Identified! VA - Annandale, WhtFem ~60, 245UFVA, 'NO CODE, DNR, No Penicillin', Dec'96 #2 - Joyce Meyer Sommers

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I think our CTL was a widow who just didn't want to stick around any longer without her Hubby. She could very well have relatives looking for her that just haven't connected the dots yet. Record keeping is getting better, but there are still many misses.

Amateur opinion and speculation
 
I also think she was alone. If she had a child (the vertical scar can also mean any other abdominal surgery, my grandmother had such a scar after a cystectomy in the late 1950s), it either predeceased her or was estranged from her.
 
What a sad, odd case.
I'm also allergic to penicillin, not severely but it's not a great experience. All of my doctors know about this allergy, and if she had it on a medical alert bracelet there was no way anyone would prescribe it to her. From personal experience, valium is pretty commonly prescribed before going in for medical procedures that are anxiety provoking but don't require anesthesia. Think an MRI or extensive dental work. So valium would be much, much easier for her to get her hands on than penicillin, and I agree that she would've probably chosen a quicker and less painless way to die than via an allergic reaction.
 
Yes it is a medical alert bracelet she is just wearing all the time. Nothing to do with her suicide.
And I am also slightly allergic to penicilline, uncomfortable, but not deadly.
 
Just looked at photos of the scar. It starts at the pubic bone but extends beyond the navel towards the sternum. That would be very unusual for a csection, the oldschool csections start at the navel and follow linea alba down to the pubic bone. Looks like she had any kind of extensive laparotomic surgery (any kind of abdominal organ, really).

The more I look at her case, the sadder I get. A well to do, neat elderly lady. So neat that even before suicide she put herself on a plastic sheet. Eloquent (she wrote the poem herself), well educated with a snarky sense of humor, judging from the tapes she listened to when she killed herself. Someone who in life probably loved Christmas and decorated her home nicely and neatly. Someone who never drank alcohol but to calm herself down before suicide drank a little bit of brandy and took a valium. Someone who was eager to leave the world but who was afraid to do the final step. Someone quiet and gentle who had no access to firearms but killed herself with a plastic bag (!). Someone who loved nature and the tranquility of a cemetery. Maybe one of her loved ones was buried there (though I doubt it as she would have written a request to be buried next to xyz if that was the case).
Someone lonely and depressed.

Really, folks. Have an elderly aunt or uncle or neighbor or friend you have not spoken to in a while? Pick up the phone and make their day less lonely.
 
rosesfromangels said:
I'm wondering if we can narrow our possibilities by considering the Nordstrom's locations in 1996.
For example, the first Nordstorm's in NY state was opened in 1995.
Might be something to correlate here.

Amateur opinion and speculation
Click to expand...

I think she was local. Are there NS locations in her area?
 
Susikatze said:
I think she was local. Are there NS locations in her area?
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https://www.nordstrom.com/browse/about/company-history
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...-tysons/8d29834f-44da-4f94-8d9c-fe84aa834d53/
If you look under the section "1973 National Expansion" it states the first store in Tyson's Corner, Virginia was opened in 1988, which was actually their first location on the East Coast.

*Tyson's Corner is 7.8 miles from Annandale*

Amateur opinion and speculation
 
Susikatze said:
I also think she was alone. If she had a child (the vertical scar can also mean any other abdominal surgery, my grandmother had such a scar after a cystectomy in the late 1950s), it either predeceased her or was estranged from her.
Click to expand...

She had an autopsy so they could tell she had been pregnant. The supposition was that the birth was through C-section due to the scar.
 
branmuffin said:
She had an autopsy so they could tell she had been pregnant. The supposition was that the birth was through C-section due to the scar.
Click to expand...
I thought there wasn't an autopsy by the decedent's written request. (A note left with her body, where she went so far as to disclose she had taken a mix of alcohol and valium to ease her in to the next life). The 8 inch vertical scar is, as you say, most likely a result of a c-section, but not definitive. In he cursory research I did, it could be for a hernia, even appendix, back in the day.

Whoever our CTL is, she has done a mighty fine job of covering her tracks. I just spent the last couple hour searching Namus for the missing, and not being taken in by the red hair. Rather, I focused on height and weight, and thirdly the scar. No obvious hits so far. This will take much more time to sort through. Clever gal, whoever is she.

Amateur opinion and speculation
 
According to several posters in the previous thread, an autopsy is mandated when a person commits suicide, regardless of a request not to do so. Also a poster said they had a truncated copy of the PM and to message her if you wanted a copy.

I haven't checked to see whether there is a law in VA that states an autopsy must be performed for a suicide.

I believe certain religions object to autopsies but allow them under special circumstances.
 
I have been looking through namus, and still can't find any strong possibilities with the age range and height/weight. Dang, this is one clever gal our CTL. I think this gal was a teacher, accountant, librarian, or nurse. Buttoned up. Everything nice and tidy at the scene; including that plastic sheet she had under her.

However, she might have left us a little bit of a clue with one of those tapes she had in her backpack. I did research on redheads (assuming she was a natural redhead), and it turns out the #1 state for redhead population in the U.S. is *west virginia*. And, we might recall that she had a Foxworthy "You be a redneck if...." tape in her backpack. Not trying to insult anyone in W. Virginia, but if to stereotype, I think W. Virginians might proudly claim understanding of that tape. I know it was popular for all sorts of folks in that era, but perhaps there is a connection to W. Virginia.
I realize this is a bit of a stretch, but who knows.

Amateur opinion and speculation
 
I am not convinced it was a suicide. Perhaps an assisted suicide? I think it would be very difficult to commit suicide in the manner described. Just speculating. Seems so neat and tidy. The types poem with offer of money. It seems like a small amount to offer for cremation. I am not trying to be disrespectful but just curious if the money was to confuse.
 
Sneaker33 said:
I am not convinced it was a suicide. Perhaps an assisted suicide? I think it would be very difficult to commit suicide in the manner described. Just speculating. Seems so neat and tidy. The types poem with offer of money. It seems like a small amount to offer for cremation. I am not trying to be disrespectful but just curious if the money was to confuse.
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Anything is certainly possible, but IIRC, this method of departure is fairly well documented. I have no reason to suspect anything other than her own hand, and all the components seem congruent.
Of course, anything is indeed possible.

Amateur opinion and speculation
 
There is speculation on True Crime Society that Jane Doe is Marie Sagasta. The pictures are vey similar and her missing person information includes details of her stomach scar.
 
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I doubt it, the UID is much older than Marie when she disappeared. Also unlikely someone would just disappear for 11 years (Marie went missing in 85) until they commit suicide.
 
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CCJD said:
Marie is ruled out on NamUs
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Our Christmas Tree Lady is the ultimate sleuth! She certainly covered her tracks. I wonder why? Perhaps at the time she felt disenfranchised from family, and didn't want to have them alerted or attempting to interfere with how she dispersed her estate? Pure speculation of course.

Amateur opinion and speculation
 
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