you'd think that a kid 24-26 would be looking for some answers by now.

 

[EmmaliLucia]

Even though she was quite thin it also said she had a lot of muscle tone.

When I think of a woman who has just (Okay, within a year) given birth, that is tan, well groomed, and has good muscle tone, and a brand new fashionable and expensive looking haircut, I think of someone who's way of life is dependant on how she looks, like a model, actress, or even a trophy wife. Or at least someone who really cared about how they looked.

Her stats just don't strike me as someone who was held against her will or homeless.

 

[jenstar]

Even though she was quite thin it also said she had a lot of muscle tone.

When I think of a woman who has just (Okay, within a year) given birth, that is tan, well groomed, and has good muscle tone, and a brand new fashionable and expensive looking haircut, I think of someone who's way of life is dependant on how she looks, like a model, actress, or even a trophy wife. Or at least someone who really cared about how they looked.

Her stats just don't strike me as someone who was held against her will or homeless.

What if we have a case of both here? Someone who WAS really well off at one point. Then was taken against her will. OT/but related: In all fairness, the playmate Donna Edmonson (Miss November) of '86 wasn't "rail thin". she stood 5'10 and was 127. IMHO the 90's was the introduction of the stigma that beauty was being almost sickly. JMHO

 

[killarney rose]

I know of several people who just naturally had,good muscle tone who were average to thin in build. After they had their babies they were back to having flat tummies in no time with no effort.

Also, its not likely, but what about the possibility that she was a single mother with out close family and she was killed for her baby?

 

[lcroberts9]

Even though she was quite thin it also said she had a lot of muscle tone.

When I think of a woman who has just (Okay, within a year) given birth, that is tan, well groomed, and has good muscle tone, and a brand new fashionable and expensive looking haircut, I think of someone who's way of life is dependant on how she looks, like a model, actress, or even a trophy wife. Or at least someone who really cared about how they looked.

Her stats just don't strike me as someone who was held against her will or homeless.

I agree 100 per cent. The first time I read the description and saw the sketch of this UID I immediately thought she was an affluent, well-groomed even glamorous woman.