UNIDENTIFIED: 1930's death of a Unknown mother and two children

 

Reconstruction of Jane Doe and the Younger John Doe

On May 15, 1935, a woman named Grace Dague and her daughter Inez Perry Masterson were looking for flowers in the forest in East Middlebury, Vermont. Off of a remote road leading to the Brookins/Blackmer hunting came the two stumbled upon the skeletal remains of three murder victims.

The bodies were of a woman 34 to 45-years-old and two children one being 13 to 15-years old the other 9 to 11-years-old. At the time it couldn't be determined the genders of the children. and it's still unknown. Later DNA suggested the older child and woman were mother and child making it possible that she was mother to the two children.

Each had been shot in the head likely with a Colt Automatic which fired .38 caliber bullets. It's likely the three were sleeping when they were killed. As they seemed to have been in pajamas as pearl buttons used on them were found with the bodies and feathers from a pillow (likely from being used to shoot through to muffle the sound).

It's believed they had been there up to 1932 as one of the legs of one of the victims was covered by a tree root and a hunter, Edward Munso, stated he was hunting in the area and smelled a terrible odor in November of 1932, but didn't investigate it. The family may not have been local and may have been from anywhere.

The bodies were found with green and buff-colored canvas awning with pullies attached. It is believed to have been used to help drop off the bodies where they were found. It was described as 20 feet big and was the type used on Yatches or porches at the time. The awning was believed to have been manufactured and sold outside of Vermont.

They tried to have Orthodontists from all over to look at the teeth of the Doe's to see if they could recognize them. Jane Doe and the older John Doe had dental work done on their teeth. This did not lead to an identification.

Jane Doe was a white female between 34 to 45-years-old. She was around 5'2" and weigh undetermined. She likely had dark hair. She also had molted teeth and a number of fillings.

Doe 1 is white between 13 and 15-years-old. He was around 4'11" at the time. The Doe had Tooth-straightening devices on teeth, described as gold bands, or brackets encircling the teeth in the upper jaw. They were done in a ribbon arch appliance.

Doe 2 was white between 9 and 11-years-old. He was around 4'4" at the time.

Does 1 and 2 are believed and often talked about as if they are male, but their gender is still undetermined.

SOURCES:
Doe Network (Jane Doe)
Doe Network( JohnDoe 1)
Doe Network (John Doe 2)
NamUs (Jane Doe)
NamUs (Doe 1)
NamUs (Doe 2)
Rutland Daily Herald May 21, 1935
The Burlington Free Press May 22, 1935 (part 1)
The Burlington Free Press May 22, 1935 (part 2)
Salt Lake Telegram May 25, 1935
Rutland Daily Herald May 29, 1935
Rutland Daily Herald June 6, 1935