Refrigerator Lady - Unidentified woman found on Bacon Island
Jan 6, 2020 19:35:32 GMT
jb1510 and Crimson like this
Post by almagata on Jan 6, 2020 19:35:32 GMT
There is a case that I have been following recently. A woman, who has never been identified, was found in a refrigerator dumped off Bacon Island Road west of Stockton, CA. She was found March 29, 1995 by some people scavenging along the canal bank. The refrigerator had been tied tightly shut and when they pulled it out of the mud and cut the ropes, they found some blankets and a sheet, a towel and a sleeping bag inside that were wrapped around her body.
The woman was Caucasian with long strawberry blond hair, beautiful white teeth, well cared for nails and wore a engagement ring on her right hand as if the ring was a remembrance to a mother that passed away. She wore expensive hiking boots with funky blue stripped toe socks. These socks had five shades of blue and were closer to knee height than ankle height. She also wore Levi jean shorts, a white tee shirt and blue sweat shirt. Under her clothes was a Victoria Secret bra (34b) and no underwear.
She had been bound with her hands behind her back with electrical tape and the tape was also wrapped around her head where it held a sock in place that was used as a gag.
The coroner determined that the cause of death was a blow to the right temporal lobe.
The woman's body had transformed into a condition called adipocere. Adipocere occurs when a body is stored in a damp oxygen free environment at a consistent normal temperature. The fat in the body converts to a wax like texture preserving the body but also making it very stiff. Adipocere occurs more commonly with female bodies because female bodies contain more fat. It usually takes months for the adipocere conversion to take place but it can happen within weeks under the perfect conditions.
The original detective on the case did not believe this woman was a street person. He felt that she would be missed by family or friends but to date, no identification has been made for her making him believe that she was likely not from the local area. He also felt that she was likely the victim of an abduction based on the gag and bindings.
San Joaquin County Sheriff's office has not entered the Refrigerator Lady in NaMus but she has been featured on a number of local media TV and newspaper stories and she also was featured on a national TV show. Volunteer missing/unidentified people researchers have suggested numerous possible matches for Refrigerator Lady but none have matched to date. They do have DNA and dental records for the unidentified woman that have been put into Codis. The original detective, who is now retired, has continued to work on identifying this woman.
The detective had some items found with the woman to research. There was the refrigerator itself. The Frigidaire refrigerator had been manufactured in the 1980's in Pennsylvania but was sold in Oakland. The warranty card had never been returned so the manufacturer did not know who the owner was.
There was an unopened bag of Glacier Ice that was sold to convenience and bait stores in the Antioch Area around Bacon Island in the east bay. There were five small empty milk cartons in the freezer. When their origin was checked, the detective found they were sourced out of Sacramento and were distributed to schools, hospitals and other large institutions in the area.
Here is a more complete description of the items found from a story that was published:
"Gold color refrigerator contained: five half pint Crystal milk containers. These were traced to be from lots distributed only in the Sacramento area to schools, hospitals and institutions. ; a unopened Glacier ice bag manufacturer date he learned it was from a lot shipped to liquor stores, bait shops and marinas in cities such as Antioch and Discovery Bay. ; and black electrician’s tape National Industrials brand.
Also located in the refrigerator was a Ghioccio brand reusable ice bag; a rust/black/tan fake fur type bedspread; a Rubbermaid ice bucket; an inner pillow case; a JCPenney pillow; a blue bath towel; a white sheet; a multi colored Canon Comforter; a Wendy’s ketchup container; a Kentucky Fried Chicken honey container; a blue blanket; a white blanket; a Hillary brand sleeping bag and two (2) blue ear pieces with one piece of string.
From the refrigerator’s serial number he learned it had been manufactured in Pittsburgh, Penn., in the 1980s and sold in Oakland."
There have been a number of stories published about this case. I have provided links below along to a link to a Google drive folder with pictures related to this case.
www.recordnet.com/article/20130301/A_NEWS0803/303010335
www.sjgov.org/sheriff/mostwanted/95-10064.pdf
www.doenetwork.org/cases/320ufca.html?fbclid=IwAR1CgVg46C1SEP6m95S1wBV-oDUWMWI9_cRXBg_0CLFozwt_hLiiwfVqjas
web.archive.org/web/20170507053358/http://justthefactsmag.com/cold-case-jane-doe-57/
sacramento.cbslocal.com/2015/11/02/20-years-later-refrigerator-ladys-murder-still-baffles-san-joaquin-county-investigators/
The woman was Caucasian with long strawberry blond hair, beautiful white teeth, well cared for nails and wore a engagement ring on her right hand as if the ring was a remembrance to a mother that passed away. She wore expensive hiking boots with funky blue stripped toe socks. These socks had five shades of blue and were closer to knee height than ankle height. She also wore Levi jean shorts, a white tee shirt and blue sweat shirt. Under her clothes was a Victoria Secret bra (34b) and no underwear.
She had been bound with her hands behind her back with electrical tape and the tape was also wrapped around her head where it held a sock in place that was used as a gag.
The coroner determined that the cause of death was a blow to the right temporal lobe.
The woman's body had transformed into a condition called adipocere. Adipocere occurs when a body is stored in a damp oxygen free environment at a consistent normal temperature. The fat in the body converts to a wax like texture preserving the body but also making it very stiff. Adipocere occurs more commonly with female bodies because female bodies contain more fat. It usually takes months for the adipocere conversion to take place but it can happen within weeks under the perfect conditions.
The original detective on the case did not believe this woman was a street person. He felt that she would be missed by family or friends but to date, no identification has been made for her making him believe that she was likely not from the local area. He also felt that she was likely the victim of an abduction based on the gag and bindings.
San Joaquin County Sheriff's office has not entered the Refrigerator Lady in NaMus but she has been featured on a number of local media TV and newspaper stories and she also was featured on a national TV show. Volunteer missing/unidentified people researchers have suggested numerous possible matches for Refrigerator Lady but none have matched to date. They do have DNA and dental records for the unidentified woman that have been put into Codis. The original detective, who is now retired, has continued to work on identifying this woman.
The detective had some items found with the woman to research. There was the refrigerator itself. The Frigidaire refrigerator had been manufactured in the 1980's in Pennsylvania but was sold in Oakland. The warranty card had never been returned so the manufacturer did not know who the owner was.
There was an unopened bag of Glacier Ice that was sold to convenience and bait stores in the Antioch Area around Bacon Island in the east bay. There were five small empty milk cartons in the freezer. When their origin was checked, the detective found they were sourced out of Sacramento and were distributed to schools, hospitals and other large institutions in the area.
Here is a more complete description of the items found from a story that was published:
"Gold color refrigerator contained: five half pint Crystal milk containers. These were traced to be from lots distributed only in the Sacramento area to schools, hospitals and institutions. ; a unopened Glacier ice bag manufacturer date he learned it was from a lot shipped to liquor stores, bait shops and marinas in cities such as Antioch and Discovery Bay. ; and black electrician’s tape National Industrials brand.
Also located in the refrigerator was a Ghioccio brand reusable ice bag; a rust/black/tan fake fur type bedspread; a Rubbermaid ice bucket; an inner pillow case; a JCPenney pillow; a blue bath towel; a white sheet; a multi colored Canon Comforter; a Wendy’s ketchup container; a Kentucky Fried Chicken honey container; a blue blanket; a white blanket; a Hillary brand sleeping bag and two (2) blue ear pieces with one piece of string.
From the refrigerator’s serial number he learned it had been manufactured in Pittsburgh, Penn., in the 1980s and sold in Oakland."
There have been a number of stories published about this case. I have provided links below along to a link to a Google drive folder with pictures related to this case.
www.recordnet.com/article/20130301/A_NEWS0803/303010335
www.sjgov.org/sheriff/mostwanted/95-10064.pdf
www.doenetwork.org/cases/320ufca.html?fbclid=IwAR1CgVg46C1SEP6m95S1wBV-oDUWMWI9_cRXBg_0CLFozwt_hLiiwfVqjas
web.archive.org/web/20170507053358/http://justthefactsmag.com/cold-case-jane-doe-57/
sacramento.cbslocal.com/2015/11/02/20-years-later-refrigerator-ladys-murder-still-baffles-san-joaquin-county-investigators/
