LA LA - Belle Chasse, WhtMale 16-17, UP88342, hanged, suicide note, Feb'75 #2

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Another thing I forgot to add when contemplating about Charles Wallace… would anyone know if a place like a home for teenagers with drug problems would provide psychiatric services at that time? Even counselling? I am unfamiliar with the world of drugs and addiction at all, especially back then.

I just wonder as in the note… it suggests to me he never received psychiatric care at all… “I would have rejected any help”… that combined with when he mentioned to law enforcement “There are no legal consequences of my death or any kind of entanglements.”… it seems to me like he was someone with a clean record who didn’t receive any mental care either… So it makes me wonder whether it was really Wallace or not… Just my own speculation though, of course.
 
This is my own interpretation of what his note tells us:
1) He was very literate, possibly highly educated, but his writing is oddly formal and stilted. Dispassionate.
2) A lot of his statements show he probably had a flare for the dramatic and/or a tendency toward self-obsession.
3) He doesn’t sound like he was adept at social interactions. Maybe on the spectrum?
4) He makes so many oblique references to somehow being flawed but unable to change. If I had to bet, he was threatened with conversion therapy and knew it would be pointless, but actually wished it would help him. He doesn’t sound like he is happy about whatever is in his head that he can’t change.

If it was Wallace, perhaps his family thought he was disgracing them and decided to say it wasn’t him rather than claim him.
 
the family of Charles Wallace Jr. came from Tennessee to see if John Doe was their missing loved one. Charles, who was 19 at the time, disappeared from a Memphis, TN home for teenagers with drug problems. His mother confirmed that John Doe was not her son, however Charles’ dental charts did match John Doe’s. - from the medium article linked previously.
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Um... people do look different in death... what if his mother was mistaken or in denial?

My condolences, may your aunt rest in peace. Alot of people do think he might be older than estimated, I also think he might be as well, coming from someone who is babyfaced and still gets ID’d.

There is alot of things supporting the idea its Charles, initially when reading the thread my first assumption was that it was him, although now I’m keeping an open mind. As for his mother… it is a pair of shoes I never want to be in, as much as I would like to understand what have been going through her mind at the time. I could understand that her decision could be discredited. Even if it wasn’t, to be in that situation of having to come to terms that your son may have killed himself… To be in that situation in general must be quite distressing and incredibly uncomfortable, and on top of that, judging from how detailed one of the news articles was about it, having media present likely didnt help her mental state at all.

But at the same time… I’m not a mother, and perhaps they really would recognise their childs face when they see it. Overall its quite mystifying, I hope Mrs Wallace has found peace.
IMO it's very possible that BCJD could be Charles. For me, his dental records matching up is compelling, especially the scar in BCJD's mouth that matched Charles' scar. MOO

I have a theory that I know others have shared previously, that it is possible that Charles' mother did recognize him, but for some reason did not wish to identify him officially.. perhaps it was a mother honoring her son's final wish to "let him be".. perhaps her heart just couldn't bear to positively identify him, so there could still be hope there.. perhaps she wanted to protect him from public stigma related to suicide.. any number of reasons. JMO. And if this was in fact what happened, I would not fault his mother at all. MOO.

The post I'm linking below has information about the dental records/scar and Mrs. Wallace's visit to view BCJD's body. I truly feel for her going through what must have been such a traumatic experience.

All of this is JMO. I also remain open to many possibilities.

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

Edited to actually include the link I said I was going to include ;)
 
His handwriting appears to be standard American cursive, same thing I learned in school in the late sixties. It's somewhat simplified from really fancy writing, like the Palmer method (pointer to sample on Wikipedia Palmer Method - Wikipedia)

Here's a pointer to the chart many of us learned from: Cursive - Wikipedia

We got graded on how accurately we could reproduce those shapes.
My grandma is 100 years old and she writes exactly like the Palmer Method handwriting sample here. Her penmanship is still perfect. I didn’t know it was a historical style. Thank you for sharing. I learned the typical cursive you linked here.
 
In that particular newspaper too the article and particularly the note, was cut off and going to continue on ‘page 10’, but it seems that part of the newspaper hasn’t been found or uploaded online yet. With what extra information this newspaper provided it makes me wonder just what else was written that could be valuable to us…

Thanks for reminding me of this! Awhile ago (maybe a year or so) I actually called the Plaquemines Parish Library to see if they had the Belle Chase Gazette on microfilm, and if they had this particular issue. They do!

I was planning on looking it up the next time I was in New Orleans (I'm from Louisiana and have family in NO) but somehow that time has never come.

If any locals wanted to grab a copy and upload it, that's where it is. :)
 
Thanks for reminding me of this! Awhile ago (maybe a year or so) I actually called the Plaquemines Parish Library to see if they had the Belle Chase Gazette on microfilm, and if they had this particular issue. They do!

I was planning on looking it up the next time I was in New Orleans (I'm from Louisiana and have family in NO) but somehow that time has never come.

If any locals wanted to grab a copy and upload it, that's where it is. :)

Woah, that’s amazing! Thank you for this information! :)
 
the family of Charles Wallace Jr. came from Tennessee to see if John Doe was their missing loved one. Charles, who was 19 at the time, disappeared from a Memphis, TN home for teenagers with drug problems. His mother confirmed that John Doe was not her son, however Charles’ dental charts did match John Doe’s. - from the medium article linked previously.
View attachment 532131

Um... people do look different in death... what if his mother was mistaken or in denial?
I am replying to you because you reposted this photo of CW wearing glasses.

We know BCJD was found without shoes, was there any mention of glasses? I’ve re-read all the threads this year and I’m pretty sure glasses weren’t mentioned. Maybe he hid his shoes and glasses to avoid more obvious signs of his identification? Moo
 
We know BCJD was found without shoes, was there any mention of glasses? I’ve re-read all the threads this year and I’m pretty sure glasses weren’t mentioned. Maybe he hid his shoes and glasses to avoid more obvious signs of his identification? Moo
I know this case like the back of my hand and I don't recall there ever being any mention of glasses. I'm still stuck on why on earth he'd get rid of his shoes, tbh, unless they were super identifiable and directly traceable to him as you say.

Looking at the pics of Charles Wallace, idk if it's a match just based on visuals. In the pic I've seen of Wallace, he appears to have light or blondish hair - is there any info on the colour of his eyes/hair? John Doe was reported to have dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, iirc. I do think it's compelling that the dentals and mouth scar matched, though. I hope they can exhume the body and do some genetic testing as that's the only way I think this case could ever get solved. On that note, has anyone contacted Othram about this boy? I'm sure they'd be willing to help.
 
I know this case like the back of my hand and I don't recall there ever being any mention of glasses. I'm still stuck on why on earth he'd get rid of his shoes, tbh, unless they were super identifiable and directly traceable to him as you say.

Looking at the pics of Charles Wallace, idk if it's a match just based on visuals. In the pic I've seen of Wallace, he appears to have light or blondish hair - is there any info on the colour of his eyes/hair? John Doe was reported to have dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, iirc. I do think it's compelling that the dentals and mouth scar matched, though. I hope they can exhume the body and do some genetic testing as that's the only way I think this case could ever get solved. On that note, has anyone contacted Othram about this boy? I'm sure they'd be willing to help.
I totally agree, based on visuals, that he looks nothing like CW, mainly the blond hair. But his dental records and a large scar inside his mouth matched, which almost seems irrefutable, unless that was somehow misreported or misinterpreted at the time. Apparently dental records were lost to Katrina, so I’m not sure if dentals could ever be verified today. (There are sources for this in this and previous threads, but MOO because I can’t specify the post number).
 
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I know this case like the back of my hand and I don't recall there ever being any mention of glasses. I'm still stuck on why on earth he'd get rid of his shoes, tbh, unless they were super identifiable and directly traceable to him as you say.

Looking at the pics of Charles Wallace, idk if it's a match just based on visuals. In the pic I've seen of Wallace, he appears to have light or blondish hair - is there any info on the colour of his eyes/hair? John Doe was reported to have dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, iirc. I do think it's compelling that the dentals and mouth scar matched, though. I hope they can exhume the body and do some genetic testing as that's the only way I think this case could ever get solved. On that note, has anyone contacted Othram about this boy? I'm sure they'd be willing to help.
Othram has been notified earlier in this thread, but there are other agencies involved and someone would need to authorize exhumation of his body, imo, based on what I’ve read here on the threads.
 
From what I remember, there was no mention about there being any glasses. IMO I do believe in the theory that he lost his shoes while experiencing death throes, as mentioned in discussions earlier on in the thread, the style of shoe likely worn at the time could easily slip off.

I see both the resemblances and differences CW shares with the BCJD… its quite mystifying knowing that the dental records match, despite the visual differences between them. From what I remember when it came to the dental records, there was a presence of a scar, but thats about it. I just wonder if the scar could have been different in any way (i.e, other cheek, horizontal instead of vertical, etc…), and if it would have been mentioned if there was… or were they like ‘yep theres a scar alright’ and didnt think much more about it? Perhaps I need to read over it again…

I also think genetic testing is the key to solving all of this… When I first learned about this boy, before knowing how much success there’s been in recent years in identifying victims, I thought to myself ‘yeah theres no hope, guess we will never know’… but now I truly hope we can get his name back, and show that while he may have thought the world had lost interest in him, in reality we’ve loved and remembered him for almost 50 years… Not sure how, and its probably easier said than done… but I will hold onto that hope, and at the very least make progress one step at a time which right now IMO would be to get the rest of that article from the Plaquemines Gazette… sadly I would not be able to get it myself, but atleast its out there. :)
 
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Othram has been notified earlier in this thread, but there are other agencies involved and someone would need to authorize exhumation of his body, imo, based on what I’ve read here on the threads.
I don't think they know where BCJD is actually buried anymore. Fifty years have gone by and many records were destroyed during Katrina. Even without a catastrophe like Katrina sometimes just time results in lost evidence.

Another poster mentioned wondering about his lack of shoes. Highway 23 probably doesn't look anything like it did 50 years ago. It was probably a two lane road with foliage on both sides. I believe the area where the JD was found was actually on an area of highway 23 that is now called Highway 11. It runs much closer to the Mississippi River. It is still a two lane road. There's a video of a man who posts just driving various routes, and one I found is actually on highway 11. It's kind of remote and under built, not very many homes and what are there are very modest. "In Plaquemines Parish, sections of the original LA 23, since bypassed, are signed as Parish Road 11 (although some maps erroneously list these routes as LA-11), such as in Jesuit Bend and the area south of Port Sulphur through Empire, Buras, and Fort Jackson. Prior to Louisiana's 1955 highway renumbering, LA 23 through Plaquemines Parish was LA 31, and there are some bridges, such as the Bayou Barriere crossings in northern Belle Chasse, that still bear the original numbering." Excerpt from Wikipedia re LA23

Link:

I checked out what persimmon trees look like and they can vary, especially in that area. There are 3 distinct types. Native trees can grow up to 60 feet but more commonly grow up to 20 - 30 feet. The Oriental varieties grow low and are preferred for harvesting. I got this information from various websites. Here's one: American Persimmon.

Back in the 1970s, I wonder if most persimmons were the native type. If someone is familiar with the types of persimmon trees that grow in the area, can you verify how big the grow? Based on the tree's characteristics (thin trunks and branches) you can see them growing beside highway 11 in the video above.

If this is the area where BCJD chose to commit suicide, I'm wondering how he got there. Back in the 1970s it was very common to hitchhike, and I wonder whether that's how he ended up there. And if he did hitchhike why did he get out where he did? Was it because the driver had reached his destination? If that were true, you'd think the news of a body found hanging from a tree would be news in the area and the individual would come forward. If he requested to be let out there, what was the reason? If he planned to commit suicide why here? And why, a persimmon tree? Plaquemine is French Creole for persimmon. Here's a little video re the name. Link:

If the deceased's shoes were never found, does that mean he arrived to the area without shoes? Was he walking along the side of the road and lost them in a muddy ditch (that's happened to me!) Did he take them off before he hanged himself? If he did take them off was that because they would have identified him? Trying to think of the type of shoes that might identify an individual. The only things I can think of are shoes that might be part of a uniform or shoes that have your name written inside. Usually names on clothing or shoes is to identify them to the wearer because others wear the same shoes. Maybe brogues, like those worn at a private school that had uniforms, like a Catholic school or a military school. I think a lot of kids who were sent to military schools were sent there either to 'toughen them up' or because they were "problem kids" getting into trouble and it was a last ditch effort to straighten them out.

Part of me wonders whether this JD was identified anonymously and the family chose to remain quiet.
 
I don't think they know where BCJD is actually buried anymore.
iirc someone earlier in the thread did manage to find and contact the cemetery where he was laid to rest and managed to get the info of his exact burial plot from them. they just don't have permission to exhume him.

edit - ok i just fact checked. turns out i remembered it a little wrong. this info is in the original thread. someone did contact the cemetery and they confirmed that he is buried there in the unmarked section where they bury all their unidentified deceased. the cemetery knows the plot number but will not provide it or any other info regarding the burial to the public unless a family member of the deceased is enquiring to have him exhumed and moved elsewhere.
 
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iirc someone earlier in the thread did manage to find and contact the cemetery where he was laid to rest and managed to get the info of his exact burial plot from them. they just don't have permission to exhume him.

edit - ok i just fact checked. turns out i remembered it a little wrong. this info is in the original thread. someone did contact the cemetery and they confirmed that he is buried there in the unmarked section where they bury all their unidentified deceased. the cemetery knows the plot number but will not provide it or any other info regarding the burial to the public unless a family member of the deceased is enquiring to have him exhumed and moved elsewhere.
Well, that's a catch 22. We don't know who he is and we can't get DNA until a family member makes the request but the family is unaware of the death in LA so the body remains buried.
 
f they don't know who he is then anyone should be able to claim to be family and demand he be exhumed

Interesting idea, although it makes me wonder if there’s any burden of proof on the theoretical family member making the request.

In other words, do you have to prove you had a missing relative around 1975, known to be in New Orleans area, pictures that match BCJD, etc? Is paying for the exhumation and reburial and DNA testing on you, or LE? Since there’s no crime involved, I would assume the cost would be on the petitioner (who also has to petition the court for permission to exhume in the first place.)

I got super curious about the question/idea and its’s sort of a MUDDY CRAWFIsH HOLE (much worse than a rabbit hole - phrase stolen from @Finding Magness).

Anyway, found this, which is an interesting story about one person’s desire to exhume their father (and the costs involved, circa 2013):

 
Well, its not just about funding - I think the biggest hurdle is getting permission to do it in the first place.

I wasn’t able to find Louisiana’s laws on this in my cursory survey, but most states seem to have a sort of ‘dignity in death’ idea underlying theirs; ie, you have to have an extremely good/compelling reason to dig someone up.

In the article above, for example, she would have needed notarized statements from all of her father’s living descendants giving their consent to the exhumation. Just as a first step. :)
 

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