On the 20th December 1976, three suitcases were found beneath a bridge along the Lehigh River in White Haven, Pensylvania. The cases contained the remains of an unidentified pregnant woman, who is believed to be between 16 and 22 years of age. She was quickly named Beth Doe.
Later, an autopsy revealed that Beth Doe had been strangled and shot in the neck before being dismembered. Her remains had then been placed into the three suitcases, although her ears, nose, and breasts have never been found.
During her autopsy, the medical examiner noted a set of writing on the victim’s left hand. It consisted of the letters WSR and the number 4 or 5, accompanied by 4 or 7. If Beth Doe wrote them herself, it would indicate she was right-handed. The medical examiner confirmed the writing would have been written within her last 8-12 hours alive.
Detectives believe the suitcases were thrown from atop the bridge, possibly with the killer hoping for them to land in the river and be washed away, destroying any evidence. Instead, they fell approximately 300 feet before two of them came to a stop in the woods, only 20 feet from the river, while the third suitcase, that which contained both her head and child, came to a rest on the riverbank. Having been dropped from such a great distance, two of the suitcases had busted open so that the head and fetus, as well as her torso, became noticeable.
In an effort to locate anyone with information, detectives showcased a reconstruction of the suitcases used in the disposal of Beth Doe and her child’s remains. Two of the suitcases were blue and had a red, blue and white stripe. The third case was tan and had a dark plaid design. Each suitcase had been spray-painted black with the handles severed.
Inside the suitcases, officials discovered further evidence, including straw, some packing foam, a reddish-orange bedcover, and waterlogged remnants of a newspaper that was determined to be from The New York Sunday dated 26 September 1976. It was later linked to the northern part of New Jersey, where the perpetrator may have ties. The bedding and newspaper were used to wrap various remains.
As for identifying Beth Doe, it’s been over forty years and still, to this day, she is without her true name - though not for lack of trying. Isotope testing conducted on her teeth, hair, and bones revealed that she had lived in the U.S. for 5 to 10 years, and likely had resided in Tennessee or a nearby state. Analysis of Beth Doe’s unborn daughter indicated that the child had gestated while the victim was in the Southeastern part of the country.
Beth Doe is described as being approximately 4'11 to 5'4, with naturally dark brown shoulder-length hair. Due to her pregnancy, she weighed about 140 to 150 pounds. She had two moles (or beauty marks) on her face, one above her left eye and the other on her right cheek. She also had a scar visible above one heel.
