page_title: List of unidentified murder victims in the United States
section_title: Popes Island Jane Doe
hierarchical_section_title: List of unidentified murder victims in the United States / Massachusetts / Popes Island Jane Doe
caption_attribution_description: English: Ring worn by an unidentified murder victim found in Massachusetts in 1996.
context_page_description: Of the thousands of people murdered every year in the United States, several remain unidentified. Many of these individuals remain unidentified for years or even decades after their deaths. Cases include that of Tammy Jo Alexander, who was murdered in 1979 and remained an unidentified decedent until 2015, and Reet Jurvetson, who was murdered in 1969 and whose body remained unidentified for 46 years.
  Including murder victims and those who died via natural causes or otherwise, approximately 40,000 decedents remain unidentified in the United States.
context_section_description: The body of a woman aged between 30 and 45 years old was recovered from the Popes Island Marina in New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts on October 30, 1996. The victim had been placed inside two garbage bags and then wrapped in a white and teal-colored wool blanket. She had suffered a blow to the head and was shot twelve times. She had been deceased for less than two days and her body had been in the water for less than a day.
  The decedent was five feet two inches tall and approximately 127 pounds. The decedent had naturally light brown hair (which was dyed strawberry blond) and had brown eyes. She wore a yellow shirt, a white pullover with rectangular shapes and high heeled boots. She wore a gold ring with a green stone which experts say comes from Belarus, a part of the old Soviet Union. She had also received dental work that is believed to have been performed outside of the country. However, one instance of root canal surgery had been performed inside the United States. The woman had not shaved beneath her arms or shaved her legs, which may indicate she was from a foreign country with different cultural practices.
  Because of the lack of identification and fingerprint matches, the woman may have entered the United States without documentation.
caption: The ring worn by the Popes Island Jane Doe
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