The skeleton of an American teenager tied to a tree in 1974 finally identified


The skeleton that was found in 1974 tied to a tree in Florida has been identified. It is about a young girl who would have been the victim of a serial killer.

It took decades to finally put a name to this skeleton. Florida authorities announced last week that they had identified the possible victim of a serial killer, whose body was discovered tied to a tree in 1974. Susan Poole, 15, had been reported missing by her family for two years earlier, in 1972, but light had never been shed on this strange story. “Only her bones remained of her,” agent William Springer said at a press conference last Thursday.

In 2015, the case was described as a “cold case” after authorities announced that they had still found nothing about the body. His DNA had at the time been submitted to a national missing persons database, to no avail. In an attempt to find answers, the investigators had even produced a computer-generated image of what the young girl might look like. But this call for witnesses had again given nothing, indicates the “New York Post”.

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Suspect killed in jail

It was the progress of DNA and genealogical analyzes that finally made it possible to advance the investigation, reports “People”. Last year, investigators sent the human remains to a private laboratory specializing in genome sequencing. Thanks to these new analyses, the police were then able to go back to members of the victim’s family, allowing them to formally identify him. These relatives explained that she had “just disappeared” leaving behind, at a friend’s house, her clothes, her bag and her personal effects.

Authorities say Susan Poole was the victim of serial killer Gerard Schaefer, who was once a member of the sheriff’s office in neighboring Martin County. This man was convicted of two other murders of teenage girls, also found tied to a tree in 1973. Aged 16 and 17, they had been mutilated and beheaded. The man was killed in prison in 1995 and is believed to be linked to around 30 other murders. “He lived in Broward County, in the area where Susan Poole lived,” noted Constable Springer, who said he was the best suspect because of the similarity between the three crimes.

But the police have not completed their investigation. She wants to know more about the circumstances of Susan’s disappearance and asked anyone with information to contact the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. She also hopes to interview three of the girl’s friends. The investigators also announced that they had announced the news to the mother of the victim, who is still alive, as well as to his brothers and sisters. “The family was happy to know what happened. We had been waiting for a long time to see what had happened to their sister,” commented William Springer.





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