On June 28, 2004, workers clearing weeds off Interstate 70 near Wright City, Missouri found a headless torso. The nude torso is female. Her body bears scars consistent with a history of a C-section and surgical removal of the appendix. The C-section scar is 5 inches long.
Warren County Coroner Roger Mauzy described her skin complexion as light, her build slight, but well nourished, wearing an oversized black bra size 36B, and estimates her age at time of death to be in the early twenties. Yet, seven years later, the Jane Doe torso remains an unsolved cold case.
Missouri Unidentified Woman's Torso Found
Who is she? Where did she come from? Why was she killed and by whom? She had no fingers, which means that there are no fingerprints available to help in making a positive identification via the usual forensic methods. There was no head, which means there were no teeth for comparison to dental records. Without a skull or face a forensic artists cannot requisition a drawing that could aid in her identification, and no one can know for sure the color of her hair, eyes, or the shape of her nose. If she had an identifying tattoo or birthmark on her arms or legs, it is gone. Tattoos can serve as a definitive way to identify a person, as most are personal and unique.
Seven years have passed and no one has laid claim to her body or given clues to her true identify. So, how does the forensic team go about solving her murder? The authorities hope that her story will somehow find her family. Someone knows who she is…someone who may not even realize that she is missing or dead. Perhaps she is a runaway teen that has had no contact with family for years, before workers clearing weeds on a roadside rest area in Missouri found her torso. Maybe she left in the heat of an argument with a boyfriend or significant other and he or she assumed she meant what she said when she told them it was over. Therefore, it is possible that no one is actually looking for her nor considers her a missing person.
Someone's Daughter or Granddaughter or Mother
What we do know by default is that she is someone’s daughter, someone’s child. She was once a baby living in her mother’s womb. A child perhaps rocked to sleep in her mother’s arms. The apple of her father’s eye…We know she had a mother and a father by the simple biological definition in itself, but did she have parents? Were they the type of parents who knew what her dreams were, who knew the familiarity of her smile and what she one day hope to grow up and be?
We know she was pregnant at one time and had a cesarean section. Does she have a child of her own? Did her baby live? Was he or she stillborn or premature? Who was the doctor who performed her C-section? What hospital did she have her surgery? When did doctors remove her appendix? Was it at the same hospital that did her C-section? There are so many questions and very few answers.
Help Warren County Missouri Solve this Cold Case
According to the Major Case Squad of Greater Saint Louis website, “The woman was killed elsewhere and left at the rest area within a day of her discovery.” This is evidenced by the lack of blood discovered where her torso was recovered. Her burial site is at in an undisclosed location in Warren County, all thanks to Warren County Coroner Roger Mauzy who provided funds from his office to give her a proper burial. She is waiting for her family, for someone to come forward. She is waiting to regain her identity.
The Warren County Sheriff’s Department continues to follow leads related to possible matches in missing person cases but so far the leads have not panned out and the comparative DNA which is checked about three times a year has no matched. There were reports of people seeing a white utility van at the rest area just before the discovery of the torso, which has not been located since that day.
Anyone with information on her identity is encouraged to call the Warren County Sheriff’s Department and ask for Lt. Scott Schoenfeld at 1-636-456-7088.
Sources:
- Major Case Squad of Greater Saint Louis “Five years after torso's discovery, woman's identity is still a mystery” (accessed June 28, 2011).
Erika Lyn Smith - Erika Lyn Smith - is a Psych RN, who has completed the UMSL Medicolegal Death Investigator Training Course, and is finishing a BS in ...
