Identified! PA - Berks Co., 2 WhtFems, photos in hangar, 1968-69 - Martha & Sandra Stiver

New Posts

No, they are going to continue to try to extract the DNA needed for identification. Below is a snip from the article:

But he said there's still some hope of drawing DNA samples from the remainder of the bones in storage in the Reading Hospital morgue.

One set of remains was an intact skeleton that had some skin on it, he said.

"They must feel there is still a chance of getting DNA out of them," he said. "Otherwise, they wouldn't ask for more."
 
Awesome. I love seeing old cases get solved, and I always wondered about this one in particular. I wonder what information led LE at the beginning to be sure that the photos were related to the case.

RIP Martha and Sandra.
 
Migmuu said:
Awesome. I love seeing old cases get solved, and I always wondered about this one in particular. I wonder what information led LE at the beginning to be sure that the photos were related to the case.

RIP Martha and Sandra.
Click to expand...

The connection between the missing Philadelphia girls and the murders was first made by Sandra's sister, Hazel, who was researching the Doe Network online when she found information about the "Berks County Jane Does" and saw a girl in a photograph that looked like Sandra.
Click to expand...

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140607_Bodies_identified_through_DNA_as_that_of_two_Phila__girls_missing_since_1968.html
 
Migmuu said:
Sorry, I should have been more clear. In the DoeNetwork pages for the two (then unidentified) girls, it says that police had information indicating that the the photos were related to the two UIDs' case.
Click to expand...

I think the information that linked the photos to the UIDs came from a shoe salesman. He said that he sold the two pairs of white sandals that were found with the bodies to the girls in the photos.
 
I am so amazed at the wonderful work, that Carl, and the others do here. I would love to contribute, but I don't know how, or how to get started. I visit this forum, more than any other. God bless all of you for your dedication.
 
And I am NOT ashamed, to admit, that when another lost soul is brought home, I cry. But they are tears of pure joy. Thanks again to those who contribute....
 
Tulessa said:
And I am NOT ashamed, to admit, that when another lost soul is brought home, I cry. But they are tears of pure joy. Thanks again to those who contribute....
Click to expand...

Me too, pure joy mixed with sadness at the loss and anger at the person who did it.

o/t, I love your signature pic! Cute!
 
The Dreamland Park Murders book that was mentioned many posts ago pretty much points the finger at who was involved in this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Paradise said:
The Dreamland Park Murders book that was mentioned many posts ago pretty much points the finger at who was involved in this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Interesting DM me


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
gaia227 said:
Bumping:

I think it seems like a good possibility the 2 Berk Jane Does are the Stiver sisters who vanished from Philly in 1968 after going out shopping together.
http://www.pennsylvaniamissing.com/stivergirls.html

Neither one of the Stiver girls has a doe or charley project page.
Click to expand...

I know gaia227 didn't submit the match, but I have to remark on his/her being on the mark 5 years before the official ID. It isn't often that speculation about persons reported missing actually ends up matching a Doe.
 

Photos found at crime site.


Sandra Stivers, 14 (left) and Martha Stivers, 17, went missing in August 1968.

Sandra's body was found Aug. 22, 1968, in a wooded area along State Route 82 in Caernarvon Township in southern Berks County. It was estimated that she had been killed eight days earlier.

She had been shot multiple times with .22-caliber bullets in the chest and abdomen, and once to the left temple.

The teenager was wearing a black Nehru-type blouse, sandy-colored nylon stocking, a white girdle and white sandals. No skirt or pants were found.

She wore a bronze religious medal on a chain depicting a crucifix on the front. On the back was the inscription: "I am a Catholic. In case of emergency, call me a priest."

Martha's skeletal remains was discovered on April 18, 1969, in French Creek State park, about 31/2 miles from where Sandra's body was found. No clothing was found on the remains. A pair of panties and a sandal were found nearby.

The cause of death for Martha Stiver was undetermined, but investigators believed she was murdered around the same time as Sandra, police said.

In late October of 2013, after authorities were led to suspect that the Jane Does could be the Stiver girls, their bodies were exhumed from a potter's field in Cumru Township in Berks County.

The girls were identified through DNA comparisons with family members.

LINK:

Bodies identified through DNA as that of two Phila. girls missing since 1968
 
Back around 2008 (I can't find the old emails so that's ballpark), when I had my PA Missing site and was in DN, I/we were contacted by Sandy's sister. The sister had seen the "Berks Girls" case(s) on DN and thought they may be Sandy and Martha. I got contacted the PSP Corporal who had the Berks Girls case(s) and he, in turn, spoke by phone with the sister. So the possible matches were in the works, so to speak, back then. I added Sandy and Martha to PA Missing but they were never added to DN or Charley Project.

I went into the Wayback Machine and got this from Nov 2010 (the captures on WBM are spotty) - the Stivers on PA Missing:

Forty years later, while looking through the Doe Network website, Sandy's sister came across the profiles of the Berks Girls, two Jane Does who had been murdered in Berks County in 1968. The sister thinks it is very possible that the unidentified girls may be Sandy and Martha. Sandy bears a striking resemblance to the girls in a photo that may be of the two murdered girls. The possibility is currently being pursued by PA Law Enforcement.

Pennsylvania Missing Persons
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 181 more.
Total: 4,367 (members: 182, guests: 4,185)

Online statistics

Members online
182
Guests online
4,185
Total visitors
4,367
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
592,462
Messages
17,969,250
Members
228,774
Latest member
truecrime-hazeleyes
Back
Top