CA CA - Otay, WhtFemale, 14-18, UP16712, homicide, burned, deformed right ear, extensive dental work, Feb'78

[cvaldez1975]

That may be true.

It strikes me that she had extensive dental work. Someone cared for her at one time. I wonder if it is possible for them to do isotopes because it seems to me she may not be from the area. Maybe she was kidnapped and tortured [emoji22]

Was she burned or no? Namus says she had a recognizable face.


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[carbuff]

Wait -- she had "extensive dental work" but "charting not available???"


SMH

Possibly the post mortem described the obvious features, but unless there was a forensic dentist present, they might not have created a formal chart.

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[Alleykins]

Does anyone know if Wendy Eaton was ever ruled out for this Jane Doe?
I ask because this case is mentioned twice on Wendy's thread but I'm not finding any follow up.
A former classmate had stated Wendy's right ear may have been deformed (she was deaf in that ear per Charley). Everything else seems to match, and given she may have joined up with a cult and there were possible sightings of her after she disappeared, her ending up in CA is not too far-fetched. That cult was notorious for moving their members if they suspected that families were onto them.
I can submit it to NamUs if no one knows if she was ruled out through DOE.
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?64549-PA-Wendy-Eaton-15-Media-17-May-1975/page5

 

[Cryptic]

I wonder if this young lady might have had special needs and was tortured/murdered by her caregiver. It would explain why she wasn't reported missing. I also think most teen girls with a deformed ear would wear their hair down, covering the ears, especially in the '70s when that was a popular style. The fact that her hair was in a ponytail leads me to believe that she might not have been self conscious about the ear and/or might not have done her own hair. Just my $.02.

Two cents? I think this observation is worth way more than that.

1978 was way before the building and population boom that later hit San Diego Country. Proctor Valley Road is some what isolated today, but in 1978, the surrounding areas of Jamacha, Jamul and Otay Ranch would have been small settlements surrounded by either real agriculture or real working ranches. Ranching would be even more large scale further east.

I knew somebody who grew up on ranches in the area as his father was a cowboy. He and his family would rarely leave the ranches as before the population boom, there were just not a lot of places to go. I also suspect that his school attendance could have been well, sporadic due to the needs of the ranches and other interests on his part.

He also told me that the ranches were not only remote, but that housing for the cowboys and their families was usually mobile homes in close proximity to each other. This could lead to community cabin fever and contributed to a nasty dispute between two branches of his family regarding a romantic relationship that half the family felt was improper.

With this in mind, I wonder if the victim was from a ranching family? Perhaps not the owner, but one of the cowboys?

This may have led to her wearing the pony tail as everybody on the ranch would know about the deformity and there would be less pressure to conceal it. She was also wearing overalls- clothing more associated with ranching and agriculture.
Likewise, if her school attendance was sporadic, it may have contributed to her not being immediately noticed as missing.

 

[Alleykins]

NamUs states dental is available for this set of remains.

 

[CaptainJaneway]

Does anyone know if Wendy Eaton was ever ruled out for this Jane Doe?
I ask because this case is mentioned twice on Wendy's thread but I'm not finding any follow up.
A former classmate had stated Wendy's right ear may have been deformed (she was deaf in that ear per Charley). Everything else seems to match, and given she may have joined up with a cult and there were possible sightings of her after she disappeared, her ending up in CA is not too far-fetched. That cult was notorious for moving their members if they suspected that families were onto them.
I can submit it to NamUs if no one knows if she was ruled out through DOE.
PA - PA - Wendy Eaton, 15, Media, 17 May 1975

Just saw this thread... I submitted Wendy as a possible match to DoeNetwork and received a reply that their panel is looking at the possible match.

I agree that between the ear deformity, dental work, hair color, eye color, etc. these two young ladies seem to have a lot of commonalities. Only thing that is somewhat off is height. Wendy was reported as 4'10" at the time of her disappearance and UID was estimated to be a minimum height of 5'0". However, I think the lapse in time between when Wendy went missing and when Jane Doe was found could be enough for her to have grown a few more inches or Jane Doe's recorded height was not accurate due to the circumstances of her discovery (burned remains).

 

[carbuff]

Height is notoriously imprecise in both UIDs and missing people. Plus or minus two inches is more than close enough.

 

[Essbee]

Bump... any updates??

 

[carbuff]

Updated Namus link: Unidentified Person Case

No ruleouts listed. She seems to have an updated sketch: https://www.namus.gov/api/CaseSets/NamUs/UnidentifiedPersons/Cases/16712/Images/43058/Thumbnail

 

[Gourami Watcher]

First of all, I'm going to say that I'm awful at this, but I tried doing my own sketch of the girl by using one of the renderings (that kind of makes her look about 25 years older). It also showed her with her hair down, so I figured I'd depict a ponytail, since that was how she was found. And the right ear is a different size on purpose, as it was described as "malformed" and smaller than the left.

 

[alucardsdream]

Just saw this thread... I submitted Wendy as a possible match to DoeNetwork and received a reply that their panel is looking at the possible match.

SNIPPED

I just read a book on missing persons that had a chapter on Wendy, I wasn't familiar with her case before. I remembered seeing an UID somewhere that had an ear deformity and wondered if it could be her. There still are no rule-outs listed in Namus for this UID...did anyone ever get back to you?

 

[Bit of hope]

Updated Namus link: Unidentified Person Case

No ruleouts listed. She seems to have an updated sketch: https://www.namus.gov/api/CaseSets/NamUs/UnidentifiedPersons/Cases/16712/Images/43058/Thumbnail

I don't like the sketch at all, I don't associate it with a young(er) girl at all.
As far as I can see, there is no DNA for this young lady, what complicates solving the case a lot. Well they have dentals....

 

[Bit of hope]

I wonder if CarlK ever saw a post-mortem picture. It would be so nice if he would do a reconstruction, make her human.

 

[LucyOso]

Human anatomy isn’t perfectly syemtrical. It’s very possible people didn’t notice the difference. Family yes, aquaintances maybe not.

 

[Bit of hope]

Bumping....no news....

 

[Richard]

Reconstructions of the victim.

Date of Discovery: February 14, 1978
Location of Discovery: Otay, San Diego County, California
Estimated Date of Death: Two days prior
State of Remains: Recognizable face
Cause of Death: Homicide by poisoning

Physical Description
Estimated Age: 14-18 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'0" to 5'1"
Weight: 85-90 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown, shoulder-length and worn in a ponytail tied with a rubber band.
Eye Color: Possibly brown.
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Her right ear was malformed and slightly smaller than her left ear. Pierced ears.

Identifiers
Dentals: Available. She had extensive dental work completed, including a root canal on the lower front right incisor, which was also cracked in half.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Not available.

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Black or blue denim overalls and a white halter top with a blue flower pattern. She was not wearing socks or shoes.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Discovery
The victim's charred remains were found next to the pavement of Proctor Valley Road in the rural area of Otay near the San Miguel Ranch area of Chula Vista. She appears to have been tortured and then set afire.

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: San Diego County Sheriff's Office
Agency Contact Person: Homicide Detail
Agency Phone Number: 858-974-2457 or 2321
Agency E-Mail: sdso.homicide(at)sdsheriff.org
Agency Case Number: 543957

Agency Name: San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 858-694-2905
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 78-338

NCIC Case Number: U719652692
NamUs Case Number: 16712
NCMEC Case Number: 1184501
Former Hot Case Number: 863

Information Source(s)
NamUs
NCMEC
NBC 7 San Diego News
San Diego Union-Tribune News Archive

Admin Notes
Added: 12/17/07; Last Updated: 12/11/18

 

[Bit of hope]

Bumping....poisoned (with what, you wonder), tortured and then set afire. To me it's obvious somebody wanted her out of his/her life and get rid of the evidence, of her ever existing. Family?

 

[cvaldez1975]

wow poisoned is that new? could her ear deformity be caluliflower ear which can be caused by abuse?

 

[Cryptic]

wow poisoned is that new? could her ear deformity be caluliflower ear which can be caused by abuse?

Ye, but it would take an awful lot of abuse. I once boxed recreationally and have followed the sport for years ( as a side note, reforms in this generation have made boxing far safer for the athletes).

That aside, I have only met one older instructor with cauliflower ears. None of the semi professional or serious amateur boxers and the a few kick boxers that I have known had the injury.

My guess is that even in the days before wide spread helmet use when sparring, it took years of constant boxing for the injury to develop.

One that does strike me is the extensive dental work on the victim seems to be in contrast to a possible poor background (rural farm clothes on girls back then were not trendy fashion statements, but rather usually meant working agriculture).

I am thinking that the victim may have been treated by students at a dental school making rotations at an orphanage. Senior dental students are encouraged to donate their time and expertise to such treatment programs as a means to gain more practice hours and also to give back to their communities.

Orphans can need a lot of dental care, one individual can give students a lot of practice hours in different techniques.

 

[Bit of hope]

Although there were a lot of ranches around where she could have worked, still wondered if this was a "normal" clothing item those days. Found this:

Bib overalls became the uniform of the working stiff, their baggy silhouette serving as an emblem of Depression-era farmers. Later, they became emblematic of hippies of the ’60s, college students of the ’70s, and even hip-hop and artists, who wore them with one shoulder unfastened.

Bib Overalls: From Farmwear to Fashion Icon - Modern Farmer