UNSOLVED NJ - Fair Lawn, Mysterious pile of sliced-up women’s clothes found in woods, Mar 2019

[bears10]

Two immediate thoughts come to mind.
First, shredding/cutting someone's clothes is done out of pure rage. A cheater, or another similar offense seems to elicit this type of rage.
The small-ish pants (size 6) and the contrasting 36D bra suggest someone with a "memorable" figure. I think this is a jealousy and rage response.
And yes, I consider the find a very ominous sign. Looking for missing women who have 36D busts should certainly narrow the possibilities.

Amateur opinion and speculation

36D breasts and size 6 waist isn’t as uncommon as you think. I’d actually say it’s pretty common in younger women (late teens to early 30s).

 

[Dre]

I'm sad to think that something so terrible could have happened to the owner of these clothes and we will never know. They are not Lanessa Roosa's as suggested before, her remains were found right where she was last seen.
I have a hard time believing these items are not evidence to someones murder

 

[victoriarobinson642]

As someone who wears jeans roughly that size, I'm gonna take a guess and say that this person is on the shorter end. This case is so peculiar.

 

[R. Towle]

Amateur sleuth opinion:
This to me looks like a rape and murder, quite possibly by a serial killer. It seems this is a dumping spot for these items rather than where the incident happened. The body itself may be so concealed that it could be years before it is found. I think the killer lives local to this area (within at least 15 miles) and this is a regular route for them to drive.
This is all speculation on my part.
The thing and pantyliner subject is not really overly relevant. They can be worn for a lot of reasons and with a lot of different styles of underwear. It is also not something women tend to talk about (or even men for that matter) so anyone reported missing probably won't have this written on the report.
What it does say to me is that this woman was going about her day as normal it also says to me that she wasn't going out to meet a man for sex as she would not have been wearing a pantyliner (we don't want a man to see that when he romantically takes off our panties)
I also can't imagine this to be a prank, no one would willingly cut up such expensive clothing.
I could be wrong, I usually am & I certainly hope I am.

 

[MurderMittens]

Bumping this because I followed the facebook post for AGES until I lost it.

 

[turanna25]

Amateur sleuth opinion:
This to me looks like a rape and murder, quite possibly by a serial killer. It seems this is a dumping spot for these items rather than where the incident happened. The body itself may be so concealed that it could be years before it is found. I think the killer lives local to this area (within at least 15 miles) and this is a regular route for them to drive.
This is all speculation on my part.
The thing and pantyliner subject is not really overly relevant. They can be worn for a lot of reasons and with a lot of different styles of underwear. It is also not something women tend to talk about (or even men for that matter) so anyone reported missing probably won't have this written on the report.
What it does say to me is that this woman was going about her day as normal it also says to me that she wasn't going out to meet a man for sex as she would not have been wearing a pantyliner (we don't want a man to see that when he romantically takes off our panties)
I also can't imagine this to be a prank, no one would willingly cut up such expensive clothing.
I could be wrong, I usually am & I certainly hope I am.

I feel if it was a prank... why leave the panty liner in? If it was a prank, someone would take a pair a jeans, a woman's shirt, a bra, and panties (not actually worn by someone) to "prank" with.. (if that makes sense) Thats why I tend to agree that it looks like a dump site for clothing after an incident occurred.

 

[Dylansmom08]

I understand that DNA testing can't be done on the clothing unless there is a crime to connect it to but can't they at least swab the clothing to see if the stains are blood? I don't know how all the laws work about things like that but it would seem like a place to start in figuring out if there was a victim to be looking for or not.

 

[peace+love]

I understand that DNA testing can't be done on the clothing unless there is a crime to connect it to but can't they at least swab the clothing to see if the stains are blood? I don't know how all the laws work about things like that but it would seem like a place to start in figuring out if there was a victim to be looking for or not.

Is it true no DNA testing can be done unless there's a crime connected to it?? Is this a budget issue? The clothing is extremely suspicious you would think they could at least swab the clothing and get a DNA profile??

 

[Dylansmom08]

Is it true no DNA testing can be done unless there's a crime connected to it?? Is this a budget issue? The clothing is extremely suspicious you would think they could at least swab the clothing and get a DNA profile??

That is what I understood from what I read they said nothing can be done with the clothing until a victim is identified but I don't know why they can't if it's just some rule thing or if it's a money issue. Doesn't seem like it would cost much to swab it and use that chemical stuff that turns it pink if it's blood but that's just my opinion.

 

[carbuff]

It has to do with LE needing a warrant and warrants not being issued unless there's a crime. The same rules that prohibit "fishing expeditions," basically. It's hindered some missing persons and unidentified cases also, especially in Florida which has rather strict laws about testing.

 

[Dylansmom08]

It has to do with LE needing a warrant and warrants not being issued unless there's a crime. The same rules that prohibit "fishing expeditions," basically. It's hindered some missing persons and unidentified cases also, especially in Florida which has rather strict laws about testing.

I can see sometimes where it would be necessary to have such rules in place but other times there should be exceptions to the rule like this case were someone may have been attacked and murdered. Maybe if they could do the DNA if any is found and run it against missing persons they would find the owner of those clothes. It would be like solving a crime backwards really but I think it could be done if rules weren't in the way.

 

[carbuff]

I can see sometimes where it would be necessary to have such rules in place but other times there should be exceptions to the rule like this case were someone may have been attacked and murdered. Maybe if they could do the DNA if any is found and run it against missing persons they would find the owner of those clothes. It would be like solving a crime backwards really but I think it could be done if rules weren't in the way.

Yeah, they almost certainly COULD do it. But it's more likely to lead to an accident victim who had her clothing cut off by EMTs or something like that.

 

[Dre]

how would clothes cut off by EMT from an accident scene end up in a pile in the woods? I don't see it. I can't help but feel it is evidence of foul play, but without usable DNA on the clothes and without a body its likely useless to try to piece together "backwards"

 

[cds0902]

how would clothes cut off by EMT from an accident scene end up in a pile in the woods? I don't see it. I can't help but feel it is evidence of foul play, but without usable DNA on the clothes and without a body its likely useless to try to piece together "backwards"

I agree finding the clothing in the woods is a little off, I think the person wearing the clothes was murdered, removing the clothes prevented a quick identification of the individual,, why would emt personnel remove her underwear? I thought the clothing looked blood stained.jmo

 

[Romulus]

Interesting case; as regards the DNA on clothes, I make a small reflection; you must first understand how long these clothes have been there, because the rain and the weather can still influence the exam, even if they have been there for a long time, 1 year and almost impossible to find DNA, but with modern techniques you have to second try me, although from what I understand remains of people, bones, or bodies in that wood have not yet been found.

 

[Davecarota]

I accidentally posted this in the wrong thread... sorry for not knowing how to navigate this site well enough yet to go delete that....just found you guys through a Google search.... and figured I should get in on the conversation since it has been a few years passed, with no new information.

Hello everyone, I'm the person who reported the sliced up clothing to the Bergen County NJ Sheriff's officers back in 2019. I pushed hard for DNA testing immediately, and it took months before NJ state police eventually sent the clothing to another state, I think it was Ohio..... to allow them to test for DNA out there because they believed at the time that they were involved in a crime. Unfortunately from what I was told back then, no DNA was found. This case still haunts me since it was never solved, and I still live here in Fair Lawn with my family.... looking at that small wooded area has ever since only evoked unsettling reminders, that someone sinister ...likely committed a terrible crime, and then that person hid evidence feet from our backyard. Likely buried in snow at the time, until it began to melt and my daughter found them while back there with my wife and her friends. I'm writing to see if anyone here has followed up in any way with the Ohio State police (where I belive the clothes are now being held) to see what, if anything new has transpired with the search for the women who was wearing that outfit. I also just recently began thinking about how large a network of people it took online to help find Gabby Petito...then realized, that even though the story of the clothes we found went viral on Facebook, and made some news channels..... it wasn't enough. Some girl who was probably in trouble, or potentially killed, was wearing that outfit. The bra, and underwear... complete with a panty liner, were included.... I believe someone wanted every shred of what that girl had on her body, gone. I assume they took the body somewhere else and made it more difficult for investigators to figure out who she was, or who killed her etc.... I've spent hundreds of hours staring out my window at the highway, day and night, trying to imagine any other reason for the clothes, in the condition they were found in, to have been discarded there..... and I've got nothing. I know it may never be solved, but like I said, maybe in the wake of the Gabby Petito case, we could get the story up front again to get more eyes on the photos I took of the clothes.... I believe someone, somewhere in the country knows the woman who left the house one morning, in that outfit.... and I can't help but continue to feel like it's my moral obligation to try, however else I can, every so often, to not let this sit cold and unsolved indefinitely. I figure this is a community that may want to help too. Thanks in advance. - Dave Carota

 

[JrzyGirl70]

@Davecarota welcome to Websleuths. I no longer drive this way to and from work as my office has moved, but still think about this. Have you been in contact with the Crime Scene Unit at BCSO or Fair Lawn PD?