Police seek help in homicide case
Wednesday, November 16, 2005 By Paul Rioux
St. Tammany bureau
She had an obvious affection for butterflies, as revealed by the necklace, bracelet and earrings she wore featuring the colorfully winged insects.
She was in her late teens, with shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair and perfect teeth.
A couple of body piercings and a homemade tattoo on her leg suggest a rebellious side.
Still trying to identify the body of a young woman found bound and gagged Monday in the Pearl River in northeastern St. Tammany Parish, authorities released new details about her appearance Tuesday.
"A good percentage of our chance of solving this murder depends on identifying this young woman as soon as possible," Sheriff Jack Strain said Tuesday afternoon.
The body was found Monday morning in the river at a makeshift boat launch next to the Interstate 59 bridge near the Mississippi border.
Detectives entered the woman's description into national databases for missing persons but found no potential matches, Strain said. Her fingerprints also turned up no matches, suggesting that she did not have a criminal record, he said.
"We're checking with school systems throughout the region about missing students, but this is all probably going to hinge on a tip from the public," he said.
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The body, with duct tape binding the wrists and covering the mouth, was in shallow water about six feet from the Louisiana bank.
The young woman was wearing panties and a white sweatshirt with the words "South Pole" on the front. The rest of her clothing was found nearby, authorities said.
"There is no preliminary evidence of sexual assault or rape, but additional tests are pending to determine if there was sexual contact," Strain said.
Strain declined to disclose how she died, saying he wanted to withhold some information that only the killer would know.
"I can tell you that she fought her attacker," he said. "It was a real brutal situation."
He said the woman was
16 to 19 years old, about 5 feet 3 inches tall and 130 pounds. She had piercings in her tongue and belly button and had a crude tattoo on her left calf with a flower and the name "Katie" written in script.
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