Episode 145 Doe ID 'Singer Island Jane Doe' Susan Poole

On June 16, 1974, a man and his two sons were searching for driftwood on Singer Island in the Burnt Bridge area of North Palm Beach, Florida when they found human remains. Investigators descended on the area and found more of the skeletonized remains along with tattered and weathered pieces of clothing. There was no ID with the body, and police would face an uphill battle identifying the remains which were thought to be those of a young woman or teenage girl between the ages of 14 and 25. It was believed that the girl had stood between 4ft11 and 5ft'2 tall, and that she weighed between 83 and 103 pounds. Police found evidence that she had been tied to a tree, leading them to believe that she was likely the victim of a homicide. With not much to go on, the case of the girl that would become known as 'Singer Island Jane Doe' went cold.

Although police didn't know who their victim was, they thought they knew who killed her; a vicious, and sadistic serial killer and predator named Gerard John Schaefer. Schaefer worked as a sheriff's deputy for the Marin County, FL sheriff's department, and he had murdered and attacked several women and young girls in the area where Singer Island Jane Doe had been found. If Schaefer did indeed kill Singer Island Jane Doe, he took his secrets to the grave after he was murdered by a fellow inmate whil in prison.

In 2022, after the Palm Beach County sheriff's office teamed up with Othram Labs to perform genealogy on the DNA from Singer Island Jane Doe, they finally learned who she was; Susan Gale Poole. She had been reported missing from her Brower County trailer park in December, 1972 when she was 15 years old. Police are confident that she's the victim of Gerard John Schaefer, and in fact, he was responsible for the murder of another girl that lived in the same trailer park as Susan. Although it will likely never be established how she crossed paths with her killer, her family is relieved to have her remains so that they could give her a proper farewell.

'Singer Island Jane Doe' has her name back now; it's Susan Poole, and this is her story.

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Episode 144 Angelica Ramirez

*WARNING* This episode discusses the murder of a child. Listener discretion is advised.

In 1994, ten year old Angelica Ramirez was snatched from a swap meet in Visalia, CA. Clues at the scene confirmed the worst fears of her mother, and the investigators. Angelica’s body was found two days later, more than 40 miles away. A sexual assault kit yielded male DNA, which would be used to eliminate not one, but two false confessors in her case. Angelica’s murder was just one of a series of child murders in the central valley in just a few years, and one of the few that remained unsolved. When IGG provided a name for her slayer, police had never heard of him – and what they learned about him was both disturbing and frustrating.

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Episode 143 Doe ID: 'Mentone John Doe' Derrick Burton

In October, 1991, a hunter in the area of Mentone, CA discovered a human skull. The skull was devoid of teeth and a mandible. Based on the size of the skull, it was estimated to be a child's. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's department searched the area for more remains but they didn't find any. However, they found a bag containing a child's clothing, and took it into evidence. An autopsy confirmed initial beliefs that the remains were that of a child; a young boy between 4 & 8 years old. A cause of death could not be determined.

The authorities considered local missing persons cases, but didn't link the remains to any of those missing children, and the dead boy was referred to as 'Mentone John Doe'. It wasn't until decades later that the authorities turned to IGG to determine the identity of Mentone John Doe. He turned out to be, Derrick Burton. Incredibly, Derrick had been reported missing to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's dept when he was four years old by his mother Patricia Clark in 1991. How the agency failed to make the connection between Mentone John Doe, and Derrick Burton early on is a mystery. Derrick had gone missing while in the care of his stepfather; Christopher Hammond. Hammond did time for charges related to Derrick's abduction, but not his death.

Sadly, it doesn't seem as if there is much movement in the case since Derrick was identified, or how much his death is being investigated. 'Mentone John Doe' now has his name back; it's Derrick Burton, and this is his story.

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