Give names to anonymous victims. Relieve loved ones who are still wondering. And possibly bring justice to the woman who died a violent death by finally confounding her perpetrator. This is, in summary, the objective of Interpol’s new “Identify me” campaign, relaunched this year in Europe, after the success of the 2023 campaign, says Franck Dannerolle, divisional commissioner at the head of the Central Office for Law Enforcement. of violence against people (OCRVP).
This year, Interpol has decided to add 25 new files to its Identify Me campaign, including seven women found killed on French territory. Here’s what we know about them.
The woman “with special teeth”
It was first a human skull that a hunter found on January 26, 1994 in the Alix woods, in Lassy (Val-d’Oise). On the scene, the gendarmes uncovered other partly buried bones. The remains suggest a violent end for this woman of around 25 years old who was killed between 1985 and 1993: her arms and legs are restrained by cords.
While examining his remains, investigators noticed a dental peculiarity, which earned him his nickname. Without knowing whether it is a genetic peculiarity, the dental examination reveals the absence of two upper lateral incisors. When she smiled, according to the Interpol notice, her canines appeared directly next to the central incisors. The victim also had an old fracture to his right collarbone.
1m56 tall, this light-skinned woman wore numerous jewelry in gold metal: a Movado watch, a bracelet engraved with “Thierry”, three rings (one with a sapphire, the second with a sky blue stone, and a finger chain), a neck chain and its pendant representing Christ on the cross, a gold metal ankle chain and a silver metal ring decorated with a blue stone and seven small brilliants (on eight locations provided).
The woman found in a vacant lot in Saint-Denis
She was born between 1992 and 2003 and was discovered dead on June 23, 2021 on vacant land in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis). This young black woman with dark eyes could have been killed between 2015 and 2020.
His remains were found in a trash bag: a skull and the bones of a left leg.
The woman with the dental crown Richmond
His death dates back to September or October 2004, investigators estimate. But his mutilated body was only discovered in Moselle on January 7, 2005, along the departmental road 44 towards the Col du Donon, in the town of Saint-Quirin.
Aged 35 to 47, this victim was found in a Harcostar brand plastic water collection barrel, itself packaged in black garbage bags tied with cords. The same green container was seen in mid-October 2004, floating in the Red Sarre River.
Investigators believe this woman could be from Eastern Europe, or even Russia, due to the strong presence of young Russians in the area at the time. A Richmond crown was fitted to his jaw, a recent and expensive device for the time which may have been made in Germany.
The woman with the “Jean and Nelly” ring
The gold wedding ring she wore on her left ring finger has very specific characteristics: laurel leaves engraved on the inside. Inside the ring, the inscription “Jean and Nelly 06/25/1960”. But this was not enough to identify this victim aged 60 to 75 years old discovered on March 5, 2008 below a ledge, in a very isolated and difficult to access place in Villefranche-sur-Mer (Alpes-Maritimes) .
The victim also wore two gold rings on her right ring finger, one made of blue stone, the other made of red stone. Jewelry made in the 1940s or 1960s in Italy or Turkey. Of strong build, this woman wore a left hip prosthesis, Langander brand, numbered L96211C and “likely to be part of a lot whose different parts had been delivered to Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and in Italy.”
The pregnant woman with garnet necklaces
When she was discovered in July 2001, this 35-year-old woman was 7 to 9 months pregnant. But no one knows who this victim was found, fully dressed, by a walker in the forest of Mimeure, in Côte-d’Or.
The body was enclosed in a bag made from double curtains with paisley patterns. Her ears were pierced four times with gold rings, and gold chains with pendants set with garnet around her neck.
The woman with the tattooed butterflies
Her body was floating in the Seine, in Athis-Mons (Essonne) when a family saw it, on April 17, 2016. Aged 30, this 1m65 woman with dark brown hair, probably drowned, had been killed a few days earlier , according to investigators.
She had numerous tattoos, including several butterflies: a hibiscus flower with the letter M on the stem, on the back of her hand; a salamander on the right ankle; an arabesque butterfly on the right hip; stars and a butterfly on the left ankle; a butterfly on the left hip; two butterflies and stars on the inside of the right wrist, a butterfly on the upper right arm; arabesque flowers at the bottom of the back and letters at the top of the back which may correspond to “KAINA”. In his pocket was a 100 bolivar note, the Venezuelan currency.
The girl with the 10 pence coin
On November 25, 1982, a hunter discovered this teenage girl on unused land along the departmental road 723 (formerly RN23), in the commune of Cellier, north of Nantes (Loire-Atlantique). His body, fully dressed and wearing red shoes, is almost reduced to a skeleton, his Interpol file specifies. She could have been killed between June and September 1982.
The teenager wore around her neck a gold metal chain with a keel-shaped pendant, similar to those worn by conscripts who have completed their military service, a black leather choker necklace decorated with five pearls and above all a door -metal key with the image of Napoleon, hanging from one of the loops of his jeans. In his pockets: a British 10 pence coin, a taxiphone token, a small box of matches without a lid.
“Give yourself a chance to resolve these cases”
These seven women, who died violently, were selected by the police and the gendarmerie, with the help of the OCRVP. “It is interesting to think beyond our borders in terms of calling for witnesses. It’s about giving ourselves a chance to resolve these cases, hopes police officer Franck Dannerolle. Giving a name is essential for the investigators who will be able to begin to reconstruct the victim’s schedule and question those around them.
For the 2023 campaign, 22 unidentified women found dead in the wild on Belgian, German and Dutch territories were brought to light, triggering a wave of testimonies. In addition to the curious, the police of these European countries, in conjunction with Interpol, received 1,800 testimonies that seemed solid.
And this is how a victim, nicknamed “the woman with the tattooed flower”, found dead in a Belgian river in 1992, was able to find a name: Rita Robert, Welsh who had left Cardiff for Antwerp a few months before her death . However, his killer has not yet been identified.
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