May 21, 1932 Birmingham, England baby Jane Doe

 On May 21, 1932, the body of a newborn baby girl was found in a public lavatory on Washwood Heath Rd in Birmingham, England. The baby had been decapitated and had signs of scorching on the body after death. It was born alive and died due to suffocation possibly caused by constriction of the throat with a finger and thumb.

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK

Birmingham Gazette May 26, 1932

GHOSTS: Maggie's Bridge

             Facebook / Haunted Eastern Shore

In the late 1800s, Maggie Bloxom was going down Woodland Church Rd around a mile south of Woodland Ferry landing in Delaware. She was traveling by horse and buggy. Some say that she was pregnant at the time and was planning to marry her lover. She was leaving because she did not want to be judged by her parents let alone people she knew as she was not married yet.

When the carriage was crossing the bridge that went over a small branch on the Nanticoke River the horse was spooked. This would cause the horse to rear up and bring tragedy. Maggie and her carriage would go over the side of the bridge into the water. The accident was so bad she was decapitated.

It is said that if you go to the bridge and follow a ritual you can meet the spirit of Maggie. Most say that between midnight and 1 am, you should start the ritual. You will call out "Maggie, Maggie, Maggie" and you might hear a horse coming towards you. You will call again "Maggie, Maggie, Maggie" and you might see a woman-shaped shadow. A third and last time you will call "Maggie, Maggie, Maggie" and Maggie will come out of the woods holding her head asking to be put together again and be alive.

Sometimes people chant "Maggie Maggie we have your baby!" instead of "Maggie, Maggie, Maggie"

Some say that Maggie can be seen best on the night of the blue moon. A breeze will come and little flashes of firefly-like lights can be seen. These lights are known as ghost pits. The lights come closer and closer with each flash.

Sometimes it stated that Maggie can also mess with cars on the bridge. It's stated that cars have been known to stall on it.

Did Maggie actually exist? Maybe. There is a grave nearby with her name on it. I couldn't find anything about her death in newspapers, and could not find any information on her.

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

Chesapeake Ghosts

Only In Your State

GHOST: Murkatta

In Nepal, there is a ghost or ghost called the Murkatta. The ghost would wander around carrying its head under its arm. The ghost would look to take children's heads. In Kathmandu, Nepal, a festival is celebrated on the day of Ghode Jatra to scare away the Murkatta and protect children from its evil eyes.

The Murkatta is a ghost similar to La Lorna to scare kids into listening to their parents. In Saundarya's article, A Tale of Murkatta, the Headless Monster wrote about her experience with her family members using Murkatta.

SOURCES:

Association for Children's Literature in South Asia

Jane Wilson-Howarth

Wikipedia

Murder of Alexandra "Alex" Anaya

On August 12, 2005, 13-year-old Alexandra "Alex" Anaya would have a late-night meal at White Castle with her mother. They would go back to their home on the 4000 block of Pine Avenue in Hammond, Indiana. In the early hours of the next morning, Alex's mother, Sandra, would leave and return by 6:45 a.m. 

When her mother returned she found that the door was unlocked which was unusual. She had remembered locking it before leaving and Alex was very conscious of the door being locked before going to bed. Alex was still up when her mother left, but told her she was going to bed soon. 

So Sandra went to check on Alex and her younger sisters. Alex's bed was empty and she was nowhere to be seen. I would be unusual for Alex to just leave. Sandra thought that maybe Alex had gone to the nearby corner store. So when she went outside and found Alex's shoes on the steps outside their home she began to worry. 

The police would be called to report Alex missing. The police had told her it was likely that she had run away. Her mother thought that was out of character for her but thought that it was possible as she was a teenager and may be going through a rebellious phase. Her family would still search the streets for her. It wasn't for 3 long days until any news of Alex would be heard of.

On August 16th a family would be on their boat in the Little Calumet River. They would spot what they thought was a mannequin floating in the river. They called the police because they thought the mannequin could cause damage to other boats. 

When authorities arrived it was a gruesome discovery. It was the torso of a teenage girl. DNA would identify her as Alex. 

Only her torso was found, Her limbs, head, and a necklace she always wore were never recovered. It was found that she had been sexually assaulted, and she died soon after she was last seen as the fries she ate with her mother were in her stomach. It's possible that the necklace which was a religious gold medalion may have been kept as a trophy. 

SOURCES:

FBI

WGN TV

True Crime Society

Urban Legends: The Brides that Haunt Trivale Forest in Pitești

Photo by Andres Molina

In the Trivale Forest in Pitești, Romania there are two brides that haunt it. Both women have met their own demise in their own sad and terrible ways.

The first bride was the daughter of a rich landowner. She had fallen in love with a poor servant, but her father had other arrangements. He had found an old rich man for her to marry. The maiden decided that she could not marry someone she did not love. On the wedding day, she and the servant would run into the Trivale Forest. Her father not far behind would find the couple and in his anger kill the servant and then behead her. It's said that she would give her father nightmares by visiting his dreams in her wedding dress. It's believed that this is what led to his death. It's said that she haunts an abandoned home, possibly her own that's in the forest.

The second bride story would happen in the 1970s to 2000s. A taxi driver would take a fair and the woman would ask him to drop her off at an abandoned site in the forest. The woman told the driver that she would go inside and get the money and come back out. For reassurance, she would wrap her wedding ring in a handkerchief and give it to him. Tired the taxi driver would fall asleep and when he woke up he was elsewhere. He was in a nearby housing estate and he drove around confused. He would find ask around about the woman and would find out that yes she used to live in the area, but died 10 years before. Her husband had died in a car crash (or trampling) and she killed herself. Taxi driver would find that the ring was attached to a rotting finger.

SOURCES:
Wikipedia
POV21st
Steemit

The Headless Woman of Iroquois Park

At Iroquois Park in Louisville, Kentucky it's said that a headless woman wearing 1800's clothes and carrying her head could be seen in the park. It's said that at night she wanders through the woods holding her head. You can see sometimes see her walking through a cloud of fog or smoke.

It's said that she was the wife of an old farmer. One night when she was home alone Native Americans would raid the home. When they found the poor woman inside they beheaded her and burned the house down.

SOURCES:
Louisville Ghost Hunters Society
Nolan Group Media
DJX
Manual Red Eye

May 4, 1922 Epping Forest, England Baby Doe

 On May 4, 1922, a decapitated newborn girl was found in Epping Forest. The baby was decapitated with one cut with a knife. The body was then left in Epping Forest. 

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK

April 5, 1889 Texarkana, Arkansas John Doe

  His killers had made his grave too small and had to cut off his head where it was buried separately. Inside his body was lying on its side. He had been stabbed as a common and sharpened kitchen knife was found between his ribs. Three pieces of oak wood were placed around the body. His clothes had disintegrated and a leather belt was found. He had red hair. He had been dead for at least 2 years. 

I'm not sure if this John Doe was ever Identified or if his killers had been. There was only one source for this murder. 

SOURCES:

Unidentified Wiki

Austin Weekly Statesmen April 11, 1898

April 8, 1866 Evansville, Indiana Jane Doe

 On April 8, 1866, boys playing on Chesnut Street in Evansville, Indiana found toes sticking out of the dirt. Recent rain had washed away and revealed the body of a woman in a shallow grave. Her head was not found with the body. It was believed that she had been dead for at least 2 months. It was strange that she was undiscovered even buried where found because Chestnut St. was a busy street.

Her race was unknown. She was 5'6". She was wearing a nightgown.

In 1873 a Frederick J Smith who used the alias Meyer was indicted for the murder. He had lived in Evansville at the time, but moved by the time he was indicted. 

I'm not sure if she was identified articles would just refer to the woman as the headless woman. I'm not sure if he was convicted or not it just states he was indicted. It doesn't even state why he was suspected.

SOURCES:

Unidentified Wiki

Evansville Daily Journal April 9, 1866

Seymore Times March 20, 1873

Fort Wayne Daily Gazette March 13, 1873

Murder of Sara Lepkofker

On May 8, 1997, 56-year-old Sara Lepkofker was last seen alive leaving her place of employment in Brooklyn, New York. She was scheduled to go on a 2-week vacation with her live in boyfriend, John Luttrell. It was unknown what had happened to her until 2008.

On June 18, 1997, four young children found Sara's body at an abandoned Sewage Pumphouse located on 105 Locust Ave. in Red Bank, New Jersey. She had been decapitated, her legs and tip of her fingers had been amputated. It wasn't until 2008 she was identified.

SOURCES:

Monmouth County Prosecutor

Charley Project

Murder of Henry Edward "Ed" Northington

On March 1, 1999, 3 young adults found the head of 39-year-old Henry "Ed" Northington on the walkway on the south end of the bridge on the 1900 block of Texas Ave. in Richmond, Virginia. The head was sitting in an upright position and was obviously placed there by somebody. 

Several hundred yards away Ed's body was found at "the tubes" a homeless site upriver from Hollywood Cemetery anchored by twin drainage tunnels. Homeless people would use these tunnels as sleeping shelters. Apparently, this is the area Henry had been staying in. His clothes were thrown into the James River. It's also covered in heavy stones and boulders one of them could have been the murder weapon. Ed at the time was also gay. The place where his head was found was a cruising spot for gays at the time and police suspected it possibly been a hate crime. 

He was killed by acute crush injury to his chest and abdomen breaking several ribs. His ribs had lacerated his lungs, diaphragm, and spleen killing him. His killer or killers then decapitated him with a knife between the 3rd or 4th cervical vertebrae.

At the time Henry was suffering from alcoholism and depression and HIV. His alcoholism caused him to isolate himself from friends and family. Some of his family didn't entirely accept him when he came out as gay and this caused him to search for acceptance. He was also not well-liked in the gay community as he was seen as pushy and had frequently been kicked out of gay bars. 

SOURCES:

Richmond Virginia

Find a Grave

WTVR

Murder of Carol Lynne Sullivan

On September 20, 1978, 12-year-old Carol Lynne Sullivan went to her bus stop on Doyle rd. near Olsteen, Florida. She and her family moved to the area in July of that year. She was a student at Deltona Junior High School. Someone drove by her bus stop and saw her standing there, but when her bus driver got to the stop at 7:05 a.m. Carol was nowhere to be seen. 

On October 2, 1978, two miles from her home a rusty paint can was found by a fisherman in an isolated area. Inside the can was her head and some paint. Her head was extremely decomposed and it was initially believed that someone may have stolen a skull from the cemetery. Their suspicions were wrong as she was identified through her dental soon after the discovery. The rest of her body was not found. 

SOURCES:

Volusia Sheriff

Daytona Beach Morning Journal

Orlando Sentinel  (Oct. 1978)

Orlando Sentinel (Nov.1978)

Orlando Sentinel (Jan. 1998)

Orlando Sentinel (Jan 1998) 

News Journal

May 3, 1962 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Jane Doe

On May 3, 1962 a wooden milk box tied with rope was spotted in the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by a barge's deck hand. They decided to cut the rope and the body of a girl floated to the top. Her head was missing and her 4th finger was amputated and covered with a bandage. A white apron, Sunday paper and bricks were found with her body.

She was an African American girl around 4 to 6 years old. She was 3'4" and possibly around 45 lbs. Not much else if known about the girl.

SOURCES:
https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/16611
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24360065/may_3_1962_philadelphia_jane_doe/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24360037/may_3_1962_philadelphia_jane_doe/