Table of Contents
NYPD detectives have identified a previously unknown murder victim whose body was discovered in 2003 and dubbed “Midtown Jane Doe.”
After 21 years of exhaustive detective work, with the help of constantly developing forensic techniques, Detective Ryan Glas of the Cold Case Squad obtained a positive identification confirming that the victim was Patricia McGlone.
However, it is still unknown who the murderer was and it is expected that his identification will lead to new details about the case.
Although Patricia’s body was not discovered until the 2000s, it is suspected that she had been dead for more than 30 years by then.
Learn more about the true identity of ‘Midtown Jane Doe’ and how she was identified below.
NYPD detectives have been able to identify ‘Midtown Jane Doe’ as Patricia McGlone (snapshot based on genetic profile in photo), 21 years after her remains were found.
Manhattan construction workers discovered the body in 2003 while demolishing a concrete floor in a building in the Hell’s Kitchen area of Manhattan, New York, when a skull rolled out of the rubble.
An entire skeleton was found tied up and wrapped in a rug. inside the concrete floor
Who is ‘Midtown Jane Doe’?
On February 10, 2003, construction workers in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan, preparing to demolish a building on West 46th Street discovered a body.
As it hit a concrete floor, a skull rolled out of a rug that concealed the entire skeleton of a 16-year-old boy who had been tied in the fetal position before being encased in cement.
Unable to identify her at the time, the victim was labeled ‘Midtown Jane Doe’ amid a wave of horror and curiosity.
A medical examination determined that the victim had died from strangulation.
A gold signet ring engraved with ‘PMcG’ was found on one finger and on his wrist was a 1960s Bulova watch. The body was also buried with a dime minted in 1969 and a classic green toy soldier. .
The building where ‘Midtown Jane Doe’ was found was a nightclub and rock and roll venue, which hosted artists such as The Doors and Jimi Hendrix, called Steve Paul’s The Scene from 1964 to 1969, and which could close at the moment of the murder.
How was ‘Midtown Jane Doe’ identified?
A gold signet ring engraved with ‘PMcG’ (pictured) was found on one finger, and on his wrist was a 1960s Bulova watch. The body was also buried with a dime minted in 1969 and a classic green toy soldier.
The case was reopened in 2017 and, using new methods, investigators were able to build a genetic profile of their victim, including an estimate of her appearance (seen above left).
After the case went cold, it was reopened in 2017 and modern tests were applied to the forensic evidence, extracting DNA from the victim’s remains to form a genetic profile.
This profile allowed detectives to generate a snapshot of the victim, including an estimate of his appearance.
This profile was linked to potential relatives using updated genealogical databases and detectives learned that the still unknown victim was born in 1953.
However, both of her suspected parents were dead and she had no siblings, so finding a DNA match to confirm her identity as Patricia McGlone, a name that matched the initials on the aforementioned ring, seemed difficult.
Genetic experts claimed that DNA from a specific maternal cousin was the answer, and after a series of interviews with potential relatives across the United States, spanning different generations, Glas found his wife.
But this cousin was also dead. However, this was not the end of the road, as Glas found her son, who revealed that she submitted a DNA sample after 9/11 because her sister, Patricia’s cousin’s daughter, died. in the terrorist attack.
Relatives of those missing after the 2001 tragedy provided their DNA en masse to help identify unknown victims.
This allowed Glas to access a genetic record of the woman who verified that ‘Midtown Jane Doe’ was, in fact, McGlone.
Who was Patricia McGlone?
With the identification of the murder victim confirmed, NYPD detectives (Detective Ryan Glas pictured) have been able to release some details about the victim’s life, including that she was married at the time of her murder.
With the identification of the murder victim confirmed, NYPD detectives have been able to release some details about the victim’s life.
Patricia Kathleen McGlone was the daughter of Bernard McGlone and Patricia Gilligan. She was born on April 20, 1953, one year after her parents’ marriage.
At the time of their wedding, Bernard and Patricia were 45 and 21 years old respectively. The two parents, both now deceased, are not considered suspects by police.
He attended a Catholic school and a public high school in Sunset Park during the 1960s, but his attendance record fell in 1968 and 1969, according to Detective Glas.
Glas described Patricia as “a fugitive and a vagabond” in the period before her death.
She apparently got married and lost contact with her family around the same time, although police have found no records of missing persons reports filed after her disappearance.
An active homicide investigation has been launched to learn more about the circumstances surrounding Patricia’s death; The exact date and age of her death are still unknown, but it is suspected that it was in late 1969 or 1970.
According NBCDetectives believe Patricia may have had a son to whom the toy soldier buried with her belonged.
Police have not named any suspects, but Glas said her ex-husband was linked to the building where her remains were found and her team is appealing for anyone who knew Patricia, her family or the area around Steve Paul’s The Scene in the time of his murder to contact the NYPD.
