More than 50 years ago, a woman was found dead inside a trunk that had been left in a field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Her identity has remained a mystery -- until now.
Atherton's body was found wrapped in plastic inside the trunk on Oct. 31, 1969, which was Halloween. Witnesses told police at the time that they saw two men arrive in a pickup truck and place the trunk in the field before driving away, Kovacsev said.
In late 2022 and early 2023, detectives revisited the case and found a hair sample that was never tested. They sent the sample to a private laboratory, which was able to produce a DNA profile. The lab was then able to run the DNA profile through a genealogy database, which led police to identify Atherton and locate some of her living relatives, according to Kovacsev.
Detectives learned that Atherton had five children and seemingly no ties to St. Petersburg, which is part of Florida's Tampa Bay area. Prior to her death, she left Tucson with her children and took two of them to her ex-husband in Chicago. She was never seen by her children again, Kovacsev said.
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