Baffling unsolved Beaver County mystery featured on Netflix series

ECONOMY, Pa. — One of the most bizarre and baffling unsolved mysteries in our area is getting national exposure.

“Why is a severed head sitting in a field? Who is she?” said the announcer in a trailer for the new Netflix reboot of Unsolved Mysteries.

>> The Case of the Headless Woman: Target 11 examines one of the region’s most baffling unsolved cases

The nearly decade-old case will be profiled on the show beginning on July 31.

Channel 11 Chief Investigator Rick Earle has followed the case from Beaver County for years, and he has new information about the national exposure.

Over the years the case has attracted national and even international attention, still, investigators are no closer to solving it.

But now they’re hoping new worldwide exposure may ultimately give them answers.

“She’s buried here in the Beaver cemetery as a Jane Doe. We still don’t know her identity, and I think it’s very sad, she deserves better than that. She deserves to have a name. She deserves to have proper recognition,” said Kristen Doerschner, the Beaver County Crime Solvers chair.

On a winter afternoon in December nearly a decade ago, a teenager taking a shortcut home from school through woods along Mason Road in Economy Borough, Beaver County made a shocking discovery, the severed head of a woman.

“This is pristine intact, embalmed head,” said Tim Manzewitsch, a forensic technician in Beaver County.

“It’s very strange and shocking,” said Economy Borough Chief Michael O’Brien.

At a news conference days later, then Beaver County District Attorney Anthony Berosh pleaded for any information.

“There’s somebody out there that had the assurance that their loved one, that they were laid to peace. Obviously, based on the discovery we made several days ago, that is not true,” Berosh said.

The discovery sent shockwaves through the community.

“Was she murdered? Was someone messing around trying to keep her preserved?,” asked then Beaver County Detective Dan Viscuso, who has investigated the case.

“Anything from a serial killer to somebody dropping off bodies that had been embalmed to this body trade thing, to a prank, you know, we just had no idea,” Chief O’Brien said.

“We never seen anything like this,” Manzewitsch said.

At the morgue, forensic technician Manzewitsch examined the head.

“Her hair was perfectly done. We were impressed on how well-preserved it was. We determined that it was embalmed and then we started examining to see what clue can we get,” Manzewitsch said.

Investigators visited funeral homes, cemeteries and morgues throughout the area, but there were no reported missing bodies.

A forensic artist then drew sketches of what the woman looked like, and she even made an exact clay replica of the head.

Investigators sent pictures to law enforcement across the country, but there were never any hits. There was no DNA because of the embalming process.

They did find traces of a drug used to treat heart problems.

They do not suspect foul play.

One of the theories being explored — was the body donated for research, and the parts then sold by body brokers?

“The ease to be able to get a body part is amazing, and the cost is probably low compared to a lot of things. Why you would be paying for something like that is beyond me,” Chief O’Brien said.

Unsolved Mysteries began working on the case for Netflix several years ago.

They visited the scene and interviewed investigators and the show is now ready for streaming.

Beaver County Crime Solvers is hoping the exposure will ultimately provide some answers. They’re offering a $5,000 reward for information that helps them solve this case.

“All we need is one good lead, one good tip, and someone knows. Someone knows who she is. Someone knows what happened to her, and why she was there,” Doerschner said.

Tips can be sent to Crime Solvers at 724-774-2000.

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