Full Name: Jane Doe (she was identified in 2025 but her name has not yet been made public).

Alternative Name: Woman with the Richmond Dental Crown

Case Status: Deceased

Record ID#: 0240

*The names “Jane Doe”  and “John Doe” are English names used when the person’s true name is not known. If used above, the name refers to a person of unknown identity.

Date of Birth*:
Birthplace:
Age at the Time: Between 35 – 47
Age Group: 30s, 40s
Biological Sex: Female
Hair: Dark Chestnut Brown, wavy and cut short
Eyes:
Skin Complexion: Fair or Light
Shoe Size:
Ethnicity: Caucasian or White
Nationality:
Languages Spoken:

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Physical Build:

Height:

Weight

Distinguishing Marks:

• Dental Work

Medical Condition:
Physical Abnormality:
Dental Condition: Her dental care included a Richmond dental crown and had been handled recently. Such work was expensive and may have been done in Germany.

A Richmond dental crown is a specialized restoration consisting of:

• a metal post inserted into the tooth root
• fused to a single-piece porcelain or metal crown

It is durable, custom-made, and relatively expensive. Because it requires advanced dental equipment and skilled fabrication, its presence often indicates recent, high-quality dental treatment—a detail that can be significant in forensic identification.

Scars & Other Marks:
Piercings:
Tattoos:

Other Descriptors: She may have been one of several young Russian women who were in the area at the time. Investigations suggested she may at least have been from Eastern Europe.

Clothing

• Pink Tank Top (Brand: Baba Nuki BnK)
• Red Bra (Brand: Hechter Studio)

Possessions:

Date of the Disappearance*:

Description: Unknown

Multiple Victims?: No

Rumored or Actual Sightings:

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Date the Body was Recovered: January 7, 2005

Description: On 7 January 2005, a grisly discovery along Secondary Road 44, leading toward the Col du Donon, marked the beginning of one of France’s most haunting unidentified-victim cases. A mutilated woman’s body was found discarded at the roadside, concealed inside a Harcostar-brand rainwater butt, itself wrapped tightly in black plastic rubbish bags and secured with cord.

French gendarmes quickly determined that the victim had not died recently; her death was believed to have occurred months earlier, between September and October 2004.

Investigators later learned that the same distinctive rainwater barrel had been spotted floating in the Red Saar (Sarre Rouge) River in mid-October 2004. The sighting suggested the body may have been disposed of upstream and carried by the current before eventually being transported and abandoned near the mountain road.

INTERPOL, which now catalogues the case as “FR02 – The Woman with the Richmond Dental Crown,”​ describes the victim as:

• A woman of European appearance
• Estimated age 35 to 47
• Height roughly 1.60 meters
• Dark brown, short, wavy or slightly curly hair
• No tattoos or identifiable scars

At the time of discovery, she was wearing:

• A pink tank top (brand Baba Nuki BnK)
• A red bra (brand Hechter Studio)

One of the most striking forensic clues was her dental work. Examiners identified a Richmond dental crown, a type of restoration requiring skill and significant expense, which they believe was placed recently and quite possibly in Germany. This strongly suggested that the woman had lived, worked, or at least received care across the border shortly before her death.

In 2005, with no identification and no missing-persons reports matching the victim, investigators explored the possibility that she may have been from Eastern Europe, particularly Russia, given the number of women from that region working in the area at the time.

Authorities opened a formal judicial investigation “against X for murder”​. Despite extensive detective work the case went cold. By 2009, lacking meaningful progress, it was formally suspended.

In 2025, the case unexpectedly resurfaced. French media reported that new DNA techniques, including kinship analysis (ADN de parentèle)​, had produced a probable identification of the victim. On this basis, prosecutors in Metz opened a new judicial investigation “on newly discovered evidence,” and renewed efforts are now focused on reconstructing the woman’s life, her contacts, and her final movements in late 2004.

Authorities have not yet released her identity publicly, pending confirmation and notification of family members, but investigators have stated that the new genetic lead is considered credible and significant.

Time of Death: September to October 2004

Cause of Death: The remains were mutilated, but it is unclear if this was related to the immediate cause of death.

Recovered Remains (if partial):

Suspected Homicide?: Yes

Multiple Victims?: No

DNA Tested (No Match): Yes, Match was Made in 2025

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Description:

License Plate:

Description: