Police Need Help Identifying Cleveland Homicide Victim

CLEVELAND, OH — The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner is asking for help identifying a woman that was found "under suspicious circumstances" in a vacant lot at 5605 Dibble Ave. in October 2016. In a statement, the Examiner said the woman was likely dead for several weeks before being discovered by police.

The woman had suffered a gunshot wound to the head and police are investigating the case as a homicide. When police found her, she was missing several of her upper and lower teeth, but her front teeth were intact. The woman's weight and eye color could not be determined.

The woman is described as a white female with long dark hair, approximately 30 to 45 years old, standing about 5'4 to 5'6. She was found wearing gray boxer shorts and pajama bottoms. The Examiner also said the woman was likely to have been pregnant at least once in her life, though this does not necessarily mean she has living children.

In a statement on the Cuyahoga County website, the Examiner's Office said it had exhausted all other means of identification and was thus turning to the public for help. That's why the Examiner's Office decided to release a physical description and sketch of the woman and invite anyone who thinks the woman may be a family member to come forward for a DNA screening.

A DNA profile of the woman has been developed by the Cuyahoga County Regional Forensic Science Laboratory, to compare to possible family members.

"Even if you have not reported a family member as “missing”, please consider contacting our office if this decedent fits the description of someone you are related to. Family members can include parents, children, siblings, and grandparents," the Examiner's Office said in a statement. "It’s critical to understand that DNA submitted by family members for identification purposes, will only be used for identification. DNA submitted for identification will not be used in investigations other than identification."

Sketch from the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office