Evelyn Colon

This individual was recently confirmed to have been identified. Some details may change as more information is released publicly.

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Evelyn Colon
Name	Evelyn Colon
Sex	Female
Age	15
Missing from	Jersey City, New Jersey
Discovered	December 20, 1976
Location	White Haven, Pennsylvania
Identified	March 2021
Span	44 years
Cause of death	Strangulation

Evelyn Colon, (April 17, 1961 - December 1976) formerly known as Beth Doe while unidentified, was a young woman discovered in Carbon County, Pennsylvania in December 1976. She had been murdered and dismembered, and she was also pregnant with a near-term baby girl, whose body was also present at the site where the body was disposed of. Isotope tests revealed she was most likely born in Europe and immigrated to the United States during childhood.

She was identified in March 2021, and Luis Sierra of New York has been charged with her death. He was 19 at the time of her murder, and was known to have been dating her at the time.

Case

The dismembered remains of a pregnant female were located near Interstate 80 by the bank of the Lehigh River. The victim had been strangled to death, and after she died, her killer had shot her in the neck.

She had also appeared to have been raped, as she had suffered genital trauma, but it is unknown if this happened before or after her death. Her unborn daughter (posthumously named Emily Grace Colon), at about nine months gestation, also died during the attack. A coroner ruled that the victim had died less than 24 hours prior to her discovery, but some estimates state that she could have been dead for as much as a week, and the cold temperatures may have preserved her remains.

After her death, Evelyn's body was sawed into a total of ten pieces; her torso, alone, was sawed into two pieces. Forensic analysis revealed that the fetus had been removed before the dismemberment took place and that the body had been cut with a fine, serrated tool by someone who was probably not professionally trained in medicine or anatomy, but who still was able to dismember her somewhat competently.

Some of the body parts, such as half of the torso, were wrapped in newspaper, while others were wrapped in a bedspread, and they were then placed inside of three suitcases without handles that appeared to have been spray-painted black. One suitcase contained her arms and legs, another contained her head and the fetus, and the last, her torso. Her nose, ears, and breasts were severed and were never recovered. Although there was an attempt to disfigure her, perhaps to conceal her identity, she was still mostly recognizable upon discovery. Investigators feel that Beth Doe was killed by someone who was "very angry" with her and highly doubt that she was the victim of a random crime.

Her killer then threw the suitcases out of their moving vehicle over a bridge, likely hoping they would land in the river below. They missed their mark, and two of the three suitcases (the ones containing the head, torso, and fetus) opened on impact and were later found by a teenage boy on the riverbank and in the surrounding brush.

2019 developments

In September 2019, investigators released they were investigating a possible link to sixteen-year-old Madeline "Maggie" Cruz, who had run away to New York from her foster family. Cruz was last heard from in 1976 when she called a friend, asking for money. Cruz admitted she was pregnant during the phone call. There is no information to confirm Cruz was an immigrant from Europe.

On September 25th, Pennsylvania State Police announced that Cruz was located "alive and well".

Identification

In November 2020, a DNA sample was sent to Othram, Inc. to be developed into a usable file for genetic genealogy. After the company successfully enriched the sample, it was forwarded to another genealogical research agency, where a strong link was discovered between the victim and her nephew, Luis Colon. After he was contacted, he confirmed that Evelyn had disappeared within the same timeframe of the discovery of "Beth Doe."

Evelyn's boyfriend at the time, and the father of her unborn daughter, was then arrested and charged with her murder.

Characteristics

• Brown eyes.
• Brown as natural hair color.
• At a younger age, she had "extensive" dental disease and had three teeth removed and many restorations.
• She had severe decay on her teeth at the time she died. Only five of her teeth were free of restorations or decay.
• Her upper right incisor was fractured, which would have been noticeable and very painful.
• She had two moles on her face, one on the left cheek and above the left eyebrow, possibly developing during her pregnancy.
  • Her 2015 reconstruction also illustrates a birthmark on the right side of her upper lip. This mark was not noted by other sources.
• Scar above right heel.
• The letters "WSR" followed by the numbers 4 or 5 and 4 or 7 were written on her left hand with ink consistent with a pen.
• Isotope testing suggested she was born in Europe and in Tennessee before she was murdered. Some believe she could have been of Czech, Polish, Italian or Jewish origin.
  • After identification, it was revealed that Evelyn Colon was actually from Puerto Rico.

Gallery

2015 NCMEC Reconstruction

JPEG of Artist Sketch.JPG

Original NCMEC reconstruction

Reconstruction by Carl Koppelman

Enhanced image of the bedspread

Reconstructed image of suitcases

Enhanced image of suitcase interior

Crime scene

Crime scene

Crime scene

Sources

• Evelyn Colon on Wikipedia
• Evelyn Colon at the Doe Network
• Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers
• New York Daily News
• Times News
• The Morning Call:
  • Article #1
  • Article #2
• Somerset Daily American (January 1977)
• Help ID Me
• Claudia Rivero TV
• WSAW7
• Othram