Identified! NJ - Blairstown, Cedar Ridge Cemetery, 'Princess Doe', WhtFem 14-18, 36UFNJ, peacock skirt, Jul'82 - Dawn Olanick *charges*

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Gypsysoul25

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She's been identified.going by her recon I guess she would have natural straight hair :T.Olanick ey?sounds like a obscure surname.

I would think with a obscure sounding surname like that would have lead to Dawn's identification much sooner.genealogy is my hobbies

I vaguely remember knowing that many surnames in Germany that end In ick are in actuality Germanized Slavic surnames.so amazing how the genealogy thing didn't come sooner.I am more surprised at the fact.but then again maybe her having a what looks to be a obscure surname might factor as to why she wasn't identified for 4 decades
 

FrankieFalzon

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"Princess Doe" has been identified as Dawn Olanick.

She was 17 years old when she was murdered. Arthur Kinlaw remains the top suspect in her murder. His candidacy has been strengthened by the recent findings, and he will be formally charged with her murder. Kinlaw is also a suspect in additional rapes and homicides.
 

landis

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Her surname sounds Polish. It could've been something along the lines of Olanicki at first, but because this kind of a surname ends in -ki for men and -ka for women, it might've been shortened to just Olanick to avoid the confusion or something.
 

taramarie

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Also, I've stumbled across what I think is her father's obituary. She wasn't even mentioned there.
yes, that’s her father. I found one photo attached with her in it. She’s adorable. I’ve cropped the photo to remove other family members for privacy.
 

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mastiphal25

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Her surname sounds Polish. It could've been something along the lines of Olanicki at first, but because this kind of a surname ends in -ki for men and -ka for women, it might've been shortened to just Olanick to avoid the confusion or something.
Slavic definitely. A different spelling of Oleynik, maybe? Do you guys remember Alex Mack? The actress' name was Larisa Oleynik and her father was Ukrainian
 

landis

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The different spelling of Oleynik doesn't make much sense to me. Polish spelling of Oleynik is Olejnik, you read it the same way as with y. There is, though, plenty of people in Poland with the last name Olanicki/Olanicka, so my theory still is that they "cut off" the end to make it easier to pronounce/less confusing.
 

MacPlus512

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So glad to see Princess Doe get her name back!!

I do wonder though why it seemed nobody was looking for her. Even if there was a big falling out in the family, you'd think they'd at least look for her at some point. Also, would she have been considered an emancipated minor at 17? Not sure what the laws were in 1982 for that, or what they were out east (I am familiar with PA's laws since I work with teenagers and know I may have to deal with someone in that situation someday).

I first saw this case when I was 14. It's haunted me since, especially since I wasn't too far off in age from Dawn when she was discovered.

One thing I do want to do is give her a lot of credit for standing up to Kinlaw. I know it cost her life in the end, but I'd imagine he would be an intimidating person who wouldn't take no for an answer. I just wish she could have escaped and survived.

Check some of the Facebook posts. I'm starting to see people who knew her or met her post.
 

RaspberryMama

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A cousin of Olanick spoke at Friday's news conference, thanking investigators and the community for not giving up in the case. He said the identification and charges have opened a lot of wounds, and the family wishes to remain private.


I'm really curious about the family not reporting her for 40 years. She is not even mentioned in her father's obituary. That makes me so sad.
 

MacPlus512

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Somewhat related---was Kinlaw the one whose mother killed herself by crashing her car into a wall in Allison Park, PA, or was that another serial killer? I know someone did and I know the intersection it was at...I fill up at the gas station there a lot.
 

Diavola

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I had a feeling she would be identified this year, I'm so happy to see this!

Rest in peace, Dawn!
 

Angelcat13

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Thank God and all of the amazing people who have worked hard for 40 years to give Princess Doe her real name and to bring her killer to justice. I have followed this case for decades as it really hit home for me. She was about my age - now I know she was only 25 days older than me - and I have thought of her so often. I have also been so touched by the way the town of Blairstown, NJ embraced and cherished her in death.
 

Julie61

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A cousin of Olanick spoke at Friday's news conference, thanking investigators and the community for not giving up in the case. He said the identification and charges have opened a lot of wounds, and the family wishes to remain private.


I'm really curious about the family not reporting her for 40 years. She is not even mentioned in her father's obituary. That makes me so sad.
I think it's odd too that nobody came forward except some random cousin. I found that obituary too, and it's all just making me sad as hell. What could a 17 year old do that would make you kick her out and never think about her again? You know they must have seen reports when the body was found, and someone recognized that clothing. Police even said they believed her to be from Long Island. And yet...not a word.
 

RaspberryMama

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so I found the obituary you're talking about and searched for his wife. In one of her facebook pages she makes a comment that she lost her husband AND daughter to leukemia. But the daughter named in the obituary has a recent facebook page and I can't find an obituary for her. So.. is this the right obituary, or are they pretending dawn passed from leukemia? It's possible his wife had a daughter before she married him I guess, however from the Obituary they were married since 1979, when Dawn would have already been 15? Do we know Robert is definitely Dawn's father, and not an uncle or something?

Also there's another picture of him in the obituary with the person in that picture you posted, and another young girl. The other young girl looks more like Dawn IMO.

EBM: Nvm, best not post the picture just in case I'm wrong
I ran across the leukemia post and have the Exact. Same. Questions.
 

RaspberryMama

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I think it's odd too that nobody came forward except some random cousin. I found that obituary too, and it's all just making me sad as hell. What could a 17 year old do that would make you kick her out and never think about her again? You know they must have seen reports when the body was found, and someone recognized that clothing. Police even said they believed her to be from Long Island. And yet...not a word.
Some of the FB comments on the news articles are interesting. One friend of Dawn's mentioned that she was quiet and never a problem child or rebellious teen and didn't know why she'd been asked to leave home. So strange!
 
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