Headless Body of Girl Found

Unidentified Corpse Fished From Ohio River Near Portsmouth

Article taken from The Lima News, May 8, 1936

PORTSMOUTH, O., May 8 - The headless body of a young woman was found floating in the Ohio river 18 miles east of here. Coroner R.M. Gault said she may have been murdered.

Three knife wounds were found in the portion of the victim's neck that remained.

Her body was found floating late last night by Walter Raike, a fisherman, near Franklin Furnace.

INITIALS FOUND

The only clue to the girl's identity was a scarf bearing the intials "E.H."

Coroner Gault said he was unable to estimate immediately how long the body had been in the water. The girl appeared to be about 20 years old.

Toe and heel plates on the shoes of the girl indicated she may have been a dancer.

Her body was attired in a sweater, and tailored skirt.

PRINTS TAKEN

Markings in her shoe traced to a Boston manufacturer, indicated the body had not been in the water for a long time, because these were not faded.

Fingerprints were taken in an identification effort.

Scioto-co authorities sought to determine if there was any connection with the finding of the body and the disappearance of a girl from Olive Hill, Ky.

Undergarments of the girl were bloodstained.

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Lima News
5-10-1936

NAME OF GIRL AND CAUSE DEATH UNSOLVED

PORTSMOUTH, O., May 9 - A white sheet cloaked the headless body of a young woman in a morgue tonight as police sought to identify her and pierce the mystery surrounding her death.

Coroner R. M. Gault said he had reached no conclusion as to whether the girl, who appeared to be about 20, was murdered and her body thrown into the Ohio River or whether she fell or jumped into the water.

A fisherman found the body late Thursday night floating in the river near Franklin Furnace, 18 miles east of here.

Numerous persons visited the morgue in an attempt to identify the body.

Boston police disclosed they were checking the descriptions of two missing Boston tap dancers with that of the headless girl.

Shoes found on the victim's feet were retailed in Boston and bore plates which indicated the girl might have been a tap dancer.

Relatives of Evelyn Hatfield of Cincinnati came here in an effort to identify the girl, but before they arrived Miss Hatfield was located with a carnival company in Anderson, Ind.