Female human remains found 12/29/08 Marchand, PA

[Nut44x4]

Skeletal remains found in woods

By RANDY WELLS , rwells@indianagazette.net
Published: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 3:19 PM EST
MARCHAND - Indiana County Coroner Michael Baker and state police at Punxsutawney are investigating the discovery of human skeletal remains in a wooded area near Marchand in North Mahoning Township.

Baker said a person walking through the woods discovered the remains. Police said the bones were found about 1 p.m. Monday.

According to the coroner, the skeleton appears to be that of an adult. No identification has been made, and it has not been determined how long ago the death occurred, although Baker said it appeared to him that the bones had been at the scene for ``some time.''

``We will work with a forensic anthropologist who will assist us in determining age, sex and stature,'' in part by evaluating the size and density of the bones, Baker said.

Then investigators will compare their findings with a list of missing people. Evaluation of teeth and DNA comparisons may be helpful if DNA information is available for the missing people, Baker said.

The forensic anthropologist assisting the coroner is Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat of the forensic sciences department at Mercyhurst College in Erie.

Dirkmaat has participated in similar investigations in Indiana County, Baker said, and he traveled Monday to the discovery scene near Marchand to help begin the investigation.

The skeletal remains have been sent to the forensics laboratory at Mercyhurst College.

Baker said it may be a week before any more significant information is gleaned from the skeleton.

http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2008/12/30/news/indiana_county/10008397.txt

[Nut44x4]

North Mahoning Township is a township in Indiana County, Pennsylvania.

[Nut44x4]

Coroner: Pa. remains are woman shot, dismembered
Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009

MARCHAND, Pa. — Investigators say they believe skeletal remains found in southwestern Pennsylvania are those of a black woman who was shot and dismembered three to 10 years ago.

The remains were found by a construction worker Dec. 29 in North Mahoning Township, about 50 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

Indiana County Coroner Michael Baker says a bullet wound is clearly visible in the back of the woman's skull, and there is evidence her body was dismembered. Investigators say they think she was 30 to 40 years old and the remains were dumped three to 10 years ago.

Baker says authorities hope to use dental records to identify the victim, and more excavation will be done at the site. Along with the skull, a mandible, several long bones, vertebral bones and an artificial dental appliance were found, Baker said.

Baker and state police are being assisted by forensic anthropologist Dennis Dirkmaat of Erie's Mercyhurst College in trying to identify the remains.

http://www.centredaily.com/news/breaking_news/story/1067368.html

[Nut44x4]

Lisa Hatchell, 37, Msg. Philadelphia, PA, 7/19/03
http://helpfindthemissing.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1699&highlight=Hatchell
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marilyn Lanier
Missing since March 30, 2003 from Philadelphia
http://www.pennsylvaniamissing.com/laniermarilyn.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name: Andriene Patricia Walker
Classification: Endangered Missing Adult
Alias / Nickname: Passion
Date of Birth: 1983-12-30
Date Missing: 2003-09-08
From City/State: Upper Darby, PA
http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200300992S
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robin Monique Ellis
Missing from Philadelphia since December 7, 2003
Age at Time of Disappearance: 9 days shy of her 38th birthday
http://www.pennsylvaniamissing.com/ellisrobinmonique.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Diane Thomas Scott
Missing since May 2001 from Harrisburg
http://www.pennsylvaniamissing.com/scottdianethomas.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sherline Johnson
missing May 01, 1997 From City/State: Philadelphia, PA
https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/862
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shirley Hyman
Missing since August 28, 1981 from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2515dfpa.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Edwina (Edwine) Atieno Onyango
Missing since December 9, 2007 from Lansford, Carbon County
http://www.pennsylvaniamissing.com/onyangoedwina.html

That is just the tip of the iceburg......Who could it be?

[TigressPen]

Coroner: Pa. remains are woman shot, dismembered
Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009

MARCHAND, Pa. — Investigators say they believe skeletal remains found in southwestern Pennsylvania are those of a black woman who was shot and dismembered three to 10 years ago.

The remains were found by a construction worker Dec. 29 in North Mahoning Township, about 50 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

Indiana County Coroner Michael Baker says a bullet wound is clearly visible in the back of the woman's skull, and there is evidence her body was dismembered. Investigators say they think she was 30 to 40 years old and the remains were dumped three to 10 years ago.

Baker says authorities hope to use dental records to identify the victim, and more excavation will be done at the site. Along with the skull, a mandible, several long bones, vertebral bones and an artificial dental appliance were found, Baker said.

Baker and state police are being assisted by forensic anthropologist Dennis Dirkmaat of Erie's Mercyhurst College in trying to identify the remains.

http://www.centredaily.com/news/breaking_news/story/1067368.html




God Bless this woman. May she rest in peace. Such a tragic death. The sad thing is if they can't find who she is through dental or DNA she will go into the unidentified and then it will take years and years before they discover her identity.

[packy]

The artificial dental appliance mentioned in the link above was a partial upper denture. Hope that is a helpful clue.

http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/01/18/news/10009409.txt

``What it makes me think is that this did not occur at the place where the body was found - that it occurred somewhere else, dismemberment took place and it was dumped,'' Baker said.

A worker stumbled upon the remains Dec. 29 as he prepared to drill a water well about one to two miles east of Route 119 between Covode and Juneau, according to Baker.

He said a smooth round object caught the worker's eye about 10 feet from the dig spot. He kicked it and discovered it was the skull.

State police from Punxsutawney and Baker are jointly investigating. They collected the skull, jaw bone, several long bone and some vertebral bones.

They also found a partial upper denture.

[annalyzer]

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090127/NEWS/901270325

Lead emerges in disappearance of woman 3 years ago

Bones found in Pa. could be evidence police need

http://images.recordonline.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=TH&Date=20090127&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=901270325&Ref=AR&maxH=230&maxW=370&border=0&Q=80
Village of Highland Falls police and state police search the backyard of a home on Schneider Avenue in Highland Falls in March 2006 for evidence in the disappearance of Petra Muhammad. This week, they’ll learn whether remains found in Pennsylvania are hers.
Record file photo

By ALEXA JAMES; OLIVER MACKSON
Times Herald-Record
January 27, 2009

HIGHLAND FALLS — An alert from state police in Pennsylvania caught the eye of Highland Falls police Chief Peter J. Miller last week. Cops in Punxsutawney, Pa., had found skeletal remains, believed to be those of a black woman.

Miller got on the phone to Punxsutawney. The details about the mystery body and the time it was found sounded promising. He arranged to have dental and X-ray records sent to Pennsylvania for comparison. The records are those of Petra Muhammad, who was last seen in Highland Falls three years ago this month.

This week, Miller's hoping to hear from a forensic pathologist who's examining the Punxsutawney remains.

At best, the wait will deliver a combination of good news and bad. The bad news would be the realization of everyone's worst fears about the fate of a woman who would have been 33 last fall. She left behind a son who's now 5.

The good news: Muhammad's family would finally know what happened to her. Miller is careful not to inflate anyone's hopes, even as he methodically pursues each lead.

"We've examined, or looked into, more than a dozen of these in three years," Miller said, referring to alerts like the computerized message village police received last week from Punxsutawney. "We have to check them all out. These remains are believed to be those of a black female, and the time of death and approximate age would fit the description of Petra Muhammad."

She was a 31-year-old SUNY Orange student when she disappeared in January 2006. A judge later signed a warrant that allowed police to search the house in Highland Falls that she shared with her husband, William. The cops didn't turn up any signs of foul play. But they did find, among other things, a doll with what appeared to be a noose around its neck, placed at the kitchen table.

Four months earlier, in September 2005, Petra Muhammad filed a harassment complaint against her husband in Orange County Family Court. She said he had pushed her, choked her and repeatedly grabbed her by the arms, once pushing her down the stairs. She recounted, in court papers, how her husband told her that he planned to kill her as soon as he figured out what to do with her body.

The complaint was dismissed by Judge Carol S. Klein in August 2006. Petra and William Muhammad were both no-shows for court that day. William Muhammad has since moved at least once, to northern New Jersey. He's also used a different name recently, Yahed Muhammad. He didn't respond to an e-mail from the Times Herald-Record last week.

Village police have never described William Muhammad as a suspect, and the case is considered a missing-person investigation, not a criminal matter.

Still, David Hoovler, the former prosecutor who wrote the search warrant for the Muhammad house, says, "To this day, I believe he is the prime suspect, without question. His explanation of events strained reason."

Angela Joseph, one of Petra Muhammad's cousins, says that her family has been frustrated by their inability to have visits with Petra's son, who is now 5 and in his father's custody. A court order allows Petra's mother, who lives in Brooklyn, to have supervised visitation with the boy at William Muhammad's parents' home in Highland Falls.

"It's never happened. It's like we can't win," Joseph said. "He just moves, with the child."

Michele McKeon, the director of Safe Homes of Orange County, mentions Petra Muhammad's name, and the fact that she's missing, whenever she lists the names of Orange County women killed by a spouse or partner.

"Her file still sits on my desk. I look at it every day," McKeon said last week. "Someone needs to bear witness that this woman is missing, and probably dead."

Village police last saw William Muhammad in May 2008, exiting a Dunkin' Donuts on Main Street, right across from the police station.

"I asked him if there was any new news on his wife," recalled Detective John Might. "He didn't say anything. He just walked away."

[Nut44x4]

Remains do not belong to missing Orange County woman

ShareThisPosted: March 13, 2009 - 12:40 PM
HIGHLAND FALLS — Skeletal remains found in Punxsutawney, Pa. do not belong to a missing woman from Highland Falls.

Village police Chief Peter J. Miller said test results did not match the dental and X-ray records of Petra Muhammad, who was last seen in the Hudson Valley in January 2006.

Police have chased dozens of leads and tips over the past three years. Miller is still waiting for results from similar remains found in Ohio.

Muhammad was a 31-year-old SUNY Orange student when she vanished, leaving her baby son behind. Four months before her disappearance, she filed a harassment complaint against her husband, William Muhammad, in Orange County Family Court. She said, in court papers, that he told her he planned to kill her as soon as he figured out what to do with her body. The complaint was dismissed in August 2006.

Police say William Muhammad has since moved and started using a different name, Yahed Muhammad. A cop saw him leaving a Dunkin’ Donuts in Highland Falls in May 2008.

Police have never described William Muhammad as a suspect, and the case is considered a missing-person investigation, not a criminal matter.

Anyone with information can contact Highland Falls police at 446-4911.

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090313/NEWS/90313036

[Nut44x4]

More Skeletal Remains Found In Indiana County
Remains Add To Skull, Bones Found In North Mahoning Township
POSTED: 11:19 am EDT April 19, 2009
PITTSBURGH -- Investigators recovered on Saturday the remaining portions of a skeleton found in North Mahoning Township in December, according to the Indiana County Coroner's Office.

About 25 investigators on hands and knees meticulously searched an area off Leasure Run Road near Rochester Mills, combing a wooded area for several hours.

The coroner's office declined to specify how the bones were found, but confirmed that the bones belong to the same skeleton that a construction worker found in December, discovering a skull and several other bones.

"There is no question that this individual's death was the result of homicide," the coroner, Michael Baker, said in a statement.

Along with the skull, a mandible, several long bones, vertebral bones and an artificial dental appliance were found, Baker said.

In January, Baker's office called for the assistance of a forensic anthropologist from Erie to help identify the person. Baker said then that the victim was likely a black woman in her 30s and that she had been shot in the head. There was also evidence that the body had been dismembered before it was discovered.

Investigators said it's possible that the body was abandoned as many as 10 years ago.
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/indiana/19222074/detail.html

[Nut44x4]

Now listed at NamUs / https://identifyus.org/?p=case&i=5063&pos=0&s=DateFound_DESC&from=search

A clay bust or similar reconstruction would sure be helpful ...

[Nut44x4]

I don't know why I put this here. Could a Mod please move this to Who Am I please?? It took me forever to find this thread! Thank you and Merry Christmas, lol.

Authorities release 'reconstruction' of remains found year ago

State police in Punxsutawney and Indiana County Coroner Mike Baker on Thursday released an "artist's facial reconstruction" of the woman, who they believe was black or Hispanic, between 20 and 50 years old, and between 4 feet, 9 inches and 5 feet, 9 inches tall.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-12-17/face-a.jpg

A forensics expert and an anthropologist have compiled a description of a murder victim whose remains were found nearly a year ago in some woods in northern Indiana County.

State police in Punxsutawney and Indiana County Coroner Mike Baker on Thursday released an "artist's facial reconstruction" of the woman, whose skeletal remains were found Dec. 29, 2008, in a wooded area along Leasure Run Road in North Mahoning Township.

Authorities believe the woman was black or Hispanic, between 20 and 50 years old, and between 4 feet, 9 inches and 5 feet, 9 inches tall.

She died from a single gunshot wound to the back of the head and was then dismembered, according to forensic anthropologist Dennis Dirkmaat of Mercyhurst College in Erie.

The drawing was completed by Mercyhurst forensic scientist Marjorie Brace after the anthropological examination of the body, Baker said.

Dirkmaat estimated that the woman's remains had been at the site for five to 15 years, Baker said.

Results of additional forensic DNA evidence is still pending, Baker said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Trooper Rorabaugh at 814-938-0510 or the coroner at 724-349-4511.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_658258.html

[packy]

Glad to see a sketch. Hope the right person sees it.

[Nut44x4]

map

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=Leasure%20Run%20Road%20North%20Mahoning%20Townsh ip%20pa

[Nut44x4]

Okay, here are 2 missing that I see a slight resemblance to.....

scroll down to see the additional photo
http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200300992S

and.....
http://www.pennsylvaniamissing.com/scottdianethomas.html (photo is really too small to tell)

I am going to look through Ohio does, too.

[Nut44x4]

this link mentions the 'doe remains' ..... but imo, not even close to the reconstruction
http://www.pennsylvaniamissing.com/wootenconnie.html

[packy]

Okay, here are 2 missing that I see a slight resemblance to.....

scroll down to see the additional photo
http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200300992S

and.....
http://www.pennsylvaniamissing.com/scottdianethomas.html (photo is really too small to tell)

I am going to look through Ohio does, too.

The second one Diane Thomas Scott seems to resemble her.

Edit to add. Reports say Diane had two teeth missing from the lower jaw so that doesn't fit with these remains it seems.