MD - Evelyn Rice, 30, Baltimore Torso Murder, 14 April 1939

Four sewer openings within a three-block area of East Baltimore last night yielded paper-wrapped parts of the body of a young woman.

The girl was tentatively described as between 16 and 18 years of age.

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Dr. Wood then said he believed a murder had been committed within four or five hours previous to the discovery. He described the parts as those of a girl between 16 and 18 years old, slightly less than five feet tall, weighing about one hundred pounds. The hand wore no ring or other means of identification, and it was removed to Police Headquarters for finger printing

The third find in the grim series was at 10.10 p.m. by Joseph Wosk, 20, of 13 South Anne street, and Jack Bernstein, of 1809 East Lombard street, who with others had been looking in the sewers missed by the squad of investigators.

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Thought all the names were in the file of missing persons, it was pointed out that some of them may have returned without knowledge to the police.The names are:

Nellie Ruth Barnes, 15. 3554 Poole street, missing since April 7.

Esther Baublitz, 16. Parkton, Md., January 11.

Minerva Beach, 21, Johns Hopkins student nurse. Orange, N.J., March 20.

Nora Lee Brunt, 17. 1114 North Calvert street, March 24.

Catherine Clarke, 20. 1010 East Chase street, January 18.

Virginia Crook, 21. 110 North MIlton avenue, March 26.

Carrie Ganion, 22. 1742 Hanover street, February 27.

Frances Vaesta Nonemaker, 18. 2242 Wilkens avenue, March 27.

Mary Pritchett, 25. 4605 York road, March 27.

Marie Stack, 19. 108 North Durham street, February 11.

Elise Toner, 15. 1613 East Oliver street, February 15.

Ethel Mae Williams, 25. 3613 Woodland avenue, April 9.

Mary Zeberlein, 23. Essex, Md, March 12.

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tlcya said:

What an interesting but gruesome case.

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Owutatangledweb said:

Missing 1939, although I cannot find an exact date or place from which she went missing.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Newhall_Follett

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Owutatangledweb said:

A girl who went missing April 1 from Uniontown, PA.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~florian/o_f3/uniontown-pa/news-items_2.htm

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Evelyn Rice, 30, a native of Dublin, Ga., "the daughter of a respectable family," reported The Sun, was a local beauty and had been Georgia peach festival queen. After two marriages and two children, she moved north to Baltimore and worked as a mind-reader and as a barmaid in an East Baltimore Street bar.

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Evelyn Rice was starting to reappear before anyone knew she was missing and the case had its name: 'The Torso Murder,' " said The Evening Sun in a 1988 story recounting the history of the murder.

Georgia belle

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