Artists give a face to a victim long dead -
Police hope reconstruction brings clues in old killing.

Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA) - June 3, 2004
Author: Stephanie L. Arnold INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

The body of an unidentified woman, whose decomposed remains were found nearly a decade ago, has been given a face. Authorities now hope that someone will recognize it and give her a name.

Bucks County District Attorney Diane Gibbons, Bensalem Police Department detectives, and two New Jersey forensic artists presented yesterday what they said was an accurate likeness of "Jane Doe," the victim of one of a half-dozen unsolved homicides in the township. "It's pretty accurate, as accurate as can be," forensic sculptor Seth Wolfson said of the likeness he recreated by pinpointing "depth marks" he made from studying the skull.

"It's never going to be an exact portrait, but there are some distinguishing characteristics that people who knew her intimately will recognize," said Daniel Solitti, a forensic artist who assisted in the recreation.

The woman's remains were found Sept. 18, 1995, by children playing in the woods near a 24-hour diner in the area of the 2000 block of Street Road near Interstate 95. The autopsy could not confirm the cause of death, but investigators ruled it a homicide, primarily because the woman was found nude and wrapped in a plastic tarpaulin, Gibbons said. She said the woman had been dead at least one to two years before she was found.

After the initial investigation, the woman was buried. Then, in 2004, Bensalem Detective Chris McMullin asked to have the body exhumed from the Trinity Cemetery in Telford and the remains used to reconstruct the woman's face. County Judge Kenneth Biehn signed a court order last month giving the go-ahead for the exhumation on May 4.

McMullin and Detective Andrew Aninsman said the Jane Doe case was one of three the department submitted in February 2002 to the Doe Network , a volunteer organization that helps police solve cold cases, specifically those concerning unexplained disappearances and unidentified victims from North America, Australia and Europe.

The network is made up of current and former police investigators and forensic artists, including Wolfson.

McMullin said the case was chosen because the department had no sketch or photograph of the victim and wanted to use the organization's resources.

Police say they believe the victim was a white woman, between 35 and 45 years old. She was between 4 feet, 8 inches, and 5 feet, 2 inches tall. Tattered clothing was found near the body: a blue quilted sleeveless vest, blue corduroy pants, a pink T-shirt with lettering across the front that read, "KPMG Peat Marwick," and a white T-shirt that read, "Property of Alcatraz Penitentiary Swim Team."

Police also found a gold necklace with an unusual gold crucifix pendant, which authorities have tracked to a store in California, Aninsman said. There was also a brown, beaded car seat cushion found near the body.

"I'm psyched," McMullin said.

Said Aninsman: "Someone's going to look at that photo and call us soon. I just know it."

Contact staff writer Stephanie L. Arnold at 610-313-8093 or sarnold@phillynews.com.

To Offer Help

The Bensalem Township Police Department asks anyone with information or who may know "Jane Doe" to contact Detectives Chris McMullin or Andrew Aninsman at 215-633-3719.

To view details of the Jane Doe case and two other unsolved homicide cases from Bensalem visit the Doe Network Web site at www.doenetwork.org .