SOLVED NY - Tala Farea, 16, Rotana Farea, 22, Hudson River, 24 Oct 2018- COD released: suicide/drowning

[Alethea]

Us NYers can certainly be considered a different species lol. (I’m saying that in jest btw) But we don’t “deserve” to be crime victims or suicide victims any more than people living in other states. I think I am just reading the OP wrong but I’m genuinely confused.

I think OP meant that many things that would seem out of place in a small suburban town would not cause most New Yorkers to bat an eye. We kind of expect oddballs to live amongst us and we don't really look twice at a family of clowns on the subway. I think OP meant to put aside the fact that NY is a more tolerant place than most other places, this would still stick out. I didn't read it at all as being mean-spirited, just that almost all New Yorkers react in a rather relaxed way to strange things that don't seem dangerous. I am a lifelong New Yorker (who only recently fled Manhattan for New England) and I'd agree but also think many, many people would immediately try to help if someone seemed hurt or in danger or were trying to hurt themselves.

 

[kaen]

I have been searching the white pages to see if there are any people in the area with that last name (fairly distinctive in my book). Wondering if there is a familial connection in NYC.

 

[bears10]

I think OP meant that many things that would seem out of place in a small suburban town would not cause most New Yorkers to bat an eye. We kind of expect oddballs to live amongst us and we don't really look twice at a family of clowns on the subway. I think OP meant to put aside the fact that NY is a more tolerant place than most other places, this would still stick out. I didn't read it at all as being mean-spirited, just that almost all New Yorkers react in a rather relaxed way to strange things that don't seem dangerous. I am a lifelong New Yorker (who only recently fled Manhattan for New England) and I'd agree but also think many, many people would immediately try to help if someone seemed hurt or in danger or were trying to hurt themselves.

Thank you for your rational and thoughtful post, you are more than likely right and I just took it the wrong way as a typical defensive NYer lol. I wouldn’t think twice about a naked guy with a guitar sitting next to me on the subway, but if i saw two young women on the side of the bridge or at the edge of the pier, it’d stand out to me. I assume they went into the water late at night/early morning when it was dark and there weren’t as many people around. Just an assumption.

 

[borndem]

What do you mean by “New York is New York”? Genuine question, no snark intended.

I forgot who said that quite a few years back -- on a late night show -- someone who lived there, loved New York, and is an actor. I've never forgotten it -- I've been to Manhattan a number of times, and I always say it when I arrive. What an amazing, wonderful place. Whoever it was, was praising NYC, saying that there was no place like New York, from the restaurants to the theaters and to the historical, wacky and wonderful places.
Nowhere else is quite like it -- I said that!! I love it!
Was it De Niro or Springstein, maybe?? Agggghhh. CRS.

 

[borndem]

Ok just putting this out there. Looking at the names Tala and Rotana. One of my neighbors named Tala her family is from India. I started lookinging into the other name and I found it Bengali. Bengali Baby Names » Girl Names » Starting From R » Page 3/6 » BabyNamesDirect

And Because You Know!.....New York IS New York....We are also blessed to have such diversity and live with so many Cultures right close next to you. You end up learning about their traditions.

With that in mind, I was thinking, Maybe the girls were being force to arrange marriages and they being more Americanized were Not having it. And then your become a horrible disgrace to the family and all that stuff.

I know, because it happened to my neighbors. Her older sister my age, did the arrange marriage thing years ago, But the 2 younger ones totally rebelled against the whole thing and there was a Real BIG To Do about it!! But, I think because Dad was the only man in the house he was overpowered BY the women of the house.

Maybe they ran away came to NYC because they had family here and that family rejected them?? Or they realized they would get in super big trouble and at that point could not go back Or god knows what. Then with overwhelming sadness, being a disgrace to the and feeling hopeless they thought the only way out would be suicide.
But that is just a thought I had.

Maybe they just reported the younger one missing because the older one is considered adult and they just let her go.

Again just My thoughts.

bbm
First let me say the comment about NYC having the various cultures, etc., is exactly what I was referring to -- a big part about NYC being its inimitable self -- no place like it in the world! "Wonderful Town," as the old, old musical tells us.

Hmmmmm -- very interesting thought about the arranged marriage possibility. Good thinking.
Seems to me that possibility could very well be the impetus -- and again I will say, what one person might be too afraid, etc., to do, another person could give the necessary courage to both of them. Oh, if this is so, how even more sad and awful for them and their families. SMH. I could easily see that being the catalyst for what happened that horrible night.

 

[borndem]

Thank you for your rational and thoughtful post, you are more than likely right and I just took it the wrong way as a typical defensive NYer lol. I wouldn’t think twice about a naked guy with a guitar sitting next to me on the subway, but if i saw two young women on the side of the bridge or at the edge of the pier, it’d stand out to me. I assume they went into the water late at night/early morning when it was dark and there weren’t as many people around. Just an assumption.

bbm
Yep -- it could be the Naked Cowboy, you know!! The Cowboy is just part of Times Square, and it's fun pointing him out to someone who is seeing Times Square for the first time.

But the other situation is a different deal entirely. And it could truly could happen anywhere there is a body of water with jumping -- or throwing -- access.
I wonder how much we will find out about this sad, sad event. We may never know truly how/why it came to be.

 

[x_files]

Neither the teen nor the 22 years ever had a photo taken? The parents didn't submit a photo to the FBI.
Beyond sad and extremely bizarre.

 

[fraudqueen]

This is beyond heartbroken. They were so young. And their last moments on this earth were horrific. RIP.

 

[Barc45]

If not a suicide pact,then I would have to assume they were involved with human trafficking and were murdered because they wanted out.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

<modsnip - quoted post removed>
Welcome to WS, patteb, and thanks for the heads-up.

I believe it’s OK to post a link to the original (Re)Tweet by @NYPDTips to which the reply was posted since it is a verified public interest (NYPD Crime Stoppers) account.

It’s just like someone posting “There is an interesting comment under a post on (typically a legitimate MSM source, an LE organization, or a “Help Find,” as long as the post comes from the page admin.) FB page, IMO.

I think this is the post you are referring to. If not, my apologies in advance!

Chief Dermot F. Shea on Twitter

<modsnip - discussing comments>

 

[Dr. Benway]

Mail's latest
Bodies of two young women duct-taped together and found washed up in NYC's Hudson River after they 'jumped from a bridge in a suicide pact' are identified as missing sisters, 16, and 22, from Virginia

 

[kirkassoc]

I think these beautiful young women deserve a photo image. They were gorgeous young women, JMO. So sad...and I hope we find out what happened to them. Thank you so much to the fantastic person who posted the link to this photo. I can't remember who....but you are awesome in your sleuthing skills.

 

[LLLindsayy]

Mail's latest
Bodies of two young women duct-taped together and found washed up in NYC's Hudson River after they 'jumped from a bridge in a suicide pact' are identified as missing sisters, 16, and 22, from Virginia

I'm shocked to see video of them removing the bodies from the rocks even though they are covered. I still find the sight of a dead body to be highly disturbing, despite having been here on this site for so many years. I had to exit the page almost immediately. I guess that's one thing I'm not desensitized to yet.

 

[LLLindsayy]

Like someone else said upthread, it seems that all traces of these young ladies have been wiped from the internet. I can't even locate any social media pages for either which is shocking to me given their ages. What sort of situation would lend to both girls being absent from social media (I'm not saying there aren't cases where people choose to stay away, but I'm just saying it's not the norm for girls in their teens and 20s)?

And that fact combined with the fact that there don't seem to be any appeals by friends and family members anywhere online seeking their whereabouts tells me that these girls come from a very specific life situation. I don't mean anything by that in particular, but I think it will end up being the case that their life circumstances were very unique and, ultimately, tragic. We may or may not learn about these details as more information comes out.

I agree with the member who mentioned that it seems as though the missing poster that said Tala may be with her sister seems to indicate that her sister was off on her own somewhere and no longer living with family (and possibly not in much contact with them). It's very common for young people to be drawn in by the allure of NYC and go there to experience it. I know, I grew up in VA and moved to NY at 18 years old without my family.

But one cannot survive in NY, or anywhere for that matter, without a source of income. I will be very interested to hear whether Ratana had a job in the city and whether she was showing up to work for the last two months. If she didn't have a job, how was she paying her living expenses? The alternative being what?

If there's one thing I've learned after following so many cases, it is that the conspiracy theories are usually not true. It's human nature to speculate about all the different options and wonder if there's "more to the story." But in this case LE has come out and stated that they believe this case to be a suicide. Of course there are cases that LE is mistaken or sometimes even intentionally misstates information to divert attention. But by and large what they say is usually true. IMO, for them to have said that, they probably have evidence of that theory.

And lastly...when it was stated that there were "no signs of trauma" on the body...I think I am interpreting that different than others here. To me, that sounds like they are saying that evidence of a homicide is absent. Those including, but not limited to: a gunshot wound, a stab wound, an obvious asphyxiation, etc. I think that still leaves the door open for trauma of other type, such a broken bones, specifically associated with a far fall.

People have suggested it weird that if they did jump/fall from the GWB that someone should have seen them. You'd think...but how often do we see abductions in public places and literally no one saw anything?

I'm sorry I'm so long winded. I tend to gather my thoughts for a few days and then write it all out in one long post. I think all I'm trying to say is that I think these girls lived a horrible life and I think that if LE is stating they believe this to be a suicide via the GWB, they're probably saying it with good reason.

 

[NervousNellie]

I think these beautiful young women deserve a photo image. They were gorgeous young women, JMO. So sad...and I hope we find out what happened to them. Thank you so much to the fantastic person who posted the link to this photo. I can't remember who....but you are awesome in your sleuthing skills.

While I agree that a photo of these young women is badly needed, we don't know the source of that photo, so it's authenticity is not verified.

 

[Kid Dropsy]

I've been out of circulation and missed the ID information.

And man, this case got stranger with that ID.

(And no, New Yorkers would not automatically be concerned, perhaps thinking it was performance art. Which it seems almost to have been, in a most macabre way.)

 

[borndem]

<modsnip - quoted post removed>
Thanks for the info! There are very definite rules (TOS) (Terms of Service) about posting from facebook. You will probably want to familiarize your self about the TOS so you'll be on the safe side of this forum. The TOS is something that makes this site a high-caliber forum.
You can find the TOS on the Home page with a click on The Rules, or here:
The Rules

And one more thing:

Welcome to Websleuths, patteb!!!​

 

[borndem]

I'm shocked to see video of them removing the bodies from the rocks even though they are covered. I still find the sight of a dead body to be highly disturbing, despite having been here on this site for so many years. I had to exit the page almost immediately. I guess that's one thing I'm not desensitized to yet.

I knew essentially what I would see when I clicked on the live shots of the bodies being removed, but it is still like a blast of cold water being thrown in my face. That body in the black back in the metal sling was a living and breathing person only a few hours before. We only get one life here on earth, and that person's time is just gone. I'm not used to it, either, and I'm grateful to say that I am not. It's just as disturbing as looking at the drawings on autopsy reports -- so sad and also so maddening. Be it ever thus for me. SMH. Just so, so sad. We never know who might be next...

 

[borndem]

I think OP meant that many things that would seem out of place in a small suburban town would not cause most New Yorkers to bat an eye. We kind of expect oddballs to live amongst us and we don't really look twice at a family of clowns on the subway. I think OP meant to put aside the fact that NY is a more tolerant place than most other places, this would still stick out. I didn't read it at all as being mean-spirited, just that almost all New Yorkers react in a rather relaxed way to strange things that don't seem dangerous. I am a lifelong New Yorker (who only recently fled Manhattan for New England) and I'd agree but also think many, many people would immediately try to help if someone seemed hurt or in danger or were trying to hurt themselves.

Thanks for the post, Alethea -- I meant very much of what you said -- I was not at all trying to be negative, callous, or denigrating about that wonderful city -- I love it. NYC has a place for everyone, and that's what has made that city great -- just like this country, perhaps not right now -- but all of us are a part of the heritage of this country. And New York city is where so many of our ancestors first stepped his or her feet in America.

For whatever reason these two sisters came to NYC -- searching for something? running away from someone or something? just wanting to stretch their wings in a wonderful place? I hope they had good times while in your city. Maybe now they will be in loving hands even if their times before were not (if that is what happened).

And I marvel at the NYPD -- they've seen it all and done it all, and they keep at it day or night, year after year. So sad for them, too. Another horror in which they can only clean up and look for the "why?" and "what?" of it. Bless them, too.

 

[bears10]

I've been out of circulation and missed the ID information.

And man, this case got stranger with that ID.

(And no, New Yorkers would not automatically be concerned, perhaps thinking it was performance art. Which it seems almost to have been, in a most macabre way.)

Performance art on the GWB? Or even a pier? In this context, I respectfully disagree.