Jul 29, 2019
IRONTON, Ohio — Thirty-eight years after being killed and tossed into a cistern to be forgotten, Louise Virginia Peterson Flesher — known for decades as “Belle in the Well” — has finally regained her identity, thanks to evolving forensic science technology and Lawrence County authorities’ never-wavering goal of solving the case.
But while authorities have partially solved the mystery, they still have a long way to go in discovering who killed her and why.
Peterson, born in 1915 in Fair View, West Virginia, was finally identified this year after her daughter was located in February, allowing for DNA testing to confirm their relationship early this month, authorities said during a press conference Monday.
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Peterson’s name actually came up first in March 2018, but investigators thought she was too old and moved on. A new match appeared on a family genealogy website in Jan. 31, but it was unrelated to West Virginia.
Peterson has three daughters, one deceased and two living in Wyoming. Her husband, Donald Flesher, died in Belpre, Ohio, in 1992. The youngest daughter is who authorities used to identify the woman, according to investigators.
Several local and national projects helped in the case including the coroner’s office, sheriff department and prosecutor’s office in Lawrence County, as well as Elizabeth Murray, a forensic anthropologist from Mount St. Joseph University and several individuals from the DNA DOE Project.
The DNA Doe Project is an initiative that uses genetic genealogy to identify John and Jane Does across the country. Its investigators estimated Monday that 10,000 hours and thousands of dollars was put into the project that took about 14 months to finally solve.
'Belle in the Well' ID'd
