On Halloween 1969, the police were called to a wooded area, behind what was then a restaurant, in Florida, USA.
Two young boys claim to have seen two men throw a bag out of the trunk of a car, before running away again. CNN.
The suspicious behavior caused the police to be called, and it soon became clear why the alleged men had fled so quickly.
A murder mystery – identified after 37 years
“trunk lady”
When the police opened the bag, they found the body of a dead woman wrapped in plastic, according to a statement from the police. The woman was partially clothed and had visible head injuries. The police theory is that she was strangled with a tie.
The woman’s identity remained a mystery for many years. The police were unable to solve the case. Her gravestone is marked “Jane Doe”, which is used as a term for persons unknown in the United States.
In later years, she was referred to as the “Bag Lady”, meaning bag lady. Journalists, broadcasters and TV shows have repeatedly tried to solve the case. In 2010, her body was exhumed so that the police could take more DNA samples from her, he writes CNN.
The police ask for help
– She has a name
The answer did not come until this year. Through DNA tests, Suitcase Woman was identified as 41-year-old Sylvia John Atherton, a mother of five from Tucson, Arizona.
Identified: It was the 41-year-old “bag woman”, Sylvia John Atherton. Photo: St. Petersburg Police Department
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– I was given a name after 53 years. The family can close now, Michael Kovaksev, assistant chief of police for the St. Petersburg Police District, said in a police statement.
The Atherton family was traced back after identification. The daughter, Celine Gates, tells the local news channel 10 Tampa Bay She is shocked.
– It was shocking because so many years had passed. The daughter says we had no idea what happened to her.
hoping to reply
Gates was nine years old when his mother disappeared without a trace. She had never heard of the “bag woman” before the police called her.
– We thought we’d hear from her, but we’re running out of time. Gates tells the news channel it’s a relief to finally find her.
One of Atherton’s five other children died in 1999, and it was never known what happened to their mother. The police are still working on the case.
Gates, who has not been in contact with them, hopes the siblings will be able to see information about what happened to their mother.
– We want to solve the matter and find out who did it, Gates says 10 Tampa Bay.
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