The Skull in the Suitcase
That Saturday morning, a homeowner on Birchwood Drive was preparing to have a garage sale, hoping to make a few bucks on miscellaneous items that were no longer of use to him. I'll call him Mr. M, to protect his privacy, since I haven't seen his name released in any articles or reports. As he displayed his items, filled tables and made sure he was ready for shoppers, Mr. M put a red Samsonite hard=sided suitcase, like the one in the picture, out on display. Likely tucked away for some time in an attic or closet, the suitcase was of no use to Mr. M. The handle had the initials "R.B.", obviously not Mr. M's initials (or anyone in his family, as far as I can tell).
At some point that day, as people came and went, someone purchased the red suitcase and, upon opening it, made quite a discovery; a human skull. Assuming that the buyer responded as many of us would, police were contacted and the skull was taken for examination. Though not much was learned from it. |
Aside from the skull, inside the cherry red vintage luggage was a checkbook with "Rebecca Beach 110 FM 1960 W, Suite F 333, Houston, TX" and an attorney's business card, further adding to the mystery. The only information gleaned from examination of the skull was that it likely belonged to a woman of unknown race, between the ages of 50-90, who had died some time between 1950-2000. She had no teeth, though it isn't mentioned whether that was premortem and intentional or postmortem and indicative of an attempt to make identification much more difficult.
Learn More About This Jane
Up to my ears in questions...
Obviously, the overwhelming lack of information is a huge hurdle in this case. When I first looked into this Jane, I assumed that the name Rebecca Beach and the address on the checkbook were somehow linked to the Jane. I quickly learned that it was unlikely that Jane's name was Rebecca Beach in life (though still something I'm considering), and that the address on the checkbook may have been linked to a unit in a strip-mall or business park, though it hasn't been a valid address in quite some time due to redevelopment of the property.
The most glaring issue in this case is the lack of a name. No doubt about that. With a name, she wouldn't be a Jane. But I have some questions that will likely never be answered.
The most glaring issue in this case is the lack of a name. No doubt about that. With a name, she wouldn't be a Jane. But I have some questions that will likely never be answered.
- How did she die? The skull showed no obvious trauma to indicate cause of death.
- Who in the world would have a human skull in their possession? And how did they even get it? (My brain train went way off the tracks with this one)
- Why would Rebecca Beach just leave a checkbook in a suitcase? What information was on the attorney's business card?
- Are the rest of Jane's skeletal remains out there somewhere, missing a skull and a name?
- Did authorities attempt to track Rebecca Beach down through the property owner(s) or bank account information? If not, whyyyy? If so, where is Rebecca and how did her suitcase end up as a lodging for human remains?
- How was the estimated age determined? If the lack of teeth led examiners to conclude that she must have been middle aged to elderly, we might have a problem. It's not like there's a minimum age requirement for dentures, and it's not unheard of for younger adults to have them.
- Where did her teeth go? Knowing how and when Jane's teeth were removed/lost would be tremendously helpful. If she was, indeed, a little old lady with dentures then that is an important characteristic to search for. If she had teeth when she died and they were removed, that's a whole different rabbit hole to venture down.
- Was Mr. M looked into? I would hope so, considering the fact that he sold a suitcase with a human skull in it at a garage sale. What information did he give about how he got the suitcase? The history of ownership, and lack thereof, is important. Someone, somewhere, stashed Jane's skull in the luggage, whether it was someone who killed her or someone who inexplicably felt the need to have a skull on hand.