Identified! PA - Bensalem, WhtFem 35-45, 306UFPA, wrapped in plastic, dental wk, Sep'95 - Merrybeth Hodgkinson

chaddylex

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Found this UID lady while looking at UID's on NAMUS. It says that they have DNA in Codis, so I guess they haven't found a match yet when compared to missing people.

https://identifyus.org/cases/full_report/2201

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/306ufpa.html


Unidentified White Female


Discovered on September 18, 1995 in Bensalem, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Estimated Date of Death: 2-3 years
Cause of Death: Homicide
Skeletal Remains


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Vital Statistics


Estimated age: 35 - 45 years old
Approximate Height and Weight: 4'8" - 5'2" (60" est)
Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair. Probably gave birth at least 1 time
Clothing: The body was unclothed. Clothing found near the victim includes: A blue quilted, sleeveless vest, light blue corduroy pants, Rustler brand, size 40x30. A pink T-shirt with "KPMG Peat Marwick lettering on front, 1 fits all (probably large). A white T-shirt with "Property of "Alcatraz Penitentiary Swim Team" and "San Francisco" lettering on front, size small-cut to a half shirt. A white v-neck t-shirt, size large. A brown beaded, single massage cushion.
Jewelry: Two crosses. One small (gold) and one large (silver). Both have crucifix on the front and the Stations of the Cross depicted on the back.
Fingerprints: Not available
Dentals: Available. Extensive dental work which appears to have been done at low cost, possibly a prison or clinic.
DNA: Available.


I thought it could possibly be Frances Keefer, missing from Fountain Hill PA

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2846dfpa.html
Date Of Birth: July 14, 1949
Age at Time of Disappearance: 44 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 4’11”; 85 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White/Non-Hispanic female. Black hair; brown eyes. Scar on abdomen from Cesarean delivery.
Medical: Fybromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Clothing: Possibly a powder-blue jogging suit.
Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Not available

Circumstances of Disappearance
On March 22, 1994, at around 5:30, Frances’ husband arose, leaving his sleeping wife in bed and went into the bathroom to shower for work. When he returned to their bedroom, she was gone. It was assumed that she left in the family car, since it was no longer at the residence.

Frances suffered from Fibromyalgia, a condition characterized by muscle pain throughout the body, and a sleeping disorder. As a result, she had spent most of her time at home in the 18 months prior to her disappearance.

Frances’ husband reported her missing to the Fountain Hill police. Before 24 hours had elapsed, her husband received a call from the Bethlehem police telling him that his car had been located. Fountain Hill borders Bethlehem City in Northampton County, PA. The car was located, illegally parked, on Millside Drive, near Saucon Park, below a railroad trestle that spans the Saucon Creek in Bethlehem City. Police searched the car and the immediate area, but no sign of Frances was found.

In 1995 a former neighbor of the Kiefers, Bryan Steckel, claimed to have strangled Frances. Steckel was on death row in Delaware for an unrelated case. His involvement in Frances’ case has not been verified or disproved. He was executed on November 4, 2005.

Frances Kiefer was never located. She was declared dead in October 2001.


Age's are in range, height is in range, UID was found in Bensalem PA, Frances was missing from Fountain Hill PA - mapquest says distance is about 48 miles between the two

It doesn't say if Frances has her DNA in Codis or not, It says dentals are available, but with no description.


What do you all think???
 
To me, it looks great as a potential match. Her two-piece blue outfit may not have been a true jogging suit (nobody jogs in corduroy pants) but from a distance, someone might have mistaken it for activewear.

That "Alcatraz Swim Team" novelty shirt sounds like something her husband would recognize if it was hers; maybe it was a vacation souvenir?

I think the beaded seat cushion is the most promising lead. There's no mention of one missing from the Kiefers' car, but it's the kind of product someone with CFS and Fibromyalgia might try to relieve lumbar pain. I remember these were heavily marketed in the coupon pages and catalogs and the ads claimed taxi drivers who spent all day in their cabs relied on them for comfort. Reference photo, assuming this is the type of cushion LE is referring to:

http://www.autosportcatalog.com/images/originals/beadedseat_1.jpg

I'm tempted to guess the seat cushion was dumped with the body because it was bloodstained, but presumably the seat would have been as well since the cushion is just beads laced together.
 
Francis Kiefer certainly fits the description - Right height, age, hair color, and she has given birth.

Her facial shape is similar, although it is difficult to do an overlay given the angle of the photo.

The time frame and distance (about 50 miles) is quite reasonable. I'd say its worth a call-in.

It would be interesting to know if she (or her husband) is/was an accountant. KPMG Peat Marwick is a one of the big 4 (big 6 at that time) accounting firms. I would think that Jane Doe (or a close relative) is an accountant who worked for KPMG. This is not the type of company logo that someone would wear without having some personal connection to that firm.
 

I don't think it's Hardwick. According to this link: http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200301675W

Hardwick wore dentures, the UID had extensive dental work which would indicate (to me) she actually had teeth. Also, Hardwick was approx 110 lbs, the UID with a 40 waist at approx 5' would have weighed much more.

Edit: Hold on... Identifyus says:
Clothing on body body was unclothed
Clothing with body blue quilted sleeveless vest-S (I would guess "S" means Small?)
Blue Corduroy pants-S
Pink T-shirt with "KPMG Peat Marwick"-S
White T-shirt with "Property of Alcatraz Pennitentiary Swim team, San Francisco"-S

Forget what I said...
 
In researching KMPG Peat Marwick, the name was ONLY used in this variation of the name (KPMG Peat Marwick) between the years 1991-1995. It is ranked as one of the top 10 companies for working mothers. They do have locations in both Philadelphia, New York, and San Francisco, among other cities.
 
In researching KMPG Peat Marwick, the name was ONLY used in this variation of the name (KPMG Peat Marwick) between the years 1991-1995. It is ranked as one of the top 10 companies for working mothers. They do have locations in both Philadelphia, New York, and San Francisco, among other cities.

The company is now known only as KPMG. The Peat Marwick part of the name was eliminated. This company, and the other large accounting firms are typically stepping stones for accountants just out of college who wish to obtain the experience necessary to go on to become CPA's.

Unless they intend to become a partner of the firm, employees typically work there for two years before moving on in their career.
 
In researching KMPG Peat Marwick, the name was ONLY used in this variation of the name (KPMG Peat Marwick) between the years 1991-1995. It is ranked as one of the top 10 companies for working mothers. They do have locations in both Philadelphia, New York, and San Francisco, among other cities.

The picture of the shirt in the Doe network looks like the ones they used to provide for the women who participated in a series of road races held to raise money for breast cancer research. L'Eggs mini-marathon, maybe? They were held in several cities around the country including Boston and NYC. I can't tell if it has a collar -- these were plain pink t-shirts with a darker pink band.
 
You all bring up great points!

Wonder if Frances was religious? Reason being that the UID was found with having two crosses (stations of the cross).


Do you think I should submit?
 
Yes, I think you should submit -- all the basics fit, and there's enough detail they should be able to rule it in or out fairly quickly.
 
I hope these two were compared considering the close proximity between where Frances was from and where the UID was found.. but look at Cynthia Day's case... close proximity and never compared....go figure.

I will submit in the morning when I get a chance at work. I am too tired right now..lol
 
Carl will know better than I but I suspect that the KPMG T-shirt may not lead back to a fee earner at the firm.

I suggest this because a corporate T-shirt like that could easily have been given to a thrift store, or been worn by a member of catering or cleaning crews. I don't know about the mid 90s but I suspect that these roles would now be sub-contracted, i.e., the worker would have a different employer.

I think this is more likely than belonging to someone in a comparatively high earning accountancy role, because of the recent, low-cost dental work. An accountant would probably have more expensively funded work done.

Oh and here's an accountant missing in 1995 - but she's too tall, from a different firm, and based in Arizona (although her husband, the prime suspect, has connections to the north east).

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1449dfaz.html
 
I just sent an email to Detective Chris McMullin that is charge of the UID's case. I asked if the UID was ever compared to Frances Kiefer.

I attached a read receipt on the email, and he already read it. Hopefully I will get a response sometime today.
 
YEAH!!! Chris McMullin emailed me back. He said that he has the UID's DNA On file but according to Frances Kiefer's profile, she does not have DNA on file. He is going to contact PA State Police to see if he can get a "reference sample from her sibling or child"

It is so nice when LE gets back to us when wondering about possible matches.

I just asked him if he had a list of Rule Outs for this UID, but I haven't received an email back on this one yet.
 
You're right Carl, My boo boo. I fixed it in the above posts.. I sent the right last name to Chris McMullin the Detective that is in charge of the UID... I don't know where in the heck I got the last name Baker???
 
Carl will know better than I but I suspect that the KPMG T-shirt may not lead back to a fee earner at the firm.

I suggest this because a corporate T-shirt like that could easily have been given to a thrift store, or been worn by a member of catering or cleaning crews. I don't know about the mid 90s but I suspect that these roles would now be sub-contracted, i.e., the worker would have a different employer.

I think this is more likely than belonging to someone in a comparatively high earning accountancy role, because of the recent, low-cost dental work. An accountant would probably have more expensively funded work done.[/url]

The employment at a Big 6 firm is not necessarily inconsistent with low-budget dental work. These are not high-paying jobs. They do pay OK, and of course, they are given the basic dental benifits. But the lucrative gigs come after the two-year stint at the Big 6 firm and the sign-off on the CPA certification that comes with it. Also, since they usually employ accounting students right out of college, the low-budget dental work may have been performed while she was a "starving student".

These firms usually occupy office space in the most prominent buildings in most major cities, so the cleaning crews are not employed by the firm. They are more likely employed or contracted out by the building management company.

But it is possible that the shirt was obtained at a charity event sponsored by KPMG-PM.
 
I looked this case up yesterday and saw that Porchlight member "Awagner" sent the potential match to McMullin in March 2006. He apparently didn't rule it out at the time but it's been four years so some decision on its match potential must have been made by now. I'll post here if I find anything out.

Porchlight link: http://z10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/index.php?showtopic=665
 
I looked this case up yesterday and saw that Porchlight member "Awagner" sent the potential match to McMullin in March 2006. He apparently didn't rule it out at the time but it's been four years so some decision on its match potential must have been made by now. I'll post here if I find anything out.

Porchlight link: http://z10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/index.php?showtopic=665

Thanks Tatertot for letting me know... from his email this morning its seemed like it was never looked into..... strange.

I emailed him again to see if he had a list of ruleouts but didn't hear back. I did email him from work, so he might have emailed me back. But I won't know until the morning.
 
I looked this case up yesterday and saw that Porchlight member "Awagner" sent the potential match to McMullin in March 2006. He apparently didn't rule it out at the time but it's been four years so some decision on its match potential must have been made by now. I'll post here if I find anything out.

Porchlight link: http://z10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/index.php?showtopic=665

It seems that this is not uncommon for people to call-in tips and have them ignored. WS member Salem called Aundria Bowman in (to Holland, MI LE) last July as a possible match to Crystal Rae (Racine WI), and she was never even looked at until I followed up in February. Racine LE said that she was not on their list of several hundred names.

That is why it is important to follow-up on your submissions because many of these agencies will just ignore you if you let them.
 

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