Mystery of ‘Midtown Jane Doe’ solved after 55 years as NYC cops ID teen murder victim

Police have finally identified the teenage girl who was tragically murdered in New York City in the late 1960s, a case that had baffled investigators for over a decade. The victim, previously known only as “Midtown Jane Doe,” has been identified as Patricia Kathleen McGlone, a 16-year-old resident of Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood at the time of her death in 1969, according to Detective Ryan Glas of the New York City Police Department.

McGlone’s remains were discovered by construction workers on February 10, 2003, in the basement of a building slated for demolition in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. Found wrapped in carpeting and tied in the fetal position with an electrical cord, her skeletal remains provided few clues to her identity or the circumstances of her death, save for a ring bearing the initials “PMcG,” a dime from 1969, a 1960s-era Bulova watch, and a green plastic toy soldier.

Despite initial efforts to locate missing persons matching McGlone’s description, the case went cold in 2003. However, advancements in forensic technology prompted a reopening of the case in 2017. It wasn’t until March 2023 that a DNA profile was successfully extracted from the degraded remains, allowing investigators to employ investigative genetic genealogy.

The breakthrough came when McGlone’s DNA profile matched with a family member who had uploaded their DNA to a public ancestry database, revealing the surname “McGlone.” Further investigation into school records confirmed McGlone’s identity and revealed details of her life, including her early marriage and the possibility of her having a child before her untimely death.

Detective Glas also discovered a familial connection between McGlone’s DNA and that of a 9/11 victim’s mother, confirming their cousinship. This connection was established through DNA submissions made by relatives of missing individuals following the World Trade Center attacks.

The disclosure of Patricia Kathleen McGlone’s identity represents a significant breakthrough in a decades-old cold case, providing closure to her family and shedding light on the tragic circumstances surrounding her death.

jacksparrow

See author's posts