2007: Unidentified Female [Marlaina "Niki" Reed] Chicago, Cook County, Illinois

[Pauli]

http://doenetwork.org/hot/hotcase600.jpg
Reconstruction of Victim


Unidentified White Female

The victim was discovered on January 21, 2007 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Estimated Date of Death: 1-7 days
Cause of Death: Homicide - combination of asphyxia and multiple blunt force injuries to her face.
State of Remains: DecomposedVital Statistics

Estimated age: 18-25 years old
Approximate Height and Weight: 5'4"; 130 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Auburn, long, straight hair; brown eyes. Hair in a pony tail. She wore a black athletic support knee brace on her right knee.
Clothing: Black long sleeved blouse with a brand name of Monte Carlo; black capri style pants.
Dentals: She once wore braces and also had extensive dental work done at some point.
No attrition. Teeth # 14 and 3 have orthodontic bands present.Teeth 7-10 have orthodontic cement with no brackets.
Fingerprints: Available
DNA: Samples submitted - tests not completeCase History
The victim was located in an alley on the northwest side of Chicago, Illinois on January 21, 2007. The body was wrapped in plastic, tied with cords and wires and places in an electronic keyboard (Casio) box. The box was found in an alley. There were no signs of sexual assault.

Investigators
If you have any information about this case please contact:
Chicago Police Department
312-746-8282
Or
Cook Co Medical Examiners Office
Mitra Kalelkar
312-997-4510
You may remain anonymous when submitting information.
Agency Case Number:
HN-135439 / 07-011915
NCIC Number:
Unknown
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
Source Information:
**Warning! Post-mortem photo contained in link below!
National Center for Missing Adults (http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?U200700067S)
Chicago Tribune 1/22/07 (http://www.chicagotribune.com/)
Red Orbit 3/30/07 (http://www.redorbit.com/)
Identify Us (http://www.identifyus.org/report.php?p=individual&i=493)
Chicato Sun Times 7/5/07 (http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/456460,CST-NWS-face05.article)
http://www.doenetwork.org/

[rockford2]

You would think [I]somebody[I] would miss this young lady! Report her missing.

:1222423:

[packy]

Found in January and with all that dental work you would think someone would come forth, but if it's not made public enough it doesn't get seen.

[wheezer]

They have identified the young lady.


Body of '07 murder victim identified as Danville teen

By Kristen Kridel and David Heinzmann | Tribune reporters
8:25 PM CST, January 28, 2008

Several Chicago homicide detectives, each the father of at least one daughter, refused to leave unknown the identity of a teenage girl found strangled, bound and stuffed in a cardboard box on the Northwest Side more than a year ago.

After a lucky break, police recently learned that the murder victim was 17-year-old Marlaina "Niki" Reed, a ward of the state who often ran away from the group home where she lived in Chicago.

"Somebody threw her in an alley and treated her like a piece of garbage," Sgt. Bryan Holy said.
Instead of discarding the case themselves, detectives sought the help of "America's Most Wanted" and nationally known Texas-based forensic artist Karen Taylor, who made a facial reconstruction from the victim's skull.

Then they ran a sketch of the model as well as the victim's dental X-rays in Illinois Dental News, a monthly tabloid published by the Illinois State Dental Society.

Then they got a break. The receptionist in a local dentist office recognized Reed, Lt. Mark Hawkins said. "Their receptionist realized she looked a lot like someone who had just been in," Hawkins said.

The autopsy already had tipped investigators off that their Jane Doe had undergone substantial dental work. Resin found on her teeth indicated brackets for braces had been removed, Hawkins said. A few brackets still remained on her teeth.

The dentist called the authorities about a week ago, and a positive identification was made through dental records.

Reed's body was found Jan. 21, 2007, in an appliance box in the 1600 block of North Francisco Avenue. A scavenger looking through trash bins called police about 1 a.m., after finding the clothed body tied up with cords. Her face was badly beaten.

Police would not say whether she was sexually assaulted.

"The body was, in fact, more than slightly starting to decompose," which initially contributed to the difficulty identifying her, Holy said. Investigators struggled even to get good impressions of her fingertips.

The case was featured on "America's Most Wanted," which paid for the facial reconstruction.

Reed, a Danville native, had been living in Chicago about two years at the time of her death, police said. Several missing persons reports were made when she repeatedly ran away from youth homes.

Details of Reed's life in Chicago were scarce. But staff workers and clients of the Young Women's Empowerment Project, a Northwest Side organization that serves girls involved in the sex trade, knew her well, co-director Shira Hassan said Monday.

Hassan, who learned of her identification from a reporter Monday afternoon, said members of the group were grieving the loss of the young woman they knew as Niki, who had the "the most intense eyes and sad smile."

". . . I first met Niki in Humboldt Park. She was hanging out at the McDonald's while I was talking to other girls in the area, just eating fries and talking about life," Hassan said in an e-mail interview. Hassan said she saw Reed about once a week.

"Niki was not a nameless, faceless girl," she said. "To us, she was a warrior and one of our fallen. She was an artist, a fighter and a sister to a lot of girls. Niki laughed hard, cried hard and worked hard. We had worried and wondered about her for a year. We won't forget Niki and other unidentified girls—they are all part of our community."

Reed's family could not be found Monday. Officials with Danville District 118 schools had no record of her.

With the limited information available, Chicago Public Schools officials could not say whether Reed was ever one of their students.

Police, who refused to release the identity of the dentist and receptionist who recognized Reed as a patient, are asking anyone who knew Reed to come forward.

"We're trying to track her whereabouts in the last month, month and a half of her life," Holy said.

They did not have anyone in custody for her murder Monday evening. Anyone with information is asked to call 312-746-8282.



http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-boxed-body_webjan29,0,6684909.story

[Grande]

Excellent research Wheezer thank you!

[Texas53]

Sadly, many runaways don't realize running away is worse then where they are running from. :1222423:

[Faith]

Unknown Marlaina "Chicago Jane Doe" Reed Killer

http://media.amw.com/multimedia/fileRepository/db/458/527/REEDLG11.jpg


http://www.amw.com/images/title_f_wanted_for.gif Murder (http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=49245) , Chicago , IL
http://www.amw.com/images/title_f_possible_loc.gif Eastern Europe
India

http://www.amw.com/images/title_f_latest_airing.gif December 22 2007http://www.amw.com/images/icon_f_tv_yellow.gif (http://www.amw.com/show_archive/tv_detail.cfm?id=1108)
December 22 2007http://www.amw.com/images/icon_f_audio_yellow.gif (http://www.amw.com/show_archive/past_radio_shows.cfm?thisdate=2007-12-1)


Tragic End To A Young Life
When AMW first told the story of "Chicago Jane Doe" we knew nothing about her. She was a victim without a name but police in the Windy City were determined as ever to solve her case. With the help of a local dentist, Chicago Police identified Jane Doe as teenager Marlaina Reed. You might remember that Jane Doe had distinctive braces on her teeth and it looked like she had tried to pull them off herself. A Chicago dentist and his receptionist saw sketches in a local professional journal and recognized the young girl and the dental work. They contacted police and a positive identification was made. Windy City detectives are now one step closer to solving Marlaina's case, but they still need your help to find her killer.
>>The Full Story (http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=49245)Join John Walsh on the hunt for Marlaina's killer.
Saturday on FOX, 9 p.m. ET/PT, 8 p.m. CT.
>>See All The Stories In This Week's Show (http://www.amw.com/show_archive/tv_detail.cfm?currentDate=2008-12-06)

More Murders In Illinois:
>>Police Dig Deeper Into Tinley Park Victims' Lives (http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=28830)
>>Could Young Woman's Murder Be The Work Of A Serial Killer? (http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=45603)

Last updated: December 04 2008


http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=49245

[Faith]

Homeless Men Find More Than They Were Looking For
http://media.amw.com/multimedia/fileRepository/db/472/160/foot_box_content.jpg When the two homeless men reached for the keyboard box, a human foot fell out.
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It was a cold and snowy night on January 21, 2007 in Chicago, Ill. For two homeless men wandering a quiet neighborhood, all they wanted was a warm bed. They were rooting through the trash in a nice Windy City area looking for anything they could sell or use to get food or shelter when they stumbled on to something that might be of value.
The men found a large box, about 52 inches in length. The box was labeled for a Casio WK-1800 keyboard worth about $400. The homeless men thought they may have found a keyboard, but when they reached for the box, a foot fell out.
Summoned to the scene by the men's 9-1-1 call, cops could tell several things about the box. They knew the remains inside were human, likely an adult female's, and the box had not been in the alley long. The snow coming down would normally have deteriorated the box, but since it was still in good condition, they knew the remains had not been put there recently. Police could also tell that a murder had not occurred in the alley and that someone had brought the box with the foot to the street.

Cops say she didn't really need to be folded or packed into the big keyboard box.
Box Gets Analyzed At The Morgue
http://media.amw.com/multimedia/fileRepository/db/472/160/originalsketch_Content.jpg A police officer drew this sketch based on morgue photos of Jane Doe's disfigured and slightly decomposed face. http://www.amw.com/images/magglass_red.gif View Larger (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:void%280%29;)


Authorities on the scene made the decision to transport the whole box to the Cook County Medical Examiner's. The box, which was tied with cables, was heavy -- more than 100 pounds -- and awkward since it was so long.
At the morgue, cops slid the contents out of the box. They found not just a foot, but a whole woman.
The Medical Examiner ruled she had been murdered by asphyxiation and blunt force trauma. Forensics showed she had likely been dead 3-4 days before her discovery. The woman was the perfect size for the box: 5'4" tall and about 130 lbs. Cops say she didn't really need to be folded or packed into the big keyboard box. Her knees were bent, and the box fit her fine.
The woman was not dressed for a cold Chicago winter. She was wearing shorter Capri-style pants with a thin black blouse. Cops say she also had a knee brace on her right knee, but the autopsy did not find any broken bones or previous surgeries.
The body had no identification on it. Because of the way she was in the box and the natural process of decay, her face was unrecognizable. Investigators could determine a few things. She was clearly a white woman with long reddish-brown hair in a pony tail. The M.E. told the detectives that she was likely between the ages of 18 and 25 years old when she was killed.
Police ran her prints and DNA through police databases, but nothing came back to identify the woman that they were now calling Jane Doe. Jane had never been arrested and therefor wasn't in any of the law enforcement databases. Next, police cross-referenced what they knew about Jane with the missing persons cases in Chicago and Illinois. Again, no hits on any of the databases.
A Chicago police officer drew a sketch of Jane, with the little details he had to go on. Detectives put the sketch out in the local Chicago Land media, but no one called recognizing the murdered woman.
Frustrated, cops began to think maybe Jane was not from the Windy City. They contacted national databases associated with missing persons and unidentified victims. Still, no one came forward and Jane remained nameless and faceless.
Police knew the sketch they had was simple, and gone off the limited resources of the disfigured face in the keyboard box. It was time to call in the big guns and get an accomplished forensic artist on-board the investigation. And who better to try to bring Jane Doe to life than the woman who literally wrote the book on Forensic Illustration?

Jane Doe Gets A Face. But Will She Get A Name?
http://media.amw.com/multimedia/fileRepository/db/472/160/bustfront_content.jpg Karen Taylor's weeks of hard work culminated with the creation of this clay bust of Jane Doe.
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Karen Taylor is no stranger to AMW. Over our more than 20 years on the air, we have repeatedly turned to her for faces and names for the unidentified. She has delivered time and time again and now, authorities are counting on her skill and expertise to get them some much-needed answers.


The Cook County morgue sent Karen Jane Doe's skull, a hair sample and several autopsy photos. Karen began work on the case as soon as everything arrived at her Texas studio and plugged away at the project for many weeks before her job was finally completed.


First, Karen assembled the skull on a stand, so that she could easily work with it. Next, following anthropological guidelines, she put tiny white markers all over the front facade of the skull. Those were tissue depth markers and provided a 3-D outline for Karen of how Jane Doe's face would form.


The first thing Karen noticed on the skull was Jane Doe's dentition -- the makeup of her teeth. Karen immediately noticed the presence of glue and even metal bands on the teeth. It meant, as the forensic odontologist had mentioned in the autopsy, that Jane Doe was a recent wearer of braces and had had extensive orthodontic repair. Karen knew she would have to include this important clue in her artwork. The braces hadn't been removed properly, so the Medical Examiner's staff assumes that Jane removed the braces herself or someone other than her orthodontist did it. Karen also noticed a chip in Jane's front right incisor.


Karen took photographs of the skull with the tissue depth markers and used the pictures as a basis for her facial sketches. In the sketches, she represented the chipped tooth and did versions both with braces and without. Next, using her sketches and the skull, Karen began to construct the bust of Jane Doe.


Laying strips of clay onto the skull, Karen filled out the facial form for Jane Doe. She used the same kind of prosthetic eyes that doctors use when a living patient loses an eye and she made sure the color matched up with the morgue photos that had been sent to her.


Lastly, Karen added Jane Doe's features one by one and she hopes each of the tiny details she incorporated will help to create the bigger picture of Jane Doe's face and remind someone out there of someone they once knew.


Some important details to consider include the clue about Jane's orthodontic work. Also, Jane Doe has very forward-set cheeks and high, full eyebrows. Both ears were pierced once. Jane's reddish brown hair was long and pulled into a high ponytail on the back of her head with a pink, turquoise and purple hair band.


As AMW aired a segment on Jane Doe, Chicago Police sent sketches to a local dental publication. The sketches, published in the December 2007 issue, caught the eye of a dentist and his receptionist. They worked with police and identified Jane as one of their patients: Marlaina Reed.
Marlaina, who was just 17-years-old at the time of her murder, was originally from southern Illinois. But, Marlaina was living in Chicago when she was killed.


Cops say Marlaina's identification is a big step forward for their investigation. Now, they are working to catch her killer.

http://www.amw.com/images/tab_f_wanted_for.gif Information valid as of last update.
Murder, Chicago, IL; Jan 21, 2007

http://www.amw.com/images/tab_mc_broadcasts.gif http://www.amw.com/images/title_tv_airings.gif December 22 2007 (http://www.amw.com/show_archive/tv_detail.cfm?id=1108)
http://www.amw.com/images/title_amw_radio.gif December 22 2007 (http://www.amw.com/show_archive/past_radio_shows.cfm?thisdate=2007-12-1)

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Two homeless men wandered into this quiet alley on January 21, 2007. http://www.amw.com/images/divider_gray2.gif
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The two men were "dumpster diving" when they came across a large box, labeled for a keyboard.

http://www.amw.com/fugitives/evidence_clues.cfm?id=49245