LA LA - Belle Chasse, WhtMale 16-17, UP88342, hanged, suicide note, Feb'75

[SSV]

Hello! First post but I just read this entire thread for the first time, and like so many of you, was caught up in it immediately.

I recognize that this may be reaching and a bit too esoteric to really help but....he hung himself from a persimmon tree. They ripen in late fall to winter, and may still be around in February. I thought immediately of the symbolism of flowers/fruits/etc. and went looking.

The first link I found stated that "...in Buddhism, persimmons are symbols of transformation....green persimmons are acrid and bitter in their immature state, they represent ignorance. As the fruit matures, it becomes sweet and represents wisdom that comes after transformation."
Source

Another source says that persimmons are "...an important reminder to be conscious of the choices we make in our lives" and more about choices and requiring time for things to come to fruition.

I realize that he probably just chose the tree out of convenience, but if it was Bayard with his ecological interests, or anyone who was educated and/or possibly interested in philosophy and similar topics, perhaps he chose this type of tree deliberately. I don't see how this helps us discover his identity but I found it fascinating and wanted to share. If this is too off-topic, I understand that it may be deleted.

 

[Marilynilpa]

Hello! First post but I just read this entire thread for the first time, and like so many of you, was caught up in it immediately.

I recognize that this may be reaching and a bit too esoteric to really help but....he hung himself from a persimmon tree. They ripen in late fall to winter, and may still be around in February. I thought immediately of the symbolism of flowers/fruits/etc. and went looking.

The first link I found stated that "...in Buddhism, persimmons are symbols of transformation....green persimmons are acrid and bitter in their immature state, they represent ignorance. As the fruit matures, it becomes sweet and represents wisdom that comes after transformation."
Source

Another source says that persimmons are "...an important reminder to be conscious of the choices we make in our lives" and more about choices and requiring time for things to come to fruition.

I realize that he probably just chose the tree out of convenience, but if it was Bayard with his ecological interests, or anyone who was educated and/or possibly interested in philosophy and similar topics, perhaps he chose this type of tree deliberately. I don't see how this helps us discover his identity but I found it fascinating and wanted to share. If this is too off-topic, I understand that it may be deleted.

Welcome to Websleuths!

I think your post is very informative and I appreciate the info. I never thought about why John Doe used a persimmon tree. As you said, it might have been chosen simply for convenience. But his suicide note makes me believe he was a “deep thinker” who very well might have chosen such a tree for it’s significance.

 

[Tony1902]

OT/persimmons are native to Louisiana. The Choctaw called them plaquemines. Belle Chasse is in Plaquemine parish.

 

[Triss]

I don’t feel LE would have been off by 2-3 inches when measuring John Doe’s body.

Bayard's family could've been wrong about his exact height when reporting him missing, though.

 

[Marilynilpa]

I got a list of cleaners doing business in Virginia Beach in 1975. I’ll use this list in an effort to see if any of them might know if “DD44” might have used by them.

This might be fruitless, but for now there isn’t anything else to go on.

 

[Sweetsbeach]

I got a list of cleaners doing business in Virginia Beach in 1975. I’ll use this list in an effort to see if any of them might know if “DD44” might have used by them.

This might be fruitless, but for now there isn’t anything else to go on.

My mom said a lot of people used Albano's cleaners. They are still in business at a few locations.

 

[Talullah]

I know 2 men who’ve had mustaches since the 70’s to cover and disguise a badly scarred lip and protruding gums. If either shaved I doubt I’d recognize them and if this John Doe had a mustache before he disappeared people may not recognize him. If he was estranged from family-who’d know him with or without a mustache-casual acquaintances could easily not recognize him if they’d only seen him with a mustache.

 

[Marilynilpa]

My mom said a lot of people used Albano's cleaners. They are still in business at a few locations.

Thanks, that’s where I’ll start.

 

[Talullah]

I live 100 miles from NO and it took 5 hours to get there by Greyhound in the early 80’s. I think we stopped every 5 minutes. Every type of person was on and off the bus. This John Doe might’ve been a passenger in 1975. Hopefully police checked.
I’ve read that some people who decide to commit suicide give away their things. John Doe’s letter was lucid and acknowledged he had advantages. He recognized those less fortunate so it isn’t a stretch he might’ve given away his shoes.
It’s hard to believe he was a teenager-not just because of his writing but other than mismatched socks he was conscientious in a way teenage boys usually don’t know how to be-unless maybe their parents are older or they have much older or younger siblings. An example is the letter in the jar. I can’t picture a teenage boy worried about dew. His clothes while not cheap were moderately priced in the 70’s and more along the lines of what a young professional might wear-unless his parents were older than his peers’ parents and they didn’t notice what other kids were wearing.

 

[Amateur Web Sleuth]

Hello all,

After reading the thread I would like to present a theory as to why John Doe's shoes were missing. If he hung himself from a tree I would think he would have to climb the tree to tie the blanket to a strong branch. He could have tried several trees before finding one and maybe left his shoes nearby or carried them up with him knowing nobody would search the top of the tree for belongings.

If this is Bayard Cousins, maybe he took his glasses off before hanging himself from the tree leaving them in a branch (especially if he had been sitting up on a branch preparing to jump off)
Just some thoughts...

 

[T rex]

Hello all,

After reading the thread I would like to present a theory as to why John Doe's shoes were missing. If he hung himself from a tree I would think he would have to climb the tree to tie the blanket to a strong branch. He could have tried several trees before finding one and maybe left his shoes nearby or carried them up with him knowing nobody would search the top of the tree for belongings.

If this is Bayard Cousins, maybe he took his glasses off before hanging himself from the tree leaving them in a branch (especially if he had been sitting up on a branch preparing to jump off)
Just some thoughts...

"I'm gonna die with my boots on." It's the first thought I had when I saw that this person was found hanging without shoes.
It was customary in the old days to remove someone's boots or shoes before they were hanged. It's just an old saying amongst outlaws and such people who knew this would be their fate if caught. Just a way of saying that you werent going alive just to be hanged and would rather die in a shootout or something.
I'm not saying that the method this person chose to take his life had anything to do with removing his shoes but it is the first thing I thought of.
His shoes and maybe other belongings were possibility close by. They wouldn't be hard to hide and the authorities probably didn't look to awful hard for them anyway.
Then there is the obvious reason for why he didn't have shoes, because he just didn't have any.

 

[PropaneYeeter]

It's common for Japanese people to remove their shoes before they commit suicide by jumping. With all this discussion about shoes, it's just a silly thought I had.

 

[theshadow45]

Belle Chasse John Doe has been unidentified for 45 years today.

 

[theshadow45]

Bumping for Belle Chasse John Doe.

 

[PropaneYeeter]

I think of this boy often.

 

[Rootje]

I ran across this while researching something else.

On Valentine's Day in 1975, the body of a 16-17 year old white male was found in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. He had committed suicide by hanging himself from a persimmon tree using a bedsheet. He was wearing a maroon and yellow knit shirt, blue trousers and unmatched socks. He was not wearing shoes. A jar laying against the tree trunk was filled with note paper.

He left a suicide note, addressed to "mom and dad" which read in part: "When you stop growing you are dead. I stopped growing long ago. I never did develop into a real person and I cannot tolerate the false and empty existence I have created".

He included this notation for the police who would eventually find him: "You are bound to preserve domestic peace and order. If you pursue who I was (and spend hundreds of dollars) you will accomplish little. There are no legal consequences of my death or any kind of entanglements. All that can happen is that you will shatter the domestic peace and order of two innocent lives. Do not deprive them of the hope that their 'missing' son will return . . .Let me be, let it be as if I wasn't ever here. Simply cremate me as John Doe."

He goes on to say "It is best if I cease to live, quietly, than risk that later I will break and shatter by violence or linger years under care. I implore you to see a psychiatrist in order that you might understand my death and my life. Ask thoroughly about what I was and you will see that it is not tragic that I am gone, but more natural than if I continued."

In a section entitled "why you should not feel responsible", the young man wrote: "I was born with a definite pervasive melancholy . . .what frustrated me most in the last year was that I had built no ties to family or friends. There was nothing of lasting worth and value. I led a detached existence and I was a parody of a person - literally and figuratively. I didn't tell jokes - I was a joke".

The suicide note is quite lengthy, and cites the writings of Emile Durkheim, a philosopher and psychologist. The young man said Durkheim called suicide "an inner direction of homicidal feelings against someone else."

He ends the note by saying "I am no longer interested in the world and know that it is not interested in me. When you stop growing you are dead. I stopped growing a long time ago."

On a separate scrap of paper, he wrote this note to his parents: "You have provided me with excellent advantages and privileges and experiences. I am extremely grateful for all of your sacrifices, time and support. I am now repaying you with an arrogant act. In this light, I do see it as criminal. I can only hope that you see that it was me who caused it."

This young man's description and fingerprints were circulated to police throughout the U.S., but he was not identified as of March 1975. I am hoping by putting this here on the cold case thread, it might trigger someone's memory about a missing young man.

This "John Doe" seemed to be intelligent and was extremely philosophical for a teenage boy. He refers to the advantages and privileges his parents provided, which could mean he was from a well-to-do family. There was no car found in the area, so he must have taken the bus or hitchiked to the wooded area where he ended his life.

If you are interested, the complete story is in the March 27, 1975 Post-Crescent, Appleton-Neenah-Menosha, Wisconsin.

If anyone knows anything about this young man, I'd love to hear it.

Oh wow. I just found this case, but it already means so much to me. I could cry. I feel his pain.
I'm a 16-year-old girl, and I've struggled with suicidal ideation and depression for years. I write poems and read a ton of literature, and his writing is wonderful, especially for a teenage boy.
I'm kind of torn here. He didn't want to be identified. Maybe we should respect that. But on the other hand, his family and friends deserve closure.
Pff. This case breaks my heart.

 

[carbuff]

Oh wow. I just found this case, but it already means so much to me. I could cry. I feel his pain.
I'm a 16-year-old girl, and I've struggled with suicidal ideation and depression for years. I write poems and read a ton of literature, and his writing is wonderful, especially for a teenage boy.
I'm kind of torn here. He didn't want to be identified. Maybe we should respect that. But on the other hand, his family and friends deserve closure.
Pff. This case breaks my heart.

I feel that way about some of our cases (Annandale Jane Doe for one) but this boy breaks my heart. I was in that same place when I was his age, or very near it. And I would love to find his name because I feel like he wanted to die because he thought nobody would care. He thought he had been rejected. I want to show him that no, we do care. We do accept him and there is love in the world.

And I say that to you, too.

 

[Rootje]

I feel that way about some of our cases (Annandale Jane Doe for one) but this boy breaks my heart. I was in that same place when I was his age, or very near it. And I would love to find his name because I feel like he wanted to die because he thought nobody would care. He thought he had been rejected. I want to show him that no, we do care. We do accept him and there is love in the world.

And I say that to you, too.

The love in this place!
You are all sweethearts. I’m in a much better place now, but oh, the poor boy. I attempted twice. I can’t imagine no one is missing their son. He must’ve had people that cared about him. Everyone does.
It’s just strange that his parents never found this case. Unless they died before they could, but then again, the boy was 17, which would make his parents 40/50. They could’ve found the case before their deaths, I’d say.
Maybe I’ve got it completely wrong, I don’t know. But I do know that if I went missing my parents would turn the whole internet inside out and not stop searching until I was found.

 

[Rootje]

I feel that way about some of our cases (Annandale Jane Doe for one) but this boy breaks my heart. I was in that same place when I was his age, or very near it. And I would love to find his name because I feel like he wanted to die because he thought nobody would care. He thought he had been rejected. I want to show him that no, we do care. We do accept him and there is love in the world.

And I say that to you, too.

I don’t know why I’ve never heard of Annandale Jane Doe. I love this woman. She even left money for her cremation. I can tell she was a wonderful person, just tired of living. Makes me happy and sad at the same time.

 

[carbuff]

The love in this place!
You are all sweethearts. I’m in a much better place now, but oh, the poor boy. I attempted twice. I can’t imagine no one is missing their son. He must’ve had people that cared about him. Everyone does.
It’s just strange that his parents never found this case. Unless they died before they could, but then again, the boy was 17, which would make his parents 40/50. They could’ve found the case before their deaths, I’d say.
Maybe I’ve got it completely wrong, I don’t know. But I do know that if I went missing my parents would turn the whole internet inside out and not stop searching until I was found.

One thing I've found in all the cases I've followed here is that many many people are looking for loved ones who have been missing a very long time but haven't been able to locate them. The reasons are myriad:

In 1975 it was hard to keep track of people. We only had land lines and the post office. If somebody was on the road, they had to find change for a pay phone, or call collect, and if the party being called wasn't home, there weren't answering machines or services to leave a message.

In 1975 police often dismissed reports of teenage runaways unless there was clear evidence of foul play. If they did take a report, they often closed it when the teenager reached adulthood.

In 1975 families were still fracturing over the counterculture issues. His writing seems to hint at either mental illness or sexual orientation issues; he could have been thrown out by a rigid family. They might have regretted it right away but not been able to find him. Or he might have left because he feared he wouldn't be accepted even if it wasn't true.

Even if he was reported missing and family has been looking for him constantly, there are so many logistical issues. A family from far away might not even think of looking in a swamp in Louisiana.

It's so sad and so difficult.