Identified! PA - White Haven, 'Beth Doe' & Unborn Baby 169UFPA, 16-22, Dec'76 - #1 - Evelyn Colon

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This case is a popular one here on Websleuths. Here are some links to previous threads and discussions:

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL found 20 December 1976 WHITE HAVEN, PA LINK:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14978
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Carbon County Jane Doe LINK:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32261
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Pregnant Unidentified White Female, Carbon Co. PA, 1976 LINK:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46279
 
I have been thinking about this case. I still think this is a marriage/relationship gone bad in which the baby's father killed her. Perhaps she was pregnant and one or both families made them marry?

I also got to thinking, what if the killer dumped the body at NIGHT in a TRUCK? It's a 300 foot drop, and in the dark he'll be hard pressed to see the water unless it's a full moon. (Not sure of area in terms of lighting/rurality.) And if someone is in the back of a truck, they would have been able to lift the suitcases without the handles and then toss them over the edge. If they weren't able to get out and try to toss them in the water, but missed and they'd never know for sure if they hit the water or not.

Has there been anything on the DNA (guessing not but hoping anyway!)?
 
Yes, sorry I just found that thread looking for something else. I will have to read it. I found what little I had posted on it very interesting. Thanks, Richard.
 
I was looking at a Pennsylvania Doe Network profile completely unrelated to this case and it mentioned that the victim was last seen at SR417. Carbon County JD immediately hopped to mind. I'm assuming that this means state road 417. Could it be possible she was indicating west state road 417? Obviously it could be another state road with those numbers. I'm sure this possibility was already considered but just wanted to bring it up.
 
WSR also stands for Washington State Reformatory. Could she have been an inmate there, newly released perhaps?

This is so strange because yesterday I decided to work on this case not knowing there was a thread already here.

Is there any word yet on the DNA?
 
Edna Christine Thorne
Missing since June 24, 1975 from Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.
Classification: Non-Family Abduction

Vital Statistics Date Of Birth: February 25, 1960
Age at Time of Disappearance: 15 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'1; 105 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; brown eyes.
Dentals: Available
DNA: Available in CODIS

Circumstances of Disappearance
Thorne was last seen at a relative's home in Philadelphia, PA on June 24, 1975. She was last seen leaving the horse stable.
 
I was thinking about the fact that Jane Doe's child's father could have done this, but then I thought of something else. Perhaps "Beth" had an affair and the daughter was that of the other man. She tells her husband/boyfriend the truth during her eighth month of pregnancy and he makes an example out of her. Also, I was reading the posts about how some cultures will sever a woman's nose and/or ears as punishment for adultery. "Beth" herself need not have been from such a background, but perhaps her husband/boyfriend (who I believe is more than likely responsible for the murder) may have been and may have mutilated her in such a way to shame her or assert his power as a man.
 
Good thinking, Reb. If whoever threw the suitcases heard them hit the ground instead of the water, he probably fled in panic instead of trying to retrieve the suitcases that night. Maybe he had planned to return during daylight hours but the body had already been found by then. (Jane Doe was estimated to have been dead less than 24 hours when she was found.)

This is just a guess, and it's not like LE could have known at the time, but if they hadn't immediately publicized their find and instead hid at the site, the killer might have returned to finish the job or at least get a better view of exactly where the suitcases had landed.

Retrieving the suitcases at night would have required a scramble down the steep hill, which would have left footprints, I'd imagine, as well as leaving the truck unattended and looking highly suspicious while he climbed.
 
The strongest of these leads seems to be Doe 1162DFCA in my opinion. Wilma Rae Vermaas. Her description says she was also known as Wilma Rae Swanson...hence the WSR a monogram. The numbers afterwards may have been her way to try to identify herself, perhaps part of her birthdate 5/24/57 partially rubbed off. She disappeared in April from CA. It also said she had discoloration on her abdomen. That's a typical sign of a pregnancy. My take is she wanted to keep the baby but boyfriend/husband? did not. They were travelling to meet some family or perhaps some idea of arranging an adoption. I don't think they agreed on the plans. The suitcases were available because they were traveling. I suspect the handles had identification written on them so they were removed.
 
NJshrink, good sleuthing! INteresting about Wilma's initials. Both same height and both brown eyes. Jane Doe's moles could be from pregnancy, so that explains why Wilma's description doesn't list them. Both have a scar on left leg.

I wish they could exhume Jane Doe's body and get DNA. Has there been any talk of them doing that does anyone know? This is one of those Jane Does that is in my mind a lot.

Not to be morbid, but does anyone know of a reason someone would shoot someone in the neck, after strangling them? I guess there doesn't need to be logic when it comes to murder, but with everything else he did to her it seems there would be a reason for it.
 
Not to be morbid, but does anyone know of a reason someone would shoot someone in the neck, after strangling them? I guess there doesn't need to be logic when it comes to murder, but with everything else he did to her it seems there would be a reason for it.

Wanting to cover up any marks that could have led to identification (a ring indentation, etc.)?

Extreme rage? Personal killings can often have "overkill".

Those are the reasons I can think of.
 
I wonder if the "WSR" was the initials of a women's shelter, crisis pregnancy center or a homeless shelter?

Keep in mind these are only CURRENT shelters, but these are some homeless shelters in PA:

http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/shelters.html#pennsylvania

One from that list that stood out was Water Street Rescue Mission in Lancaster, PA. Whether she was new in town or a local resident, it makes sense that she might have found Water Street's number in a phone book and jotted it on her hand to call later. They were open in 1976 and Lancaster isn't that far from Carbon County.

http://wsrm.org/

Whether she actually stayed at the shelter before her murder is anyone's guess, and with all the clients the volunteers have seen over the years it might be hard for them to remember her.
 
Has anyone considered Amy Billig, the 17 year old kidnapped from FL 3/4/74 by a possible member of a motorcycle gang? Girls were considered commodities and I believe there were some known motorcycle gang hangouts in that area of PA at that time, if I remember correctly. A gang member clearly would not want this extra "baggage." The numbers may have indeed been part of a phone number, birthdate, ss#, etc. Phone numbers in the 1970's often began with letters, not numbers.
 
Does anyone think that the side by sides I have done of another girl match the UID ?

picture.php
 
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