On July 26, 1974, the nude and decomposing corpse of a woman was found on a beach in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The victim had been nearly decapitated; the left side of her skull was crushed, and her hands had been removed. The woman lay on a beach blanket, and what remained of her head rested on a pair of blue jeans. The cause of death was blunt trauma.
She was young and of medium height and build. She had red hair, which she wore in a ponytail. Her toenails were polished pink. Her teeth had received expensive dental treatment.
She was never identified. Her murder was never solved. She is buried in a Cape Cod cemetery.
Yesterday Provincetown police released images of the victim's face, created by new computer technology. The visuals are startling; they resemble photographs in their detail and clarity. (Her hair, in these images, is brown.) The hope is that, after thirty-six years, someone, somewhere, will recognize this woman.
It seems clear that whoever the victim was, her killer wanted to conceal her identity. We can take it for granted that any personal items that might provide a clue as to who she was are missing. Since her hands had been severed, there was no possibility the investigators would obtain fingerprints--though such prints would have had to have been on file somewhere for a comparison leading to an identification to have been made. That she was nearly decapitated suggests the killer wanted to remove her head and dispose of it elsewhere in an effort to muddle further any attempt at identification. I assume that the police made an effort to trace her through her dental work, but obviously met with no success.
And, as far as I know, no one ever reported a person of her description missing. How could this be? Even if she had no family or close friends--which is unlikely--she must have had acquaintances. She must, at some point in her life, have had neighbors or co-workers or schoolmates. She certainly had a good dentist. Someone must have missed her.
To see the images, go to www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20100506/NEWS/5060307
She was young and of medium height and build. She had red hair, which she wore in a ponytail. Her toenails were polished pink. Her teeth had received expensive dental treatment.
She was never identified. Her murder was never solved. She is buried in a Cape Cod cemetery.
Yesterday Provincetown police released images of the victim's face, created by new computer technology. The visuals are startling; they resemble photographs in their detail and clarity. (Her hair, in these images, is brown.) The hope is that, after thirty-six years, someone, somewhere, will recognize this woman.
It seems clear that whoever the victim was, her killer wanted to conceal her identity. We can take it for granted that any personal items that might provide a clue as to who she was are missing. Since her hands had been severed, there was no possibility the investigators would obtain fingerprints--though such prints would have had to have been on file somewhere for a comparison leading to an identification to have been made. That she was nearly decapitated suggests the killer wanted to remove her head and dispose of it elsewhere in an effort to muddle further any attempt at identification. I assume that the police made an effort to trace her through her dental work, but obviously met with no success.
And, as far as I know, no one ever reported a person of her description missing. How could this be? Even if she had no family or close friends--which is unlikely--she must have had acquaintances. She must, at some point in her life, have had neighbors or co-workers or schoolmates. She certainly had a good dentist. Someone must have missed her.
To see the images, go to www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20100506/NEWS/5060307