The Body in the Drum (Newsday article)
Angel...@webtv.net
mystery. It would be interesting to see what our psychic readers have
to say about this true story. I will edit the Newsday article for you a
bit and combine articles from 9/4 and 9/5 (it is not on newsday.com -
the Long Island, NY newspaper website). I am sorry it is long, but it
contains lots of pertinent information.
Just 2 hours after Hamid Tafaghodi and his family moved into their new
home in Jericho (where many homes cost over $500 K) Friday (9/3/99) they
learned that the white split-level house had for years been harboring a
secret: the mummified remains of a woman. ...
On Wed. afternoon - at Tafaghodi's request - the seller of the house
pulled a 55 gallon black steel drum from a crawl space under a back
addition on the home and, with help from movers, rolled it to the curb.
A day later, after town employees refused to take it because they didn't
know the contents, the seller popped off the top.
Inside, police said, the seller and his realtor made a gruesome find: a
human hand and what appeared to be a low-heeled woman's shoe protruding
through the rusted remains of a second drum stuffed upside down inside
the first and filled with a heaping amount of industrial-grade,
moisture-absorbing grain. ...
The seller, whom property records identified as Ronald Cohen, called
police and the 345-pound barrel and its contents were taken to the
Nassau County medical examiner's office in East Meadow, where detectives
Friday (9/3) extracted the remains of the woman. She is believed to
have been between 25 and 30 years old when she died sometime after 1963,
when the steel drum was manufactured. [The woman's body had been
carefully folded into a sitting position, her arms pulled down straight
at her sides.]
"She has a full set of teeth with gold bridgework in her front teeth
[the teeth were framed with gold]," Nassau Homicide Squad Det. Sgt.
Robert Edwards said of the victim at a news conference Friday. "It
appears to be, she may have a skull fracture."
Friday police were still attempting to identify the woman's remains,
perhaps through any fingerprints they could rejuvenate from the woman's
shrunken and dried-out hands or a dental imprint, which police said thy
would check against all outstanding missing persons cases.
"We are certainly working from a deficit because it is a historical
case, it is so old," Edwards said. "We like to put a case away within
72 hours, but here is one where it could be as much as two or three
decades old."
The only clues police had to start with were found on the woman's body,
artifacts from a life lived long ago, police said. perhaps in the
1960's. Around her neck was a (round) gold locket inscribed (hand
engraved) with the words: "Patrice, Love Uncle Phil." On her left hand
was a gold wedding band, with another inscription: M.H.R. XII-59.
Another green-stoned ring (a fancy bezel set cabachon stone) also was on
that hand, police said.
The body measured about 4 feet nine inches tall, had shriveled to 57
pounds and had long black hair. It was fully dressed, wearing what
appeared to be a skirt, a button-down (cardigan) sweater, undergarments,
a waist-length imitation leopard-skin coat, high socks and shoes.
Police also found a pocketbook with an eyelash curler, a compact,
lipstick and blush, among other items.
9/5 follow-up article: Besides the things found around her body, ... ,
the mummified corpse ... revealed another clue: the body of a full term
fetus (gender unkown). "It is just anoter facet, but it gives us more
things to work with, of course, as a pregnant woman can often be a
motive for a homicide of the father doesn't want to be discoverd," said
Nassau Homicide Squad Det. Sgt. Robert Edwards. Most significant is
that the remains of the fetus , ... , offer keen insight into the
details of a woman who lived long ago while at the same time providing
crirtical (DNA) evidence that could lead tto the biological father.
9/8/99: Clue in Killing Leads Nowhere: A doctor's business card
recovered from the pocketbook ... led homicide detectives to Hoboken,
N.J., where they contacted the doctor in attempts to identify the woman.
..Dr. Frank D'Alberti, who is now retired, did not keep records of
cases that had been dormant more than 10 years (the records were
destroyed)... "There is some feeling that this woman may have come from
that area of New Jersey." said Nassau Hom. Det. Sgt. Robert Edwards, who
added that the doctor was not a suspect.
Because the container was sealed shut, keeping oxygen out, and protected
from the weather in the crawl space, the body was mummified, police
said.
The crawl space about 36 inches high and accessible through an outside
door, was created when a back extension was built but the basement was
not continued. The house itself, according to Nassau County property
records, was built on Jan. 2, 1957 (and has had 5 owners). [Carlo
Salmaggi, whose son Frank owned the home from 1984 until ... (he sold it
to Mr. Cohen in) 1990, said his on told him and police that he never had
reason to move the barrel. "He said " I went under there once. I saw
it and that was it.'" Salamaggi, 77, said his son told him.]
Last night (fri. 9/3), as a steady stream of gawkers passed the house,
neighbors said their children used to play hide-and-seek in the crawl
space.
Tafaghodi said that if he'd known about the body inside, "I wouldn't
have moved into the house."
Sun., 9/5 follow-up: With the long time lapse hampering their
investigation, detectives Sat. said they've narrowed the time of the
killing down to a nine-year span beween the steel drum's manufacture as
a chemical container in Linden, N.J., in March, 1963, and October, 1972,
when it can so far be linked to the house.
Police are counting on the disappearance of a pregnant woman being so
disturbing that someone's memory somewhere will be jarred. ...
Police are tracing the history of the home and the 5 prooperty
owners...
Nassau Homicide detectives are seeking the public's help in identifying
the woman. Anyone with information can call 1-800-244-TIPS.
There you go. It would be very interesting to see what our psychic or
sensitive porchmates have to say about this. Any ideas?
Deb
***Angelwing3***
"No matter how many friends you have, there's always room for one
more."
katie
home a persons head. A search of the area reveled a body which has been
dumped for a couple of months. No one was reported missing. The police
have no clues as to the identify.
--
katie
Keeper of the Pepto
Porch Wonder Woman
--------------------------------
We have loved the stars to fondly
to be fearful of the night.
-----------------------------------------------------
Angel...@webtv.net wrote in message
<9573-37D...@newsd-222.iap.bryant.webtv.net>...
Angel...@webtv.net
on your area's newspaper website?
katie
info yet, saying the body will be sent to the state crime lab. They aren't
even saying if it's male or female yet. Last year there was a woman found
dismembered and stuffed in a suitcase found in the area. There are some
genuine weirdos out there. I'll see what I can find on the local papers.
--
katie
Keeper of the Pepto
Porch Wonder Woman
--------------------------------
We have loved the stars to fondly
to be fearful of the night.
-----------------------------------------------------
Angel...@webtv.net wrote in message
<12133-37...@newsd-222.iap.bryant.webtv.net>...
That's terrible! Those poor people who found the dog's "gift"! Is it
on your area's newspaper website?
***Angelwing3***
katie
ID sought for skeleton found in
Logan County
DAVE HUGHES
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
PARIS -- Logan County Sheriff Ray Gack hopes to learn
today the identity
of an adult skeleton found in eastern Logan County earlier
in the week.
The human skeleton was found Wednesday morning on an
old logging
road north of U.S. 22 and east of New Blaine, Gack said.
The body was decomposed, but Gack said police found an
identification
card and other documents of a Maryland man in a wallet
near the remains.
He declined to reveal the name on the ID card until the
state Crime
Laboratory conducts its examination.
The Crime Laboratory picked up the remains on
Thursday, he said.
Maryland authorities were sending medical and dental
records to the
laboratory to aid in the identification.
Authorities learned of the skeleton Tuesday evening
when a dog belonging
to Larry Poore of New Blaine carried a human skull out of
the dense Logan
County woods into his yard.
A search for the rest of the body was made the next
morning by the
sheriff's office, Arkansas State Police, Arkansas Game and
Fish
Commission and U.S. Forest Service, Gack said.
Just 23 minutes into the search, the rest of the
skeleton was found on an
old logging trail off New Liberty Way. The spot was less
than 200 yards
from the Poore residence.
Gack said he could not estimate from the degree of
decomposition how
long the body had been there. He also couldn't tell if
there were any signs of
wounds or other clues to how the person died.
--
katie
Keeper of the Pepto
Porch Wonder Woman
--------------------------------
We have loved the stars to fondly
to be fearful of the night.
-----------------------------------------------------
katie wrote in message ...
>I beleive so. They found a wallet on the body but aren't releasing much
>info yet, saying the body will be sent to the state crime lab. They aren't
>even saying if it's male or female yet. Last year there was a woman found
>dismembered and stuffed in a suitcase found in the area. There are some
>genuine weirdos out there. I'll see what I can find on the local papers.
>
>--
>
>katie
>Keeper of the Pepto
>Porch Wonder Woman
>--------------------------------
>We have loved the stars to fondly
>to be fearful of the night.
>-----------------------------------------------------
>Angel...@webtv.net wrote in message
><12133-37...@newsd-222.iap.bryant.webtv.net>...
>That's terrible! Those poor people who found the dog's "gift"! Is it
>on your area's newspaper website?
>
rest...@my-deja.com
"katie" <kayr...@pgtc.net> wrote:
> DAVE HUGHES
> ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
>
katie did you see that bike ad in the newspaper?
it was just before fathers day
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
katie
perp in the headless body case. Two cousins from Maryland that had it out
over drugs. Email me about the bike ad please.
--
katie
Keeper of the Pepto
Porch Wonder Woman
--------------------------------
We have loved the stars to fondly
to be fearful of the night.
-----------------------------------------------------
rest...@my-deja.com wrote in message <7rbpte$tqn$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>...
Mousie
its way to Australia
Mousie
<rest...@my-deja.com> wrote in message news:7rbpte$tqn$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
katie
--
katie
Keeper of the Pepto
Porch Wonder Woman
--------------------------------
We have loved the stars to fondly
to be fearful of the night.
-----------------------------------------------------
Mousie wrote in message <93707020...@srv1.space.net.au>...
Uriel
On Sat, 11 Sep 1999 08:59:09 -0500, "katie" <kayr...@pgtc.net> wrote:
>I didn't get it!!!! someone email it to me please!
Uriel... The Dark Angel
official porch N'er Do Well
and Keeper of the Webring
and Owner of the Bionic Tongue
http://www.mindspring.com/~uriel443
All I want is a warm bed, a kind word, and unlimited power.
Angel...@webtv.net
about the body of a pregnant woman found stuffed inside a steel drum
under his former home in Jericho (NY), 70-year-old Howard Elkins shot
and killed himself by putting the tip of a shotgun inside his mouth and
pulling the trigger. His body was discovered in a car inside the garage
of a home he had been tending by his son Steve Elkins shortly after 10
pm Friday. No note has been found. (I feel terribly sad for his son)
Clues to Murder Lost with Suicide: Nassau police have found strong
links between Howard Elkins and the mummified body of a murdered
pregnant woman...
Police said yesterday they have leads on the identity of the of the
woman... who died from a massive blow to the head. ... (the police)
have some suspicion that this woman may have been a foreigner worked for
Elkin. ... The bottom line at this point in time is we cannot fix
responsibility for the act of murder...Chief among them is a planned DNA
analysis that might scientifically link Elkins to the woman's fetus...
Police know of no witnesses to the crime... Though DNA evidence may
show who the father was, it may not solve the murder...
Wendy Cohen (she and her husband were the most recent owners of the
house - since 1990) said "We were questioned by police. My children
have been teased at school. Jokes are going around my office ... I'm
just tired of it all."
Elkins, 70, was a longtime crafts and textiles importer and salesman in
Manhattan. He was the original owner of the home. Not one to retire
easily, he kept his hand in the business by supplying materials for his
wife, Ruth (age 67), needlepoint and yarn shop that she still operates
near Ft. Lauderdale, Fl.
And now, folks, unless there is any more dramatic changes to this story,
I shall leave you to ponder other matters ghostly and mysterious.
rest...@my-deja.com
"Mousie" <jsm...@space.net.au> wrote:
> Was that the one with the unfortunate bike seat? If so, it's already
made
> its way to Australia
>
> Mousie
>
but sorry it is rather a tad bit to unusual to be posting here. if you
want to see it (really want to see i mean)than mail me at yahoo.com for
a copy but be warned not to open it in front of your children and do not
get mad at me.
he whom dwells under the porch
plh
Corncob
story. Can you post to let us know if they link him to the fetus?
<Angel...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:1080-37D...@newsd-221.iap.bryant.webtv.net...