Identified! NY - Queens, BlkFem 161UFNY, 15-21, braces, braided hair extensions, Jan'97 - n/a

Fuuro

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http://z10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/index.php?showtopic=7081

Hi fellow sleuthers, Fuuro here, and since I haven't seen a thread for this young lady, I decided to make one.

This young woman (possibly a teenager) was found deceased on Jan 17, 1997 in Queens, NY (my uncle lives around there). They think she was dead for around 3 days before she was discovered. She was the victim of a homicide, she was stabbed and beaten about the head. At this point, I think that she was killed by either her boyfriend or her husband and was never reported missing. By the looks of her dentals, investigators believed she may have hailed from the Caribbean. My family comes from the Caribbean and domestic violence is very prevalent in our culture. I think this girl is either from Haiti or Jamaica, likely Haiti, since it looks as if her dental care was slightly behind that of the U.S. at the time and medical standards in Haiti are quite behind that of the United States. Also, another thing I noticed: she was manicured, she was wearing expensive hair extensions, she had a gold watch, and she looked well put together. Was this young lady involved in prostitution and maybe her pimp (pimps often "marry" or date the women who work for them) murdered her during an argument? I don't think this is as likely because this seems like an incredibly passionate crime carried out by someone with a profound hatred for this girl. I think that a pimp would've just done something like shot her or beat her. But this girl was stabbed numerous times all over her body, so I think this was carried out by someone with a deeper attachment to her, which brings me to my next theory about why she died.

I also think that there is a big chance, if this was a child, that her parents were involved and she was a victim of discipline gone too far (read: child abuse). I am Haitian and I know that in my culture and in several other Caribbean cultures, parents frequently go overboard with disciplining their children. My mom and her 10 siblings were beaten and whipped on a regular basis for the smallest things, and although, thankfully, I never had to endure any of that, it's looked upon as being normal and effective parenting in Haitian culture (at least decades ago when my mom was growing up; I don't know about now). Especially if this girl was a teenager who was going through somewhat of a "rebellious" phase. This doesn't seem like a random crime. This seems like someone was furious with this young lady because of something she did, no matter how small it was and that the people who should've reported her missing, whether it's her mom and dad or her husband or her boyfriend, opted to not do that instead since they were involved in her homicide. It has been almost 18 years. Hopefully, we can find out who she is and what happened to her soon.

Also, I apologize, I forgot to put her Doe Network case code thingy in the thread title (which is 161ufny, by the way)
 
I don't see a NamUs casefile for this woman. But here's the DoeNet file:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/161ufny.html


The Doe Network:
Case File 161UFNY


161UFNY.jpg

Reconstruction of Victim

Unidentified Black Female

Located on January 17, 1997 in Queens, New York.
Cause of death was homicide
Estimated date of death is one to three days prior

Vital Statistics

Estimated age: 15 - 21 years old
Approximate Height and Weight: 5'4" - 5'6"; 130 lbs
Distinguishing Characteristics: Black hair; brown eyes. Thin to medium build and a medium complexion. Her nails were manicured, painted white with black stripes. Expensive hair extensions cascaded to her shoulders in neat braids.
Clothing: She was wearing blue jeans Blue Denim Republic brand, size 9-10. She also wore a Swenson watch with a with a gold face and a black leather band.
Dentals: She had braces on her teeth. Appeared to be 15 years behind the latest orthodontic advances, she possibly came from the Caribbean.

Case History
The victim was located in Queens, New York on January 17, 1997, in a empty lot on 170th Street and 105th Avenue, wrapped in trash bags, strapped to an old cart, covered by cardboard and dumped in mud. She was stabbed in the neck, torso, arms and legs.
 
That's odd, as it seems like the reconstruction is the post-mortem photo altered to make appropriate. That's just my opinion though.
 
Yeah, I think that it's clear that this was just a PM photo of this girl that was (poorly) edited to make it look as if she was alive.

Also, brownies to the person who edited my thread's title - I'm new to the Unidentified and I forgot to include some more details about 161ufny in my name of my thread. Thanks!
 
When they say cart do they mean like shopping cart?

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I was thinking one of those flatbed carts with the handle? For ease of moving the body. JMO though.
 
I believe she may have been killed by Arohn Kees. He was active in the area at the time and he also did the shopping cart thing. It might not help to figure out who this Doe is, but it sure sounds like Arohn Kees may have had a hand in her death. There is a cold case files episode on him.
http://m.imdb.com/title/tt1919566/
http://murderpedia.org/male.K/k/kee-arohn.htm

I do remember hearing about Kee, but there are some characteristics about this homicide that don't quite match up to the other homicides that Kee committed.

First of all, the cause of death for all 3 women that Kee (was known to have) murdered was strangulation. One of the 3 young women who was murdered was stabbed a couple times in her chest, but it is believed that her being strangled is what lead to her death. I'm actually confused about the cause of death of one of the young women who died; the Murderpedia article says that she was burnt alive while simultaneously claiming that all 3 victims were strangled to death. This young woman, however, was beaten and stabbed to death. It might be a small thing, seeing as a lot of serial killers don't murder people the exact same way, but it's just something I noticed.

Second of all, all 3 girls that Kee killed were raped before they were finally murdered. As far as we know, 161ufny was not sexually abused before she was killed; although, given the sparse information that we have on this case, I wouldn't be surprised if there was some evidence that was uncovered that we all don't know about.

Also, I hope that we get some new info or at least a newspaper article about this Jane Doe for the 18th anniversary of her death, which will be next month.
 
I agree with your theories Fuuro. My ex and an old co-worker of mine lived in NYC in the late 1990s and things they have told me about some of the West Indian subcultures sound a lot like what you have described.

I know there is quite a bit of travel that immigrants do between the Northeast and the Carribean- is there a way to circulate her reconstructed photo & info in the Carribean? She might be recognized by a relative that still lives there, if she is indeed Haitian or from another neighboring island.
 
I wish they'd do a better recon :(


I know, I find it kind of ironic how a slightly-edited actual photo of her seems like it would be less effective than a full-on reconstruction. No offense to the people who made this recon, it just seems like a bit of a rush-job in some sort of editing software. In my opinion, a well-constructed computer-generated sketch or a realistic bust (some of the busts I've seen have unfortunately been of less-than-terrific quality) with an option to view the unedited morgue photo (if they still have it) would be just tops.
 
I agree with your theories Fuuro. My ex and an old co-worker of mine lived in NYC in the late 1990s and things they have told me about some of the West Indian subcultures sound a lot like what you have described.

I know there is quite a bit of travel that immigrants do between the Northeast and the Carribean- is there a way to circulate her reconstructed photo & info in the Carribean? She might be recognized by a relative that still lives there, if she is indeed Haitian or from another neighboring island.

I think it would be helpful if they distributed flyers or put signs up in the more Jamaican/Haitian populated areas of NY, but since a lot of people who come to the U.S. from the Caribbean only bring their immediate family members (my family did this; my grandmother came first and then her husband and her kids came years later), I'm wondering if it would really help, seeing as if I'm starting to lean towards the theory that her immediate family may have been the ones who did this to her in the first place.

Speaking of that theory, the fact that she was wearing braces seems to further suggest to me that 161ufny was a child. I would say that she probably was closer to the 15-17 end of the spectrum than 20-21. This, however, makes me question my other theory about her being a victim of domestic violence. Maybe if she was a victim of domestic violence at the hands of a spouse or boyfriend, maybe she got married to/was in a relationship with an older man who was controlling and abusive. Just MOO.

Also, this case is beginning to remind me of the Melonie Biddersingh case from Canada. Both of the girls were from the Carribean, they were both found deceased and Melonie remained unidentified for a long time, and it ended up being discovered that Melonie was a victim of child abuse at the hands of her parents (her dad and her stepmom). Melonie was also never reported missing and was 17 when she died in 1994. Her father and stepmother made up bogus stories about her and said she ran away to the United States. Her biological mom didn't believe the story and finally ended up calling police, leading Melonie to be identified after 18 years.
 
2 weeks from now will make it 18 years. Hoping that we get an article or something for the anniversary of when she was found.
 
19 years have now passed and this unfortunate young woman remains a Jane Doe. It's sad she isn't in the NCMEC's system or even NamUs despite her young age. There's virtually nothing known about her except for a brief Doe Network page and a sloppy reconstruction.
 
Her hair seems unique. From what I can make out in the recon, she has dip dyed box braids.
 

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