Long Beach Jane Doe

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Facial reconstruction of Long Beach Jane Doe (performed by a private person, not an official or equivalent body)

A woman who was murdered in May 1974 in Long Beach , California, became known as Long Beach Jane Doe or Jane Doe 40 , and her true identity has not yet been clarified despite extensive investigations. The alleged perpetrator was caught in 2013 and confessed to the crime. He died a short time later in custody of natural causes.

Discovery and Description

On the morning of May 28, 1974 , the body of a young woman was discovered near a pier below Linden Avenue in Alamitos Beach , a district of Long Beach in the US state of California . Death was brought about by asphyxiation through external influence ; she had been raped before that . The crime and thus the time of death were dated a few hours before the find, i.e. the night of May 27th to May 28th 1974.

The age of the victim is given as between 18 and 28 years, although some sources speak more precisely of "early twenties". The woman was either white (European) or Hispanic and had dark brown or black hair and brown eyes. The vast majority of sources speak of a height of 165 cm. A special feature of the unknown is a T-shaped scar on the back of the left hand. At the time of their discovery, she wore a two-piece pink or peach-colored pantsuit with a tie at the front and a white decorative strip on the collar, a 3/4 length black or (dark) blue faux fur coat with bronze buttons, black bikini bottoms with strawberry print, black calf-high suede boots and a white gold ring with a small diamond. The only other personal item found was a bunch of keys .

Investigations and apprehension of perpetrators

The victim was carrying a key ring and ring.

The comparison with all persons reported as missing at the time of the crime showed no matches with the woman who was killed. Reporting in the media did not provide any information on identity either. Since the victim was carrying a bunch of keys, the police assume that she was not a homeless person . One of the keys belonged to a house or apartment door, the second to a padlock .

Private graphic artists made several facial reconstructions to help identify the woman. In addition, there are color photos of the autopsy that show the victim's face. With full image resolution, however, these were only published in 2019.

Los Angeles County police began re -investigating the case in 2012 as part of a cold-case investigation. Almost exactly 39 years after the crime, on May 20, 2013, police arrested a 61-year-old California resident man named Gary Stamp. The investigators became aware of him through a tip from a Texan . He had admitted that he had helped to deposit the body at the place where it was found in May 1974, but claimed that he was no longer involved in the crime. Stamp finally admitted to investigators that he raped and killed the unidentified woman. According to his statement, he had met the stranger on the evening of May 27, 1974 in a bar in downtown Long Beach, not far from the beach of Alamitos Beach. This information coincided with the information provided by witnesses at the time that they saw a woman in a bar who matched the description of the victim. During the interrogation, Stamp also said that her first name was Anna . He could not provide any further information about her person.

On June 12, 2013, Stamp was charged with murder in the California Superior Court in Long Beach . However, he died of cancer in prison in January 2014 before a verdict was reached.

Current state

Long Beach in the Alamitos Beach district, near where the victim was found

Despite the investigation and the apprehension of the perpetrators, the identity of "Long Beach Jane Doe" has not yet been established. Various theories have emerged in internet forums and websites dealing with unsolved criminal cases. In particular, more modern search methods than were available in the 1970s, such as online databases on missing persons, contributed to this. By comparing characteristics between victims and missing persons, a number of similar cases, often decades later, have already been resolved using newer research methods in the USA. Officials have not yet confirmed any suspicions regarding "Long Beach Jane Doe".

designation

The name Jane Doe is a placeholder commonly used in the USA, comparable to Erika Mustermann in German-speaking countries. Long Beach refers to the place where the woman was found. Other victims of unknown identity were also named after their place of discovery (often also after the respective county ), for example the corpse of an unknown youth, also discovered in Long Beach in 1978, whose case became known as Long Beach John Doe .

Web links

Commons : Long Beach Jane Doe (1974)  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Long Beach Jane Doe. In: Doe Network (English)
  2. ↑ Long Beach police seek to identify woman killed in 1974. In: Los Angeles Times , June 5, 2013 (English)
  3. ↑ Police Arrest Man For 1974 Murder - Now Just Have To Figure Out Who Victim Was. In: CBS News , June 5, 2013 (English)
  4. ↑ Police Make Arrest in 1974 Homicide Case, Seek Assistance Identifying Victim. In: Everything Long Beach , June 7, 2013 (English)
  5. ↑ Cold case team focuses on cracking cases. In: Orange County Register , February 24, 2014
  6. ↑ 39-year-old cold case murder solved… halfway. In: Crime Voice , June 7, 2013 (English)
  7. ↑ Anna, Long Beach Jane Doe. In: Unidentified Wiki (English)
  8. ^ Long Beach John Doe 1978. In: Doe Network (English)
personal data
SURNAME Doe, Long Beach Jane
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Doe 40, Jane
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Murder victim
DATE OF BIRTH between 1946 and 1956
DATE OF DEATH May 27, 1974