By Seamus McGraw

May 18, 2006

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COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (Crime Libarary) — Authorities in Pottawattamie County say they don't yet know the identity of the murdered young woman whose body was discovered last week in a sealed barrel in a remote area outside of Council Bluffs. In fact, they say they don't even know for certain when she died.

But they do say this much, it isn't Jodi Huisentruit, the Mason City television newscaster who was abducted more than a decade ago from the parking lot outside her apartment and has been missing ever since. And whoever the killer might have been, there is at present no evidence linking the woman's remains to convicted serial killer John Robinson, authorities say.

Investigators in Pottawattamie County have fielded scores of tips and have been tracking down leads since a pair of mushroom hunters stumbled across the remains five days ago, says County Attorney Matt Wilber. So far, they have determined, based on evidence found inside the barrel, that the young woman was murdered. But they are not precisely sure when. All that remains, Wilber said, is bone, "there was no soft tissue," he said, and their best estimate is that she died "several years ago, we're looking at a range of five to 30."

Forensic anthropologist Michael Finnegan from Kansas State University examined the remains, Wilber said, and he determined that the woman was somewhere between 24 and 32 years old, stood "5-feet-8 give or take an inch and a half either way", had "short, dark brown hair" and, based on a tag found on clothing entombed with her, wore size 11 jeans. Finnegan believes the woman was white, though there were indications from the forensic examination that she might also have had some African American ancestry. There was also evidence collected from the barrel suggesting that the woman had been slain, though Wilber would not elaborate.

Next Page

See Crime Library Feature Story on Serial Killer John Robinson

See Crime Library Coverage of Missing TV Anchor Jodi Huisentruit

See Missing Children - Amber Harris

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Contact Seamus McGraw at seamusm@ptd.net