Identified! MN - Blue Earth, WhtFem 183UFMN, 20-35, May'80 - Michelle Busha

carolina

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i came across this website somehow and thought y'all might be interested.

i think it is scary how much cassandra landrum looks like this jane doe although the circumstances, time and locations lead me to believe it probably is not her.

http://mavweb.mnsu.edu/bittid/#PossibleData
 
carolina said:
i came across this website somehow and thought y'all might be interested.

i think it is scary how much cassandra landrum looks like this jane doe although the circumstances, time and locations lead me to believe it probably is not her.

http://mavweb.mnsu.edu/bittid/#PossibleData
That is unreal how many people it might be...
 
"Blue Earth" Unidentified Caucasian Female

Discovered on May 30, 1980 in Blue Earth, Faribault County, Minnesota.
She was a victim of homicide
Estimated date of death was 3 - 7 days prior to discovery
State of Remains: Moderate to severe decomposition

Vital Statistics
Estimated age: 20 - 35 years old
Approximate Height and Weight: 5'3"; 128 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair. Left ear pierced. Brown hair. Both feet heavily calloused.
Dentals: Slight overbite. Dental records available.
Clothing: No clothing located.
Fingerprints: Left thumbprint available.
The Doe Network: Case File 183UFMN
Agency Case Number: 80-000-335
NCIC Number: U-464525869

Case History
The victim's body was found in a drainage ditch on Interstate 90 near the Bricelyn Exit. The perpertrator, Robert Leroy Nelson, was an on-duty Minnesota State Patrol trooper who lured the apparent hitchhiker and confessed to the crime nine years later.
Nelson, currently serving a life sentence in Texas in connection with brutal sexual assaults on other victims and his own children, admitted to the murder and under hypnosis provided authorities with some details about the victim, including tossing her black purse into a nearby grain storage facility. The purse was never found. He described her as wearing a T-shirt, blue jeans, hooded sweatshirt, Army fatigue jacket and carrying a black leather purse and possibly wearing a gold ring with a pearl and small diamond inset. He further revealed that prior to the victim's death she had talked about the Milwaukee, WI area and thought she may have been traveling to Oregon or Idaho.

Faribault County Sheriff's Office 507-526-5148

Link
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/183ufmn.html
 
carolina said:
i think it is scary how much cassandra landrum looks like this jane doe although the circumstances, time and locations lead me to believe it probably is not her.

You might be on to something. The resemblence is close. The problem seems to be in the five years difference between the two cases. Could it be possible that she ran away from home in Georgia only to turn up five years later in Minnesota? Perhaps she was living with some one in the interim? I wonder if any forensic comparison has ever been made.
Here is some info on Cassandra:

Cassandra Nadine Landrum
AKA Sandra
Missing since September 29, 1975 from Union City, Fulton County, Georgia.
Classification: Involuntary

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: August 26, 1957
Age at Time of Disappearance: 18 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'1; 100 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian. Blonde hair; hazel eyes.
Marks, Scars: Small scar on her forehead
Clothing: Blue jeans and two red shirts, one short sleeved and one long. She was barefoot.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Landrum was last seen leaving her family's home in Union City, Georgia on September 29, 1975. She intended to use a pay phone, which was a short distance from her house. Landrum was never seen or heard from again.
Her parents received anonymous phone calls after her disappearance, during which the caller informed them that Landrum had been murdered. She has never been located.

Union City Police Department 770-306-6862
NCIC Number: M-768525715
The Doe Network: Case File 210DFGA
 
yes, the time is definately the big problem with her, and she is also a little under the estimated age range.

and assuming that cassandra did run away, maybe she had one of her friends call her parents and say she was murdered in hopes that they wouldnt try as hard to look for her. but then to actually end up murdered is too freaky.

the big question i have with the jane doe is the head shaving thing. it said on that website how her head was completely shaved except for a small circle of hair...i really wonder if the police explored the cult angle enough.
 
I had not heard that her head was shaved. If that is the case, why would the artist's drawing show her with a full head of hair? The Hari-Khrishnas of the 1970's had a habit of shaving their head, except for a topknot. But As I recall, it was the men who did that. I don't recall girls doing it.
 
i don't know why they show her with hair...maybe they think it was done after she was killed? that is totally my own guess though. it is just so strange!

if you look on the website and go to the link that goes to newspaper articles from 1980, there is one that points that out. it is a very unclear pdf though and you have to zoom in on it....i think the following link should take you to it...

http://mavweb.mnsu.edu/bittid/freepressmay311980.pdf
 
Certain things just do not fit with this being cult related. In the 1970s and early 80's there was a lot of cult activity going on, along with abductions and "deprogramming" of kids who had run off to join cults.
This one, however, seems a bit out of the ordinary. If the girl was in a cult, it is unlikely that she would have been traveling alone and over such a long distance (Wisconsin to Oregon).
If the confessed killer is believed, the clothing, purse, and jewlry that she was wearing does not seem to fit with the styles of most cults.
Did Robert Leroy Nelson ever say anything about her head being shaved? In describing her clothing, did he say what became of it? Why does he not mention shoes and socks?
The description states that her feet were heavily calloused. So where was she all winter long that she could have gone barefoot to keep them so calloused?
 
do you believe robert nelson actually committed this murder?

i am begining to agree with the website that so far paulette jaster is the closest match out of those listed as missing on the doe network. but i would like to know WHEN in 1980 she was seen in arizona - that could explain the callouses on her feet.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/108dfmi.html

Date Of Birth: January 9, 1954
Age at Time of Disappearance: 25 years old

Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'4"; 115 lbs.

Distingishing Characteristics: Caucasian. Brown hair; hazel eyes. Slender to medium build.

Dentals: Available

Marks, Scars: Scar on crown of head, gray mark from pencil lead embedded on left cheekbone below eye.

Medical Conditions: Jaster occasionally suffered from periods with mental illness.

Clothing: She was wearing blue jeans and was carrying an army-style duffelbag. She also wore a ring with a turquise stone and a silver ring with a stone of unknown color.

AKA: Paula Johnson,Paula Breck, Paulette Breck, Paula Lynn Sweet



Circumstances of Disappearance
Jaster was last seen in Davison, Michigan sometime in May of 1979. She left Michigan and was last seen headed toward Highway 69. She was sighted in Mesa, AZ during 1980.

She worked at WAG's Restaurant (in Walgreen's) and Paul Perry's Smorgee Table early in 1980, both in Mesa, Arizona. It is believed that she may have been traveling to Florida. Jaster was known to have bouts with mental illness, and is very creative and artistic, loves unusual jewelry, animals and anything "natural". Jaster has never been seen or heard from again.
A cursory search of Social Security databases showed no evidence of Jaster or any of her known aliases in recent years.
 
Robert Nelson had been a State Police officer. He would therefor have had access to just about every bit of information about this murdered girl. Could he have faked a convincing confession? Yes, but for what reason? He obviously gave additional information about her, such as clothing, jewlry, name, etc. but none of that has checked out.
Having been in Arizona, I would not recommend going barefoot there. The ground is pretty sharp with rocks and cactus! And it does get pretty cold there in the winter.
 
so the arizona thing was totally wrong! oops..obviously i have never been to mesa!

the calloused feet though might simply be from extensive walking or standing and have nothing to do with weather. if she had been hitchhiking for some time she probably would get them same as if she had held a job as a waitress somewhere. an uncomfortable pair of shoes in either one of those situations would definately bring on callouses.

i just wish there was more information to go on than the few pieces of evidence that came out during nelson's hypnosis that cant even be confirmed as accurate. and he said what she was wearing when he picked her up but never what happened to her clothes and jewlrey. he must have done something with all his victim's stuff!
 
Ok now I am confused about the hair. Why do they not mention the unusual hairstyle in any report? The cult thing may have something to do with the calloused feet I guess.
 
Pbuck said:
I am Paulette Jaster's sister, and a newbie to this forum. According to SS, she was working at two restaurants (probably as a waitress) in AZ in January and February of 1980. If you would like to read the recent article published in the Flint Journal here's a link: http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-36/1146396012121210.xml&coll=5&thispage=8
Thank you for your interest.
Pbuck,
Welcome to WS, I hope you find this forum helpful. Thanks for the link to the article, the information is appreciated. I was glad to learn more about Paulette, and I hope someday your family will find out more information as to her whereabouts. If you are interested in starting a thread on Paulette, I think that would be a good idea. My best wishes to you and your family.
 
I may want to do this, but can you tell me how? Thank you for your interest.
 
You're welcome. Sure, just click on the "New Thread" button up in the upper left hand side of the cold case forum page. You can choose a title for your thread, and usually people do the name of the missing person and the location where the person was last seen along with the date they went missing. Like-- Paulette Jaster last seen in AZ in 1980 -- or something like that. You can put the info you have compiled so far regarding the situation in the body of the text along with links to any newsarticles etc that you have. Also, you might want to consider looking in the missing forum also to see if you would like a thread there....

Anyone else have further suggestions for PBuck?

Good luck and I'm one who will visit the thread if you do decide to start one!


Pbuck said:
I may want to do this, but can you tell me how? Thank you for your interest.
 
Where should the new thread be, here in "Cold Cases" or should it be in the MISSING BUT NOT FORGOTTEN forum?

Here's a thread from the childseek website with a huge amount of information about Paulette:

http://www.childseeknetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3839

It is possible that maybe Paulette's sister cannot find the NEW POST icon, located at the bottom of the forum, on the lefthand side - maybe it doesn't configure in identifiable fashion on her monitor.

Can someone who knows where the new thread should be located please start it for her?
 
Pbuck said:
I am Paulette Jaster's sister, and a newbie to this forum. According to SS, she was working at two restaurants (probably as a waitress) in AZ in January and February of 1980. If you would like to read the recent article published in the Flint Journal here's a link: http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-36/1146396012121210.xml&coll=5&thispage=8
Thank you for your interest.


Here's the new thread:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1069874
 
Cops look to DNA in 1979 case

Data banks to be checked to locate missing woman
DAVISON
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Friday, May 19, 2006 By Ron Fonger
rfonger@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6317
QUICK TAKEStill searching

<LI>Paulette Jaster disappeared from her parents' home in Davison on May 12, 1979. She would now be 52.

<LI>State police are restarting their investigation of her disappearance, hoping DNA from Jaster's father and sisters will help them close the case. Until now, Jaster's DNA information has not been entered into a national FBI databank that helps match missing persons with unidentified human remains.

<LI>If you have information that might be helpful to police, call state police Detective Sgt. Jason Teddy at (810) 732-1111.



***

DAVISON - Police have restarted an investigation into the disappearance of Paulette Jaster, a former Davison High School homecoming queen candidate who vanished 27 years ago.

State police plan to collect DNA from the father and sisters of Jaster, who walked away from home carrying a green dufflebag in May 1979 and never was seen again by her family.

State police Detective Sgt. Jason Teddy of the Flint Township post said he plans to use the DNA in an effort to match Paulette to unidentified remains in a nationwide FBI database, including a body found in Blue Earth, Minn., one year after Jaster disappeared.

"It could help. The window is not closed," said Teddy, who took on the case just days ago. "I plan to use the technology available today to reanalyze the information that's been collected over the years."

Jaster's story was profiled by The Flint Journal last month. The April 30 article generated calls to state police, but no leads have paid dividends, Teddy said.

Her disappearance has troubled her family for decades, partly because the former honor student and high school basketball star had developed schizophrenia before she left home without warning.

Family members and police have since followed false leads, offered rewards and traveled around the country to find out whether Jaster is alive or dead, in trouble, or only interested in being left alone.

Before her mother's death in 2005, Jaster's parents both gave blood at the request of police, a family member said, but that information was only used to eliminate her from consideration in another Jane Doe case in Arizona.

"If she's out there ... we want her to know her family loves her," said Peggy Sperlich, one of Jaster's sisters. "This makes me more hopeful."

Police are interested in the possible connection between Jaster's disappearance and the unidentified remains of a Jane Doe whose body was found in a drainage ditch a few miles east of tiny Blue Earth on May 30, 1980.

The woman found in Blue Earth was nude, her head partly shaved, and a rope was around her neck. She was buried in a rural cemetery with a headstone marked "unidentified person."

Jaster was 25 at the time she disappeared, and her age and physical description generally match the description of the Jane Doe.

"I've always thought (Paulette Jaster) was a good candidate to be our Jane Doe," said Deborah B. Anderson, a Blue Earth resident who started a Web site devoted to identifying the woman found in her town.

Anderson said she has read about Jaster on Web sites dedicated to missing persons and calls the possible match between the two women a "very, very, very huge longshot," but believes it's worth pursuing.

"I would hope to God somebody would do the same thing if my daughter was buried somewhere under a stone," she said. "You can't say it doesn't matter just because she died in a ditch."

***
https://mavdisk.mnsu.edu/bittid/#FACTS

Maybe her head was shaved by her killer? Also, if the ID card and sweater found under a nearby overpass really did belong to her, and the supposedly issuing state could not identify who it belonged to, then it was forged. That would suggest that she was either 1-an illegal alien, or 2-hiding from someone/law enforcement. I'm going to guess that option 1 is more likely. Either would explain why no missing persons reports.
 

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