Bishop - Luke warm lead for local cold case

Mammoth Lakes detectives have run into another dead end in their attempts to solve the five-year-old murder of Jane Doe, a woman found buried in a shallow grave near the Shady Rest Campground.
Since finding the woman’s body with apparent stab wounds on May 25, 2003, detectives have worked vigorously to identify the woman and her killer by using some of the most sophisticated technology the Eastern Sierra has seen in a criminal investigation.
Attempts to scientifically trace the deceased’s heritage along with artist sketches of what the victim may have looked like have, thus far, failed to turn up any leads. Two years ago the MLPD classified the investigation as a cold case, but Mammoth Lakes Police Detective Paul Dostie has continued his pursuit of the woman’s identity as time allows.

A colored clay reconstruction of the face of a homicide victim found near Shady Rest Park in May 2003. Anyone with related information is asked to contact MLPD at (760) 934-2011. Mammoth Times file photo

The department, in an attempt to learn where the woman may have come from, decided to conduct an analysis of pollen found on the victim’s clothes.
“Forensic palynology (the analysis of pollen) is a relatively new area of exploration, nevertheless, it has proven to be extremely helpful in narrowing down avenues of investigation for police and other law enforcing agencies,” said Dr. Vaughn M. Bryant of the Department of Palynology Laboratory at the Texas A&M University.
“To get this pollen analysis, it was sent to the lab a couple years after the discovery of the body,” Mammoth Lakes Police Chief Randy Schienle said.
Investigators hope that by answering questions about Jane Doe’s life, they will be able to learn the circumstances surrounding her death.
“There is some thought that if we could pinpoint where she had been, we could talk to someone who knows what happened,” Schienle said.
Clothing samples from the victim were sent to Dr. Bryant, who collected the pollen samples in an attempt to find evidence of where the woman had been before being buried in the shallow grave.
Bryant analyzed pollen samples from the outside and inside of the victim’s shoes, her winter coat, white material from her blouse and an unidentified red material found with the victim’s remains.
Bryant was able to identify 16 pollen spores from the clothing samples, but could not determine anything conclusive from the findings.
“There was evidence to suggest that Jane Doe had recently been on the coast of California,” Bryant said, citing the presence of Pittosporum, or cheesewood, which is not found in Mono County.
“Pittosporum is an ornamental and is found, according to CalFlora, only on the western side of California near the coast. Unfortunately it is not a plant type that is rare, and it is found in several counties,” Bryant said.
Bryant also found traces of either Castanea (chestnut), which is not found locally, or Chinquapin, which is found locally.
If the pollen is indeed Castanea, “then suppositions could be made that Jane Doe had been in the central to eastern portion of the United States,” Bryant said. “However, Castanea is as widespread as Pottosporum and although each are found in separate areas, within those areas these are common.”
Bryant found one other pollen type that could link Jane Doe to the Valentine Eastern Sierra Reserve near Mammoth.
The scientist found the presence of Brassica, of the mustard family, on the victim’s white blouse, but not on the overcoat or shoes, where one would expect to find such pollen.
“Initially, I had found only one incidence of this plant type in Mammoth Lakes” growing in a vacant lot between the post office and adjacent to Motel 6, Bryant said. “A further investigation revealed that this is not the only known incidence of Brassica,” Bryant said. According to reports, the Valentine Eastern Sierra Reserve also contains the plant matter.
“What this means is that Jane Doe could have been in the Reserve prior to her death in August, somewhere near the ground to pick up the pollen from the surrounding soil, or the pollen had been deposited when the plant was in bloom (between January and May) and collected on the shirt as a result of walking through the reserve,” Bryant said.
Despite the clues provided by the pollen analysis, both Bryant and case investigators in Mammoth agree that nothing conclusive can be determined.
“In the case of Jane Doe, I believe that the taphonomy of the body post-burial, and the shallow, unprotected gravesite resulted in a pollen assemblage too contaminated to be able to make any absolute determinations, although some suppositions may be addressed,” Bryant said.
Chief Schienle said the MLPD would continue to follow up on any leads that arise concerning Jane Doe, though regular staff time is not dedicated to the case any longer.
Through an analysis of the victim’s teeth, the Mammoth Lakes Police Department has found evidence that suggests that the victim may have resided in the Oaxaca area of Mexico.
Schienle said that study was determined what kind of water she drank by looking at present minerals.
The minerals that were located were consistent with that which is found in the Oaxaca area of Mexico.
Two police sketch artists, using the victim’s skull and samples of hair, drew up sketches of the victim, which were “almost identical,” Schienle said, noting that investigators have a rough idea of what the victim may have looked like.
Aside from those clues, and what was provided by the pollen analyses, Schienle said the case is closed.