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Timothy Ropel, "Body identified as woman & homicide," Portage Daily Register, 11 May 1982, 1.
Officials searched along the roadside Saturday and Sunday but found no implements they suspect as weapons. Investigators do not know if the woman was killed along the road or was murdered a distance away, driven to the area and left in the ditch.
"The next problem is to determine who this individual is," Ohnesorge said. "Until (the crime lab) comes out with a final report, we're at a standstill."
The body was discovered about 3 p.m. Saturday by a Madison man looking for bottles and cans along the road. He called the sheriff's department about 10 p.m. Saturday from Madison after his excursion and after he could not locate local police to notify them of the body.
"Woman died from blow to head," Wisconsin State Journal [Madison, WI], 11 May 1982, sec. 1, 5.
Columbia County Sheriff Armin Ohnesorge said a preliminary investigation by the crime lab indicates the death was a homicide. No murder weapon was found, he added.
Ohnesorge said the preliminary tests show the woman was believed to be more than 50 years old, 5-feet-6-inches tall and had been dead for more than a year. He said further tests, including a check of dental records, are being conducted to identify the corpse and provide a better description.
[...]
Ohnesorge said the body was found in a ditch along Petra Road in the town of Caledonia by a Madison man combing the area for aluminum cans and bottles.
Ohnesorge said the body was on top of the ground, but was not visible from the highway. "It is a winding country road just west of Highway 70, one of those with a deep ditch bank," he said.
"Columbia County officials still probing body's identity," Wisconsin State Journal [Madison, WI], 20 May 1982, 1.
[Columbia County Sheriff Armin] Ohnesorge said his department has had 10 calls from law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin and from several other states seeking information about the dead woman. The body is believed to have been in the ditch for more than a year.
"All the evidence so far points to her being from out of the county and possibly out of state," Ohnesorge said. "We have no missing persons in the county matching her description," he said.
He also feels the murder was committed elsewhere and the body was dumped along the roadside, which features a steep ditch.
Ohnesorge said much of the investigation has been spent comparing dental record information with the other agencies making the inquiries. He said the dead woman had a partial lower dental plate and other apparent dental work.
"Body found on May 8 remains unidentified," Capital Times [Madison, WI], 17 July 1982, 1.
The slacks she wore contained a label, the words on which were invisible to the naked eye. Through various tests, [Detective Jim] Radke said the lab was able to identify the word -- either Christerfeld or Chrislerfeld. He said he suspects that might be the label from a small clothing shop where the woman purchased the slacks.
The crime lab slightly revised its description of the corpse. Instead of being a woman in her 50s, lab tests determined the 5 foot 6 inch tall female was in her 60s.
Radke said the woman wore size 12 clothes.
An autopsy determined the woman had a severe arthritic condition in her back. Radke theorized she probably walked slightly stooped over and had some difficulty turning her neck.
Officials searched along the roadside Saturday and Sunday but found no implements they suspect as weapons. Investigators do not know if the woman was killed along the road or was murdered a distance away, driven to the area and left in the ditch.
"The next problem is to determine who this individual is," Ohnesorge said. "Until (the crime lab) comes out with a final report, we're at a standstill."
The body was discovered about 3 p.m. Saturday by a Madison man looking for bottles and cans along the road. He called the sheriff's department about 10 p.m. Saturday from Madison after his excursion and after he could not locate local police to notify them of the body.
"Woman died from blow to head," Wisconsin State Journal [Madison, WI], 11 May 1982, sec. 1, 5.
Columbia County Sheriff Armin Ohnesorge said a preliminary investigation by the crime lab indicates the death was a homicide. No murder weapon was found, he added.
Ohnesorge said the preliminary tests show the woman was believed to be more than 50 years old, 5-feet-6-inches tall and had been dead for more than a year. He said further tests, including a check of dental records, are being conducted to identify the corpse and provide a better description.
[...]
Ohnesorge said the body was found in a ditch along Petra Road in the town of Caledonia by a Madison man combing the area for aluminum cans and bottles.
Ohnesorge said the body was on top of the ground, but was not visible from the highway. "It is a winding country road just west of Highway 70, one of those with a deep ditch bank," he said.
"Columbia County officials still probing body's identity," Wisconsin State Journal [Madison, WI], 20 May 1982, 1.
[Columbia County Sheriff Armin] Ohnesorge said his department has had 10 calls from law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin and from several other states seeking information about the dead woman. The body is believed to have been in the ditch for more than a year.
"All the evidence so far points to her being from out of the county and possibly out of state," Ohnesorge said. "We have no missing persons in the county matching her description," he said.
He also feels the murder was committed elsewhere and the body was dumped along the roadside, which features a steep ditch.
Ohnesorge said much of the investigation has been spent comparing dental record information with the other agencies making the inquiries. He said the dead woman had a partial lower dental plate and other apparent dental work.
"Body found on May 8 remains unidentified," Capital Times [Madison, WI], 17 July 1982, 1.
The slacks she wore contained a label, the words on which were invisible to the naked eye. Through various tests, [Detective Jim] Radke said the lab was able to identify the word -- either Christerfeld or Chrislerfeld. He said he suspects that might be the label from a small clothing shop where the woman purchased the slacks.
The crime lab slightly revised its description of the corpse. Instead of being a woman in her 50s, lab tests determined the 5 foot 6 inch tall female was in her 60s.
Radke said the woman wore size 12 clothes.
An autopsy determined the woman had a severe arthritic condition in her back. Radke theorized she probably walked slightly stooped over and had some difficulty turning her neck.
