Racine County Jane Doe

Racine County Jane Doe

Digital image created from study of morgue photographs to depict an estimation of the victim in life

2012 reconstruction created by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Born 1964-1981 (approximate) [1]
Status Unidentified for 17 years, 4 months and 17 days
Died July 20 or 21, 1999
(aged 18 - 35)[1]
Cause of death Homicide by blunt force trauma
Body discovered July 21, 1999
Raymond, Wisconsin
Resting place Raymond, Wisconsin, United States
Other names "Crystal Rae"
Known for Unidentified victim of homicide
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight 120 lb (54 kg)
Website Facebook page

Racine County Jane Doe (informally known as Crystal Rae)[2] was a young white woman whose body was discovered in 1999 in the town of Raymond, Racine County, Wisconsin.[3] The victim was aged 18 to 35 years at the time of her death, which occurred after weeks of neglect and torture.[4] New developments in the case emerged after her body was exhumed on October 16, 2013. It is not known how successfully these leads have been followed.[5]

Discovery of the body

The body was found near a field on July 21, 1999, apparently within one day after being disposed of.[1][6][7][8] One of the two persons who discovered the body stated that an arm appeared to be broken, since it was in an unnatural position.[7] Because it had rained on the night the body was dumped, little evidence of the perpetrator was found.[4][5]

An autopsy indicated that she had died from multiple injuries, such as burning and beating, and had endured several weeks of neglect and abuse, which had increased a few days before she died.[7][9] She showed signs of having been malnourished and sexually abused.[1][6] A "cauliflower ear" deformity may have been caused by the abusive conditions in which she lived.[6][10]

Over 50 people attended the woman's funeral after the autopsy was completed.[6][9] Her gravestone reads "Daughter Jane Doe", along with the relevant dates.[1][3]

Description

Original reconstructions of the victim, made before the 2012 composite was created.

The malnourished woman may have been mentally disabled. She had a "cauliflower ear" deformity, which likely resulted from abuse.[1][3] It is believed that she was most likely 18 to 30 years old, although she may have been up to 35.[2][11] Her teeth were not well cared for. Her front incisors protruded from the mouth, and decay was present on many teeth. Some teeth were missing.[3][5] Her curly hair was reddish-brown, collar-length, and appeared to have blond highlights.[3] Her eyes were either brown, green, or hazel. There were two earrings in each of her ears.[2][4][7]

She had visible bruises and cuts across her body, and a fractured nose.[12][13]

She wore a gray man's shirt with a floral design on the front. After contacting the shirt's manufacturer, it was learned that this type of shirt was first sold in 1984.[5][6][8] She was also wearing black sweatpants. She was not wearing shoes.[1][3][4]

Investigation

Another rendering of Racine County Jane Doe.

Multiple reconstructions were made of the victim's face .[4] In 2012, an additional reconstruction was created by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.[14] Another version of the composite exists, which shows a different facial expression.[5][7]

At one time, she was thought to be Aundria Bowman, who was presumed to have run away from her adoptive parent's house in Hamilton, Missouri on March 11, 1989, but DNA profiling via her mother Cathy, demonstrated that they were not the same person. Missing persons such as Aundria, Tina D'Ambrosio, and Karen Wells have been ruled out.[1][15][16][17]

Some believed that this case could be linked to the murder of Mary Kate Sunderlin, a previously unidentified victim who was discovered in Lake County, Illinois. Sunderlin was also found malnourished, had poor dentition and had been beaten to death. Three were arrested in that case; one was convicted.[18][19]

The remains were exhumed on October 16, 2013, for further study and transported to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the body had previously been examined in 1999.[3][8][20] Authorities hoped that by studying the bones, they would be able to tell where the woman had lived prior to her death.[6]

It was announced on July 19, 2015, that the examination of the remains had been completed and that they would be reburied on July 21 on the 16th anniversary of their discovery.[21] Authorities stated they had indeed uncovered new leads from the exhumation, but they declined to state any details.[22]

On October 20, 2016 it was announced that chemical isotope testing performed by the Smithsonian on a sample of her hair and bone suggest she may originally have been from or spent several years of her life in Alaska, Montana or portions of southern Canada.[23] Authorities did not comment on what testing the results are from, whether recent with hair or history from bone.

Although the murder remains unsolved, investigators hope that the case will eventually come to a close. A press conference in 2013 is said to have uncovered more clues.[3][5][24]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tenuta, Marci Laehr (August 8, 2011). "Authorities continue working 12-year-old homicide case 'that burns in all of our minds'". Journal Times. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "Crystal Rae - 1999 Unidentified Racine, Wisconsin (92nd Street, Town of Raymond)". 4 October 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Handelman, Ben (October 25, 2013). "Racine Jane Doe investigation continues with new leads". Fox News. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Case File 199UFWI". The Doe Network. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Anderson, Mike (October 17, 2013). "Investigators still believe Racine County Jane Doe case can be solved". WISN. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Leshchinskaya, Nastacia (May 20, 2013). "Unsolved Murder Spotlight: The Racine County Jane Doe". Crimelibrary.com. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Police release new photo of Jane Doe found in 1999". WISN. December 12, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 "Racine Jane Doe body exhumed 14 years later". ABC News. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  9. 1 2 "Racine County Jane Doe, WI". Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Jane Doe's Body Exhumed". Racine County Sheriff Department. 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Unsolved Homicide-Jane Doe, Racine County". Racine Uncovered News. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  12. ↑ Bauter, Alison (12 December 2012). "Who is she? Updated image of 1999 Jane Doe released". The Journal Times. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  13. ↑ "Who is Racine County Jane Doe, Tortured, Killed in 1999?". Cold Case USA. Blogger. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  14. ↑ Bohr, Nick (12 December 2012). "New image released of Jane Doe found in Racine in 1999". WISN 12 News. ABC. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  15. ↑ "Racine County, Wisconsin Jane Doe 7/21/1999". December 16, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  16. ↑ "NamUs UP # 4741". NamUs.org. National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  17. ↑ "Case File 184DFMI". The Doe Network. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  18. ↑ Tunkieicz, Jenny (21 July 2000). "Investigators find ties between Jane Doe, Illinois case". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  19. ↑ "Identified - Index 5". doenetwork.org. The Doe Network. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  20. ↑ Jones, Stephanie (16 October 2013). "Jane Doe's body exhumed for testing; Sheriff 'determined' to ID her". The Journal Times. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  21. ↑ "Jane Doe to be reinterred on July 21st, 2015". Racine Uncovered News. 19 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  22. ↑ Bohr, Nick (21 July 2015). "Racine County Jane Doe reburied". NowCast. ABC. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  23. ↑ http://www.wisn.com/article/new-information-learned-about-racine-county-jane-does-past/7007615
  24. ↑ Edwards, Anna (October 17, 2013). "Could she finally be named? Police confident they can identify Jane Doe murdered 14 years ago using new technology". Mail Online. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
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