PA PA- Jamie Stickle, 33, bartender in the LGBTQ+ community, attacked outside apt, still alive when placed into her burning jeep, 8/2/02 *New initiative*

[dotr]

Jamie Stickle,39 - Google Search

Very lengthy article.

KDKA Mysteries: Unsolved Murder Of Jamie Stickle Still Haunts Family, Friends, Investigators

Who killed Jamie Stickle? It's a mystery that has haunted her family, friends and veteran homicide detectives for 17 years.

www.cbsnews.com

APRIL 29, 2019
''PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Who killed Jamie Stickle?

It's a mystery that has haunted her family, friends and veteran homicide detectives for 17 years.

Jamie's body was found in her jeep, which had been set on fire outside her apartment on the North Side, on Feb. 8, 2002.

"They said she wasn't shot, she wasn't stabbed, but there was a lot of blood. And then they said that she was burned so bad they couldn't tell if it was a fractured skull or exactly what it was," says Jamie's mother, Marge Walls.

Joe Meyers was one of the detectives who investigated Jamie's murder.

He has since retired from Pittsburgh Police and now works with Carnegie Mellon University Police, but he says Jamie's death has never left him.''

"I've thought about it many, many times. My only hope is that she was unconscious and died before she could wake up and feel the pain," says Meyers.

Jamie was a popular bartender in Pittsburgh's gay community.

Those who knew her say the manner of her death was so inconsistent with how she lived her life. Friends and co-workers say she was jovial, charitable and highly regarded in the community. In fact, they say nobody would have wished any kind of violence on Jamie.
But that clearly was not the case on the night she died.''

Jamie lived in an apartment upstairs.

Detective Meyers says, "There was evidence that she had initially been assaulted at the front door of her apartment. We had her blood on the door itself, we had several strands of her hair, and some objects that she had in her hand, we're assuming she had in her hand, were found on the doorstop. It appears she got out of her truck, was able to make it to the door, was trying to get into her apartment and was assaulted at the door."

''In addition to the door, detectives also found blood on the pavement and on the jeep's door handle.

"There was evidence that she had been dragged, probably unconscious, from the initial point of the assault at the front door, back to the jeep and placed in the jeep and was still alive when the jeep was set on fire," says Meyers''

The medical examiner didn't have much to work with.

"They declared, because of the condition of her body after the fire, they were unable to say it was a homicide. It was ruled as undetermined," says Meyers.

Jamie and her longtime girlfriend were coming out of a turbulent breakup.

Jamie's ex was one of the first people police questioned.

"She was with her parents ... She was able to account for her whereabouts and she was pretty quickly eliminated as a suspect," says Meyers.''

 

[dotr]

How Two Podcasters Hope to Shed Light on a 21-Year-Old Pittsburgh Cold Case | Pittsburgh Magazine

‘The Woman With the Same Name’ podcast will tell Jamie Stickle’s story in hopes of bringing in new leads.

www.pittsburghmagazine.com

.
20 hours ago rbbm
Denise Bonura

JAMIE STICKLE IS PICTURED AT IMAGES BAR IN FRONT OF HER FUNDRAISING RIBBONS FOR BREAST CANCER AND SHEPHERD WELLNESS COMMUNITY. STICKLE WAS FOUND INSIDE OF HER BURNING JEEP OUTSIDE OF HER NORTH SIDE APARTMENT IN THE EARLY HOURS OF FEB. 8, 2002. HER SUSPICIOUS DEATH HAS NOT BEEN SOLVED AND A LOS ANGELES COUPLE IS HOPING TO PRODUCE A NEW PODCAST IN SEARCH OF FRESH CLUES IN THE CASE. PHOTO BY MARA RAGO.

''The body of Jamie Stickle, 33, a prominent figure in Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ+ community, was found burned inside of her Jeep outside of her North Side apartment near the 16th Street Bridge in the early hours of Feb. 8, 2002.

Though many signs, such as a massive amount of blood, strewn items from her purse — including mace — and a suspicious fire, point to a homicide, her death was classified as undetermined by the Allegheny County medical examiner due to the condition of her badly burned body at the scene. The case remains unsolved.''

''Stickle’s friends and family in Pittsburgh remember her as a jovial woman with a bright smile, joking nature and generous spirit who was always raising funds for various causes, including cures for HIV/AIDS, breast cancer and multiple sclerosis, details that have become lost amid the horrific details of her death.''

She had moved to Pittsburgh several years before her death to live with her long-term girlfriend and began bartending at gay and lesbian clubs Downtown, including the now-closed Sidekicks where she had been working the night before she was killed.

According to an article in QBurgh, Pittsburgh’s source for LGBTQ+ community news and resources, Stickle was “a very connected, active and respected figure in the LGBTQ+ community of Pittsburgh.”

''The community has theories surrounding her death, such as a target on her or a hate crime.

Stickle was going through a turbulent breakup at the time and some believe someone outside of the community was hired to target Stickle. Former Pittsburgh Police Detective Joe Meyers who investigated the case has also said he thinks that theory could be true.''

Jim Sheppard, editor of QBurgh, says it is very important to bring Stickle’s case back into the spotlight during a time when more violence is reported against members of the LGBTQ+ community across the nation.

“When she was killed, I was in the process of coming out and finding my community and it was scary to me,” he recalls. “In the last few years I think a lot of attention has rightfully been paid to individuals in the public safety sphere who do not prioritize marginalized communities. When it’s pretty clear to most observers that this is most likely a homicide, but it’s not recognized by the experts, it really raises suspicion and distrust.”

 

[Melquiades]

Jamie and her longtime girlfriend were coming out of a turbulent breakup.

Jamie's ex was one of the first people police questioned.

"She was with her parents ... She was able to account for her whereabouts and she was pretty quickly eliminated as a suspect," says Meyers.''

Hmm, I hope they did more investigating than just 'I was at my parents' house and they vouch for me', especially given that it sounds like this was done in the early AM hours.

 

[dotr]

Maybe they could contact Othram?
2012 rbbm

Target 11 investigates mysterious death of popular Pittsburgh bartender

For more than a decade, Margie Walls of Uniontown has been searching for answers in her daughter's death.

www.wpxi.com

"It appeared that the fire originated from the rear. You see the back tires burned off," said Smith, who took over the case after the two investigating officers retired.

This is a case that's baffled investigators from the beginning.

They do know Stickle was still alive when the fire started because she suffered smoke inhalation. But they don't know has the fire started, and they say the fire caused other problems as well.''


''Investigators did recover a lip stick tube, cellphone, crumbled cash, Mace and for the first time Earle learned they also found a partially eaten apple, a small pink plastic flower and cigarettes.

Earle also discovered brand new information about suspected blood found at the scene of the crime. He learned it was only a small amount on the door handle leading up to Stickle's apartment. Family members said Stickle was having relationship problems, and just hours before she died, she got into an argument at a local bar.''


''After the argument, witnesses say Stickle returned to her Jeep in a parking garage on Liberty Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh and headed home alone.

At 3:47 am, the fire department was called about a car fire and found her body inside. Family members said they suspected foul play from the beginning''

 

[LadyL]

Maybe they could contact Othram?
2012 rbbm

Target 11 investigates mysterious death of popular Pittsburgh bartender

For more than a decade, Margie Walls of Uniontown has been searching for answers in her daughter's death.

www.wpxi.com

View attachment 437389
"It appeared that the fire originated from the rear. You see the back tires burned off," said Smith, who took over the case after the two investigating officers retired.

This is a case that's baffled investigators from the beginning.

They do know Stickle was still alive when the fire started because she suffered smoke inhalation. But they don't know has the fire started, and they say the fire caused other problems as well.''


''Investigators did recover a lip stick tube, cellphone, crumbled cash, Mace and for the first time Earle learned they also found a partially eaten apple, a small pink plastic flower and cigarettes.

Earle also discovered brand new information about suspected blood found at the scene of the crime. He learned it was only a small amount on the door handle leading up to Stickle's apartment. Family members said Stickle was having relationship problems, and just hours before she died, she got into an argument at a local bar.''


''After the argument, witnesses say Stickle returned to her Jeep in a parking garage on Liberty Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh and headed home alone.

At 3:47 am, the fire department was called about a car fire and found her body inside. Family members said they suspected foul play from the beginning''

' ... they didn't have enough evidence to rule it a homicide.'

I'm sorry but what???

her blood was on the door, she had smoke inhalation, and the fire was started from the rear of the jeep

so did they think she hurt herself drawing blood at the door, scattered her belongings everywhere, went back out to her jeep and started a fire before getting back in the vehicle to choke on smoke and burn herself to death???

 

[LadyL]

did they look for the person she got in an argument with at the bar? would there have been surveillance cameras in 2002?

I feel like this could've been solved 21 years ago but now I'm not hopeful
RIP Jamie

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The case remains unsolved to this day, and in the 22 years since Jamie’s death, I’ve hoped for resolution or, at least, a fresh investigation. A podcasting team has been digging in, hoping to move the case forward and maybe find some answers. This week “ The Girl with the Same Name ” podcast will air its first episode investigating Jamie Stickle’s death.

The host is also named Jaime Stickle. It’s a strange circumstance, but it is how Jaime Stickle (the podcast host) was introduced to the story of Jamie Stickle (my friend). I spoke with Stickle and her partner and show editor Jason Beeber in advance of the first episode dropping. [For the purposes of this story, the podcast host will be referred to as ‘Stickle’ and my friend will always be ‘Jamie.’]

New Podcast Investigates Cold Case That Rocked Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ Community | Pittsburgh Institute For Nonprofit Journalism | NewsBreak Original

I don’t remember who called to tell me, in February of 2002, that Jamie Stickle was dead, that she had been killed, but I do remember that the ground underfoot felt off-kilter. Much of the LGBTQ community couldn’t get our balance without her, and the death of this huge presence in gay Pittsburgh...

original.newsbreak.com

 

[dotr]

By Brian Conway February 8, 2024

'The Girl with the Same Name' podcast investigates Pittsburgh cold case - Pittsburgh Independent

“With respect to any investigation by Pittsburgh Police, it is ‘open’ in the sense that if any new information or evidence comes to light in this case, it will be investigated.

pghindependent.com

Photo of Jamie Stickle by Mara Rago, courtesy QBurgh.
''The Uniontown native worked as a bartender at Sidekicks and other Downtown gay bars on Liberty Avenue. Those that knew her spoke of her warm and charming personality, and said she used her position to raise money for research to cure diseases such as HIV/AIDS and muscular dystrophy.''