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#Post#: 1482--------------------------------------------------
JULIE DOE: Transgender WF, 22-35, found in Clermont, FL - 25
Sept 1988
DIR By: Scorpio
Date: February 11, 2020, 1:23 am
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[img]
HTML https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/unidentified/images/6/6c/Julie_doe.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/200?cb=20160306000240[/img]
The news broke on this case in 2015.
HTML http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...110-story.html
The woman wore a greenish tank top with a long acid-washed skirt
and pantyhose that were partially rolled down. She had long
manicured nails, long dyed blonde hair and breast implants. A
lab determined she likely gave birth to one or more children
before the body was found Sept. 25, 1988, along County Road 474
in Four Corners. Just one problem: The person they found was
actually a transgender woman.
#Post#: 1483--------------------------------------------------
Re: JULIE DOE: Transgender WF, 22-35, found in Clermont, FL - 25
Sept 1988
DIR By: Scorpio
Date: February 11, 2020, 1:24 am
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HTML http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...-unidentified-lake-county-20151110-story.html
Body found 27 years ago was transgender woman, authorities say
Nearly 30 years have passed since deputies released a flier
about a woman's decomposing body found in rural Lake County,
hoping details including that she had probably given birth to
several kids would help solve the mystery of her identity.
The woman wore a greenish tank top with a long acid-washed skirt
and pantyhose that were partially rolled down. She had long
manicured nails, long dyed blonde hair and breast implants. A
lab determined she likely gave birth to one or more children
before the body was found Sept. 25, 1988, along County Road 474
in Four Corners.
Just one problem: The person they found was actually a
transgender woman.
Detectives recently learned the case, considered a suspicious
death, had been turned upside down after the remains were tested
again as part of a statewide initiative to revisit unsolved
cases hoping new technology could help identify victims. Tests
found the body had the DNA of a male.
"I couldn't believe it," Lake County sheriff's Detective Tamara
Dale said. "For 27 years we thought it was a woman. This could
really help us identify this person because gender-reassignment
surgeries weren't as common back then."
Dale and her partner Sgt. James Dilimone have renewed their
interest in the case, which is among 107 cold cases in the
county, after finding out the twist.
The sheriff's report of the body's discovery details a passerby
driving near the Green Swamp, four miles east of State Road 33
and four miles west of U.S. Highway 27, when he pulled off the
side of the road.
The man, who lived in the Clermont area, was searching for wood
to use for lawn furniture and spotted the perfect cypress tree.
He pulled his truck over about 11 a.m. and smelled something
foul as he entered the woods. He found a body hiding in
5-foot-high weeds.
Deputies were called to the area and noticed it appeared the
decomposed body had been dragged into the woods two to four
weeks earlier and left face up. No shoes, jewelry, handbag or
wallet were found. But the person had undergone several cosmetic
surgeries including breast implants and a nose job.
The nearest neighbor — about a mile away — in the rural area
filled with citrus trees told authorities he didn't hear or see
anything suspicious. Investigators talked with people at nearby
businesses and two bars in the area but hit a dead end.
Residents offered a number of leads regarding women who matched
the description but each were tracked down and found safe.
"We were getting leads based on the description we released and
we followed all of them, but it shouldn't come to a surprise we
didn't crack the case," Dale said. "We were looking for the
wrong person."
Dilimone said they have no idea if the person was murdered or
had been ditched after possibly overdosing on drugs. But, he
said, the woman most likely didn't die at the location where
they found her and it is suspicious the body looked to have been
dragged and hidden in the woods.
"It's definitely a mystery and very suspicious," he said. "By
the time we uncovered the body it was already partially
decomposed, so testing for drugs couldn't be done. Our best bet
now is to find out who this person is. That's the first step in
solving this case."
Dilimone said they speculated the woman could have been a
prostitute because transition surgeries in the 1980s were even
more expensive than they are nowadays.
The body was sent to the C.A. Pound Human Identification
Laboratory in Gainesville, part of the University of Florida's
Department of Anthropology, and analyzed by world-renowned
forensic anthropologist William Maples. Maples said she was
originally a brunette between 24 and 32 years old and tall —
about 5 feet, 9 inches — with a robust, athletic build. The
deterioration of the body didn't show any trauma. A cause of
death was never found.
Maples, who died in 1997, had worked on more than 1,000 cases
for law enforcement, helping to identify victims and solve how
they died. He worked on a number of high-profile cases. In 1991,
he participated in the examination of President Zachary Taylor's
body and helped debunk a theory that he was poisoned during a
struggle over slavery prior to the Civil War. He also helped
identify the remains of Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro
in Peru in 1984 and analyzed the remains of Joseph Merrick —
known as "The Elephant Man" — in 1990.
Michael Warren, who now heads the lab and made the discovery in
the Lake County case, said his mentor could have made the
mistake for a number of reasons.
Pits on the pelvis were found, which was thought to indicate a
person had given birth. The divots are caused by a hormone that
softens bones for childbirth. The theory was later discredited
after women who had not given birth were found with them. It was
also found that men could secrete the hormone as well.
"At the time literature was starting to come out indicating
those markings aren't a good indicator of childbirth or that a
person is a female…," Warren said. "He was a victim of the
science at the time."
Warren said it's rare to see this happen in men, but this person
was taking high amounts of estrogen. That could have helped
create the effect and reduce the amount of testosterone in the
body. The extra intake of estrogen is common during a gender
transition, Warren said.
"All the reports called the person a female. If you're getting
all that information it can influence you," Warren said. "Plus,
the person was wearing women's attire and had breast
implants…The transgender community was much smaller back then so
it wasn't something you'd expect."
#Post#: 1484--------------------------------------------------
Re: JULIE DOE: Transgender WF, 22-35, found in Clermont, FL - 25
Sept 1988
DIR By: Scorpio
Date: February 11, 2020, 1:24 am
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Continued:
DNA testing was just starting in the late 1980s, with the
Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) just beginning in some parts
of the country. The system saves DNA from convicted offenders
and often helps law enforcement agencies with DNA matches.
At the time, Warren said, DNA testing was expensive and
something that was often out of reach of law enforcement
agencies that had to cover the cost. Along with the hefty price,
often the tests didn't help solve crimes because CODIS was just
beginning and there weren't many offenders in the system.
"I'm not shocked they didn't try to test for DNA back then," he
said. "It was gaining momentum at that time but it wasn't
anything compared to what we have now. It keeps getting more and
more efficient and fast."
Warren also found several additional differences from Maples'
original report. Warren said the body was actually taller than
originally noted, 5-foot-11, and could have been a year older,
up to 33.
The remains had been kept at the lab since 1988 in an evidence
room filled with other unidentified people.
All these years later, Warren and lab workers decided to pull
out the remains and see if new technology could help give clues
about the identity. Warren had a gut reaction based on what he
observed.
"The moment we pulled out the skeleton and looked at it I said
'Whoa, this is a guy,'" he said. "We did all the measurements
and ran statistics on the bones and everything was screaming
this was a biological male. When we got back the DNA that
confirmed it we were stunned."
Both he and Lake deputies have theories that the person could
have been a transient or estranged from family members before
the transition from a man to a woman.
"Sadly, even nowadays the transgender community feels rejected
by a lot of folks in our culture," Warren said. "It's sometimes
hard for them to find employment and get money for treatment,
which can be very expensive."
He said not many medical offices offered these treatments and
procedures in the 1980s, and the closest areas that may have
offered them would have been in Miami, Atlanta and New Orleans.
The transgender possibility never occurred to investigators.
"Wow. That's definitely a shock," said Lake County sheriff's
investigator Ray Morrison, who headed the case before retiring
in 2002 and moving to Alabama. "But thinking about it now, I
remember she was kind of tall for a female."
Morrison said he remembered working on the case and how quickly
it turned cold.
"We followed all the leads we could for a good week or so, but
after that there was nothing to go on," he said.
Now, Dale and Dilimone hope the new information will provide new
leads to make an identification.
"We're hoping it rings a bell for someone, whether it is the
doctor who did the surgeries or a friend," Dale said. "We just
want this person's family to have closure."
If you have any information about this case, call the Lake
County Sheriff’s Office at 352-343-2101 or Crimeline
1-800-423-8477
#Post#: 1485--------------------------------------------------
Re: JULIE DOE: Transgender WF, 22-35, found in Clermont, FL - 25
Sept 1988
DIR By: Scorpio
Date: February 11, 2020, 1:24 am
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HTML http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...ing-transgender-cold-case-20160127-story.html
Lake County hopes for leads in transgender cold case, sends
items for DNA testing
The case was recently turned upside down on when a lab
reexamined the remains and found the body had the DNA of a male.
However, the person lived as a woman.
Detectives released a new sketch of what the woman, whom they
call "Julie Doe," may have looked like but despite a few leads,
nothing has led to her identity.
Detective Tamara Dale said she sent items found with the body to
the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's lab in Tallahassee
for DNA testing. She said the results can take several weeks but
might offer some leads in the case.
"I'm hoping there will be foreign DNA on her clothing and if so
interview that person as someone who would have had contact with
Julie near the time of her death," Dale said.
In 1988, the body was found decomposing in the woods near the
Four Corners area along County Road 474. She was found wearing a
greenish tank top and a long acid-washed skirt with pantyhose
that were partially rolled down. She also had long manicured
nails, long dyed blonde hair and was about 5 foot 11.
[​IMG]
For almost 30 years Lake County deputies have been trying to
identify the dead woman they found in the woods in the Four
Corners area. A lab that was tasked with helping identify her
said she had likely given birth to one or more children before
she was found dead on Sept. 25, 1988 along County Road 474. Just
one problem. The person they found was actually a transgender
woman.
Her remains were sent to the C.A. Pound Human Identification
Laboratory in Gainesville shortly after where it was incorrectly
determined the remains belonged to a woman who had likely given
birth to one or more children.
The remains recently were re-tested with new technology as part
of a statewide initiative to revisit unsolved cases and it was
discovered to have been a transgender woman.
The person was found with breast implants and was taking hormone
drugs, which led to the misidentification in 1988. She is
estimated as being between 24 and 33 years old.
The case is being investigated as a suspicious death.
"I would love to identify Julie so she can have a proper burial
and so her friends and family can have closure on their missing
loved one," Dale said. "I don't think anyone should have to lie
unidentified in a laboratory while their family wonders what
happened to them."
People with information about this case can call the Lake County
Sheriff's Office at 352-343-2101 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477.
#Post#: 1486--------------------------------------------------
Re: JULIE DOE: Transgender WF, 22-35, found in Clermont, FL - 25
Sept 1988
DIR By: Scorpio
Date: February 11, 2020, 1:24 am
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HTML https://i.imgur.com/6hn7gHgl.jpg
#Post#: 1487--------------------------------------------------
Re: JULIE DOE: Transgender WF, 22-35, found in Clermont, FL - 25
Sept 1988
DIR By: Scorpio
Date: February 11, 2020, 1:25 am
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HTML http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2752umfl.html
HTML http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/images/2752UMFL1_LARGE.jpg<br
/>
HTML http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/images/2752UMFL2_LARGE.jpg
Date of Discovery: September 25, 1988
Location of Discovery: Clermont, Lake County, Florida
Estimated Date of Death: 8 months prior
State of Remains: Not recognizable - Mummified
Cause of Death: Undetermined, suspected homicide.
Physical Description
Estimated Age: 22-35 years old
Race: White
Sex: Transgender female (assigned male at birth to later undergo
gender confirmation surgery)
Height: 5'9" to 5'11"
Weight: 170 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown, long and bleached blonde.
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Presumed to have undergon gender
reassignement surgery, likely being performed in 1984 or prior.
Had 250cc silastic breast implants that were discontinued in
1983. Long manicured nails. Evidence of hormonal treatment.
Robust, athletic build. Possible healed fracture of anterior
left 7th rib. Healed fracture of the right cheek bone secondary
to blunt trauma. Healed fracture to the right 5th toe. Evidence
of a surgical rhinoplasty.
Identifiers
Dentals: Available.
Fingerprints: Not Available.
DNA: Available.
Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Blue-green tank top, Manisha long acid washed denim
skirt, and panty hose.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Circumstances of Discovery
A passerby looking for cypress wood to build lawn furniture,
discovered the decednt's remains in a wooded area in the Green
Swamp area known as Four Corners in the vicinity of Hwy 474,
four miles east of Hwy 33.
It appeared that the body had been dragged from the roadside to
the location it was found. The victim's pantyhose and skirt had
been rolled down, indicating a possible sexual assault.
Initially, the decedent was believed to be a cisgender woman and
it was thought she had given birth. When the remains were tested
again, DNA revealed that the decedent was a transgender woman
who had gender reassignment surgery, which was uncommon for the
era.
The victim is known to investigators as "Julie Doe." In 2018, it
was announced the DNA Doe Project would take on the case to
identify potential relatives of the victim.
Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: District 5 Medical Examiner's Office
Agency Contact Person: Lindsey Bayer
Agency Phone Number: 352-326-5961
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 1988-MA-387/ME-1035
Agency Name: Lake County Sheriff's Office
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 352-343-2101
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: Unknown
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