Murder of Mary Amelia Allen

On July 24, 1975, 73-year-old Mary Amelia Allen failed to show up at the dress shop she worked. Her supervisor called her daughter in law because she was worried. Her daughter in law went to Mary's Claymont, Deleware home, and found her body.

Mary's body was found in a pool of blood in her bedroom. She had been dragged from the bathroom to the bedroom causing her clothes to be ripped. She was stabbed around 20 times.

A neighbor last saw her around 8 the night before. She was attacked between then and 10 a.m. It's believed that she was attacked while getting ready for work. The house didn't look ransacked and robbery doesn't seem to have been motive.

SOURCES:
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26141536/murder_of_mary_allen/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26141453/murder_of_mary_allen/
https://dsp.delaware.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/118/2018/11/Allen-Mary.pdf

December 10, 2017 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Jane Doe *Identified* Name Not Released

Around 2 in the morning on December 10, 2017, a woman was pushed out of a silver Ford F-150  on Frankford Ave. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania a woman was pushed out. She tried to cling on, but fell off and was hit by a car traveling behind the truck.

The vehicle was a silver Ford F-150. The tailgate was missing and there was a sticker in the back window.

She was a white female between 30 and 50 years old. She was 5'0" and 83 lbs. She has dark brown to black hair. She was wearing black yoga pants, grey sweatpants, a black coat, a blue coat, a black shirt and pink and black shoes with blue laces.

In August of 2019 this young woman was identified. Her name has not been released to the public.

SOURCES:
https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/17475
http://unidentified.wikia.com/wiki/Philadelphia_Jane_Doe_(2017)
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Woman-Dies-After-Being-Pushed-Out-of-Moving-Car-4631850
http://www.fox29.com/news/police-woman-pushed-from-truck-run-over-in-kensington

December 8, 1979 Leland, North Carolina Jane Doe

On December 8, 1979 Hunters stumbled upon a body 2,000 feet near Hooper Hill in Leland, North Carolina. It was the body of a young black woman. She had been dead for around 3 weeks and her death was undetermined due to the condition of her body.

She was a black woman and her age range is large being between 13 and 56 years old. She was 5'4" and her weigh is unknown. She has short to medium black kinky hair. Teeth numbers 1, 16, 17, and 32 are uninterrupted and still in the follicular stage of development. She was wearing a bra, a dark short sleeve shirt, tan sweater, white underwear with blue trim, black slacks or pajama pants, over the knee socks and red scuffs or footies, and a gold snoopy watch on her left wrist.

Isotope analysis confirms that she may not have spent much time in North Carolina. She may have spent significant time in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, California and as well as Midwestern regions in Northern Wisconsin and Michigan.

SOURCES:
https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/1746/details
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/957ufnc.html
http://www.wect.com/story/30269484/unsolved-officials-search-for-clues-in-decades-old-death-investigations/
http://unidentified.wikia.com/wiki/Brunswick_County_Jane_Doe_(1979)

December 8, 1968 Lancaster, California Jane Doe

Pictures from Crime Scene

On December 8, 1968 a group of hunters were going into the desert in Lancaster, California. They had come across a coffin 15 feet away from 188th Street East, just south of Fort Tejon Road. The group called it into the Lancaster police.

It was a homemade coffin the top had been glued and hammered down and then painted red. It was buried and covered with rock leaves and dirt. Inside a woman was wrapped in two different quilts. One was 80” by 70” with various red and blues on one side and solid green on the other side. The other quilt was 67” by 76” with the same colors. Her head was resting on a brocade pillow (small decorative pillow). A Newspaper from the Los Angeles Times from 7/1/67 was found in the coffin. It isn't believed she was dead for that long though. It's believed she may have been dead for up to 3 months. 

She had been shot in the temple. It is believed that she may have been killed in a domestic situation. More than likely by a family member or close friend. Someone placed a paper bag over her head, showing there may have been regret. The over wrapping of the body may have also been seen as the same, but it could also be they were trying to prevent animal's from getting to it.

She was a white female between the ages of 30 and 50 years old. She had short red/auburn hair that was graying. She was around 5'4". She had a complete hysterectomy and evidence that she may have given birth to a child at some point.

She was wearing a two piece light pink or light blue (some sources state either) nylon Pj's with elastic waist band measuring 15 inches and the length was 35 inches, and a small Veyellared and white checkered bathrobe that was woven in Great Britain by the brand Sadie Shaw. She was also wearing a hairnet and bobby pins in her hair.

SOURCES:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1205ufca.html
http://theavtimes.com/2012/05/25/detectives-seek-help-with-red-coffin-cold-case/
https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/2994

Murder of Alva Jean Parris

On June 10, 1960 9-year-old Alva Jean Parris left her home in Baltimore County, Maryland around 9 a.m. Her aunt only lived a few blocks away from her. An 11-year-old girl playing in her front yard was the last one to see her playing at a play yard around 4:30 pm. Alva never arrived or went to her aunt's house.

Five days later Alva's body was found in a shallow grave near Essex and on the border of Baltimore. Her body had been covered with linoleum, tree branches a bit of dirt and lye had been used on her body. She was found in some dense woods near an abandoned farm. Her cause of death is unknown, it didn't seem she died to stabbing or shooting. She seemed to have died at the time she went missing.

SOURCES:
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17235968/alva_jean/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17235535/alva_jean_autopsy_1/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17235968/alva_jean/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17235153/alva_jean/
https://coldcasesmaps.com/coldcase/alva-jean-parris/
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27188304/alva-jean-parris

Disappearance of Marcell Byers

On July 11, 1989, 19-year-old Marcell Byers was last seen on the north side of Youngstown, Ohio. He was standing on a street corner with his friends. A white man driving a compact car drove up and asked Marcell where he could buy some crack. Shortly after Marcell and his friends reached another street corner and the same man pulled up, but in a black Jeep Cherokee or Ford Bronco with Florida plates instead of the other car.

The driver had a passenger, a white male with blond hair and in his mid 20's. The two quickly attacked Marcell. They jumped out, pistol whipped him, sprayed him with mace and then threw him into the back of the vehicle. Marcell was never seen again.

A father and son were arrested and charged with the kidnapping. Gerald Zuppo Sr. and his son Jerry Zuppo Jr pleaded no contest to kidnapping and sentenced five to twenty-five years. It wasn't believed to be a hate crime and was probably retaliation because Marcello allegedly had robbed Jerry of a gold chain.

It's believed that Marcell is dead due to not having contact with family and friends for so long.

SOURCES:
https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/24852/details
http://charleyproject.org/case/marcell-byers
https://www.namus.gov/api/CaseSets/NamUs/MissingPersons/Cases/24852/Images/51330/Original

Who Built The Helix Staircase of Loretto Chapel?

When the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico has the main attraction. Many people go to churches to look at the paintings, statues, and structures. The thing most people come to see is the Helix Staircase that was built by a mysterious stranger. At first, it was a mystery of how the staircase stood, but now people know that it's because of the physics of the staircase.  Now the mystery still lies in who the kind stranger was and where did the spruce wood he used come from.

Here's a bit of history of the Chapel first.

The story of the Loretto Chapel began in 1850. Bishop Jean Baptiste Lamy saw a need to educate girls in the New Mexico Territory. Six Sisters were sent to start Loretto Academy for Girls. The sisters also had to learn Spanish as that was a language spoken in the territory. In 1853 when they arrived in Santa Fe the school was opened.

It wasn't until 20 years later in 1873 when they were able to start constructing the Chapel. The Chapel was inspired by French architecture, specifically of Sainte Chapelle in Paris. By 1878 the Architect of the structure had died before finishing the choir loft 22 feet high. Unfortunately, a staircase would have taken up too much floor space and the Chapel had no money to redo it.

It is said that the sisters did a nine-day novena to Saint Joseph the Saint of Carpenters for a miracle. On the final day their prayers were answered, a carpenter appeared. He arrived with a carpenters square and hammers, and he used wooden pegs instead of nails. His only rule for the job was that he was to do it in private. He had completed his job and left just as mysteriously as he arrived.

When the sisters saw the finished product they were shocked. The staircase has two 360 degree turns and has no center pole for support. It was exactly what they needed. It didn't take too much room and the choir loft was useful. later a railing was added so that it was easier to climb. The sisters searched to find out what kind of wood he used, but it turns out to not have been native to the area.

The Sisters were thankful for the stranger. Some believed that it was Saint Joseph himself or someone sent in by Saint Joseph. All that is known is that the Sisters prayers were answered.

SOURCES:
https://www.lorettochapel.com/info/staircase
https://www.lorettochapel.com/info/our-story
https://www.historicmysteries.com/loretto-chapel-staircase/
https://www.ancient-origins.net/unexplained-phenomena/mysterious-helix-staircase-loretto-chapel-001295

December 5, 1993 Laughlin, Nevada John Doe

On December 5, 1993, two fishermen were returning to their vehicle in Laughlin, Nevada. That was when they discovered a man lying in a narrow ravine west of Casino Center Drive. One source stated the cause of death as a suicide, he was found with .357 revolver.

 He's a white male between 30 and 40 years old. He was 6'0" and 170 lbs. He had black or dark brown hair that was 4 inches. He had a small blue and yellow cassette player. radio walkman with headphones. He was wearing black sweatpants, black hoodie, A white T-shirt with Rivera logo, grey gloves, white socks, and tan and blue ankle height boots size 10 1/2.

SOURCES:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2057umnv.html
https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/281

July 5, 1966 Pecos, Texas Jane Doe *Identified* Jolaine Hemmy

On Jan. 19, 2021 she was identified as 17-year-old Jolaine Hemmy. 

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On July 5, 1966 around 2 p.m., a couple checked into Ropers Hotel in Pecos, Texas as husband and wife. At 5:30 the wife decided to go swimming. Soon there was screaming and she was drowning. A maid walked by the pool and the girl had already drowned. The 16-year-old granddaughter of the motel owner pulled the girl out and did CPR. It was all in vain as the unknown girl had died.

When the "Husband" of the couple was notified he initially left the hotel. He soon returned and persuaded the teenage girl to give him the registration card with the couple's information so he could prove he was staying there to the hospital. They were registered under Mrs. and Mr. Russell Buattoun. He left and was never found. It could be possible that the two were probably not husband and wife like they claimed.

Jane Doe is a white female 17 to 20 years old. She was 5'4" and 130 lbs. She had long brown hair and brown eyes, and an olive complexion. She has a 4-inch burn scar on her ribs and a 3-inch scar on the inside of her left leg. She was wearing a bright red bathing suit. She had also been wearing dark shorts and a flowered blouse earlier.

The Husband was a white male with short blonde or red hair. He was 5'7" and weighed around 135 to 140 lbs.

SOURCES:
https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/13480/details
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25880051/july_5_1966_pecos_texas_jane_doe/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25880090/july_5_1966_pecos_texas_jane_doe/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25880128/july_5_1966_jane_doe/
http://mysterymachine.us/showthread.php?16241-From-the-newspapers
https://www.kveo.com/news/new-facial-reconstruction-for-jane-doe-1966/

December 1, 1991 St. Louis, Missouri Jane Doe

On December 1, 1991, a woman's body was spotted around 1:30 p.m. between two barges in the Mississippi River. She was pulled out near the foot of Gasconade Street in St. Louis, Missouri. One article stated the death isn't believed to be suspicious. She had died weeks prior.

It was a woman between 30 and 70 years old. Her race couldn't be determined. She was 5'2" and 200 lbs. He had black hair. Her nasal septum deviated to the right. She was only wearing light color underwear and bra.


SOURCES:
https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/7401
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25881856/december_1_1991_st_louis_jane_doe/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25881850/december_1_1991_st_louis_jane_doe/

May 9, 1964 North Parsonsfield, Maine John Doe

On May 9, 1964 people digging for bottles on Leavitt Plantation Road in North Parsonsfield, Maine found bones. The bones belonged to an adult male and had been buried in a shallow grave. Not all remains were recovered. Cause of Death isn't stated, but it's believed he'd died between 1956 to 1958. His race is uncertain, but it was estimated he was between 40 and 50 years of age. He was 5'8". There was a fabric that represented a patterned upholstery found nearby and dark blue to black, heavy, course material resembling cotton and probably from a coat.

SOURCES:
https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/15957