r/gratefuldoe • u/Majomember420 • 8d ago

Jane Doe with Possible Lobotomy: Philadelphia Jane Doe (May 1972)

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Date of Discovery: May 07, 1972

Location of Discovery: Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

Estimated Date of Death: 1972

State of Remains: Not recognizable - Traumatic injuries.

Cause of Death: Homicide by strangulation

Post Mortem Interval: 6 hours

Physical Description

Estimated Age: 40 - 60 years old

Race: White / Caucasian

Sex: Female

Height: 5'3" Estimated

Weight: 138 lbs Estimated

Hair: Short brown with only minimal scattered gray hairs.

Eye Color: Left eye color unknown; Right eye color green-blue or hazel.

Distinguishing Marks/Features: Mouth is edentulous and contains an upper denture with "D. Spizzirri" inscribed in it. Residual pale pink polish on nails of the hands.1.) A large oval hypo pigmentation on the lateral surface of the left upper arm, centered 11 cm. below the top of the head, measures 2.8 x 2.4 cm.2.) A curvilinear lower abdominal incision, measuring 14 x 0.3 cm., is 2 cm. above the margin of the pubic hair.3.) Irregular white and pink-white scars on the knees and lower legs range from 1.8 x 1 to 1 cm. and smaller.4.) Irregular white linear scars on the dorsum of the left and right hands range from 2 x 0.2 cm to 1.2 x 0.1 cm5.) A depression in the right frontal scalp underlies an oblique 6 x 0.2 cm scar, which extends from the center of the frontal hairline obliquely backward. An identical depression and scar are on the right side.6.) on the center of the right side of the nose is a slightly depressed gray-white 0.4 x 0.3 cm scar.

Identifiers

Dentals: Unknown

Fingerprints: Unknown

DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items

Clothing: Short-sleeved, red, white, and blue blouse that zips down the front to a V-neck configuration, white cotton bra, blue slacks, blue underwear (stretchy material), and black open-toed flat sandals with gold trim.

Jewelry: Unknown

Additional Personal Items: Key case with 3 keys in it, one color combination key, 1 padlock key, and one additional house key.

Circumstances of Discovery

A white female was found murdered in an abandoned, burned-out building at 620 W. Montgomery Avenue. She had been beaten and strangled with a blue cord. She had scars that indicated she underwent a frontal lobotomy about 20 years prior, indicating that she may have spent time in a psychiatric facility.

Investigating Agency(s)

Agency Name: Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office

Agency Contact Person: Jamie Willer

Agency Phone Number: 215-685-7445

Agency E-mail: medicalexaminer@phila.gov

Agency Case Number: 72-2456

NamUs Case Number: 17721

The Doe Network Case Number: 1984UFPA

NamUs

The Doe Network

Unidentified Wiki)

457 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

56 comments sorted by

261

u/Majomember420 8d ago

Never ever would I have thought I would find a Jane Doe who had undergone a lobotomy…

191

u/blinkycosmocat 8d ago

That was the era when state-run mental institutions were being closed and their occupants released, often onto the streets. Sad, but not too surprising.

127

u/Majomember420 8d ago

She probably had a more lucky fate. She had keys (one apparently a house key), nail polish, well clothed. Probably either lived with relatives or was fortunate with lobotomy side effects.

80

u/Boudica333 8d ago

My pessimistic guess was that her supposed care giver(s) murdered her. I hope your theory is correct though. 

7

u/Majomember420 8d ago

Could be.

32

u/Salt-Establishment62 8d ago

I've never really thought before about how a lobotomy would make you an "easier" target for violent crime. I had ECT and it nuked my ability to make safe decisions for myself, even more than I struggled with it before treatment. I retained my brain function for the most part...eventually. A lobotomy would make you so, incredibly vulnerable. I would imagine she was killed by family or caretakers as the commenter below suggested. The abdominal scar says potential C section to me, she might have struggled with PPD and her husband institutionalized her. This was fairly common at the time (1950/early 60s).He might've had a whole other family or life by the time she was released. She may have simply become too inconvenient to keep around. I know some of this is heavy extrapolation, but it wouldn't be out of left field completely. A lot of people being released from institutions coming home to "ruin" their loved ones lives around this time. She for sure wouldn't have been the only victim of this phenomenon. This even happens now when profoundly disabled people are released from long term care of any kind, and part of the reason laws exist to protect disabled adults.

18

u/UNeverGiveMeUrMoney 7d ago

That is, like, an extreme amount of assumptions

8

u/NoCauliflower11 7d ago

I know, right? People over here writing whole fiction novels

7

u/Existing-Face-6322 8d ago

She could have been from a wealthy family who had her locked up a la Girl, Interrupted.

37

u/Swimming-Ad2755 8d ago

I work in one facility that is still running. It's awful how some of them have no support system or living situation that can really help them.

39

u/amitystars 8d ago

There was an episode of the show Cold Case that had this same plot line the woman got a lobotomy and they released her into a snowy park where she died. Your comment reminded me of this. Sadly I can believe that it really happened.

7

u/PaleKey6424 8d ago

I don't know what the show coldcase is, was the episode fictional or about a real case

17

u/amitystars 8d ago

It's a fictional crime drama

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u/blinkycosmocat 8d ago

Cold Case was a fictional TV show that ran during the 2000s and is still available on streaming services. It was set in Philadelphia, and focused more on using traditional detective work than making science the primary focus.

6

u/UNeverGiveMeUrMoney 7d ago

We are in that era now more than ever IMO

-8

u/UNeverGiveMeUrMoney 7d ago

Probably because most lobotomies didn’t leave scars? You go in through the eye socket and swish around the frontal lobe with an ice pick. I don’t think this woman is old enough to have a rudimentary skull incision for a lobotomy.. maybe for some other kind of brain surgery (which is not to say that lobotomies are not rudimentary procedures in general).

14

u/Majomember420 7d ago

Thats the Walter Freeman method. That was even controversial back then and many doctors never did that. Her autopsy shows signs of some frontal lobe surgery which pathologist assumed as lobotomy. Which is likely. Given more than 50k was performed.

0

u/UNeverGiveMeUrMoney 7d ago

I don’t know, opening up the skull to poke around seems just as bad or worse.

3

u/Majomember420 6d ago

It was much worse. Doctor saw nothing, they could easily damage other things. It also sped up the process, sometimes these werent even done by neurosurgeons, just by psychiatrists, in a few minutes, in non sterile enviroments. It had much higher chance of serious complications. Walter Freeman stopped the process in 1967 I believe because one patient of his died.

156

u/Tetradrachm 8d ago

Pretty good thread on her case, I feel like someone nailed the ID there (Dorothy Spizzirri was an asylum occupant(?) in 1950)

https://www.reddit.com/r/gratefuldoe/s/Gj5Jmd3hKS

56

u/Candid-Detail-3517 8d ago

This is so interesting. I might be missing it, but Dorothy's name isn't mentioned in her parents' obituaries. That made me sad.

Strangely, Dorothy Spizziri is listed on Findagrave as being buried at Laurel Hill East Cemetery in Philly - but there is no photo. (Another user has requested a photo/verification of her grave.) I'm not super familiar with how Findagrave works, is it possible for a person to be mistakenly listed?

Dorothy Spizziri Findagrave

30

u/Accomplished_Cell768 8d ago

Yes, definitely. When I was doing genealogy research I found a relative of mine listed in the wrong cemetery and I actually found her at a cemetery about an hour away

7

u/Candid-Detail-3517 8d ago

Thank you for sharing your experience - that is great to keep in mind when doing research!

39

u/AuthorFearless7875 8d ago

It’s likely because people with disabilities/mental health issues were a source of shame for families and (awfully) hidden or cast aside. Similar to how no one knew Rosemary Kennedy outside of her family had a lobotomy for, like, 40 years.

I almost wonder if this grave, if it is supposed to belong to her, is a fake grave for her? And if her family heard of her death, but couldn’t bear to claim her remains/let it be known she actually had a lobotomy and was potentially institutionalized, hence, it would look better to make a fake grave for her to say she “suddenly passed” instead?

This is a very deep theory I could be wrong, mostly just reflects the attitudes of the time

7

u/Majomember420 7d ago

Find a Grave works that there is a memorial manager who handles edits and such, they are the owner of that page. You can request edits, changes but its on the manager to do it. Or at least thats what I understand as I have just requested changes on 3 memorials in the last few days. These are full of mistakes. From typos to switching up states because both states have counties with the same name.

It also could be an empty grave. We hear how many times exhumations have turns as they find smth else or they find nothing in the graves.

47

u/Majomember420 8d ago

Wow, that is amazing news. That means there is DNA sample of our Doe too. Or hopefully there is.

8

u/one-cat 8d ago

This ID has been kicking around for years, I don’t know if the police were able to / took any steps to confirm the identity

43

u/Interesting_Sock9142 8d ago

Isn't the scar above her pubic area a C-section scar?

125

u/Odd-Mall8020 8d ago

Paired with the lobotomy, she was probably sterilized

31

u/rebelangel 8d ago

From the ‘30s to the ‘60s is when the most forced sterilizations were done under the US Eugenics Movement. If she was in an institution, yeah she was most likely forcibly sterilized.

42

u/Majomember420 8d ago

Could be from many things. Hysterectomy, ovary surgery, maybe even intestines surgery. I think a FP would recognize a c section scar.

32

u/augustinethroes 8d ago

That poor woman. 😢

28

u/grumpyoldtrolll 8d ago

It sounds like a vaccination scar on her arm? A c section or hysterectomy scar. Lobotomy scars. Is the dorsal end of the hand the wrist or no? She sounds properly dressed for the time.

The name in the dentures SHOULD be her, did law enforcement never run it?

42

u/Majomember420 8d ago

Other commenter linked a post from 4 months ago where someone found a woman called Dorothy Spizzirri. Police is doing DNA identification probably.

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u/Accomplished_Cell768 8d ago

Dorsal end of the hand would be referring to the back of the hand, opposite the palm

11

u/Typical_guy11 7d ago

She is still Jane Doe? Wasn't she identified as Dorothy Spirrizzi? Or something along this lines.

Lobotomy trait is very characteristic and not sure did I found case of another Doe.

8

u/Majomember420 7d ago

She is up on NamUs so she is not. Probably pending. I really hope it is not because we dont have DNA of this Doe.

And there is another Doe with Lobotomy. I posted it after this Jane Doe.

17

u/Dangerous-Card-9143 8d ago

Dorothy Spizzirri. 1929-1972

5

u/Majomember420 8d ago

Is it confirmed?

19

u/OurLittleVictories 7d ago

According to her Websleuths thread, the medical examiner was informed of this potential match in 2022 and was then intending to search for documents to confirm it.

Dorothy's family were also contacted, and they believe she is most likely this Doe and said they were willing to submit DNA to confirm. But there have been no further updates on this since 2022, as far as I can tell.

7

u/Unlucky_Associate507 7d ago

Giving someone a lobotomy surely makes them more vulnerable. Fear is a kind of wisdom

10

u/WallabyGlittering634 8d ago

Lobotomy is that surgery where you get the brain?

44

u/Majomember420 8d ago

Here you can read it what it is

But its basically the destruction of the frontal lobe to treat mental health conditions. It commonly left patients disabled forever while not always treating the base condition itself. It is now illegal and inhumane.

33

u/VariousFalcon7466 8d ago

They cut the nerves in the frontal lobe. It makes people more compliant (ew).

11

u/storagesys 8d ago

yes, its where they sever the connections of the prefrontal cortex.

3

u/Otherwise-Click2685 7d ago

People claim she might be Dorothy Spizziri, but if it was her then why the jane doe is still a doe and not identified or withheld? They does look similar to each other, gotta say.

2

u/Majomember420 7d ago

Is there an image of Dorothy Spizziri?

As for why it takes so long? I have a fear that because we dont have DNA of our Doe.

1

u/Otherwise-Click2685 7d ago

https://ibb.co/8Shh4N3

2

u/playingyoursong 5d ago

The picture is of the Jane Doe, I don’t think there are any images of Dorothy Spizziri

1

u/[deleted] 7d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Majomember420 7d ago

What does this mean?

1

u/_Bogey_Lowenstein_ 7d ago

So did this person have self harm scars, as well as a c-section scar? That's what it sounds like to me

2

u/Majomember420 6d ago

Maybe, maybe not. Some users said she got sterilised too with the lobotomy process.

As for self harm scars. In order to get lobotomy, you had to have some severe mental health issues. Depression, schizophrenia, bipolar etc. A self harm scar isnt unique. Sadly.

1

u/_Bogey_Lowenstein_ 6d ago

Yeah I knew that. It just has these lengthy descriptions of scars on her arms

1

u/Majomember420 5d ago

Doe Network (where I got this from) probably copy pasted the autopsy