A New York City teen known only as “Midtown Jane Doe” found dead encased in concrete in 2003 and killed decades earlier has finally been identified.
Investigators put together enough information to determine the victim was Patricia Kathleen McGlone, WNBC reported Saturday.
McGlone was identified in part through the DNA of a relative who died on 9/11, cops told the station. The relative was not identified.
The teen’s body was found on Feb. 10, 2003, in the basement of a building on W. 46th St. near Eighth Ave. Construction crews were preparing the structure for demolition and cracked a slab of concrete. A skull rolled out.
The workers called the cops, who found a fully intact skeleton encased in concrete and wrapped in a rug. The victim had been hogtied with electrical cord and jammed into the fetal position.
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A lab worker transfers solutions from one tube to another as the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner hosts DNA Extraction demonstration to unveil groundbreaking technology allowing OCME to test degraded DNA samples on September 6, 2018.
Several items were also found with her, including a bra, pantyhose, a dime manufactured in 1969, a plastic toy soldier and a ring with the letters PMcG.
“PMcG matches to her name,” NYPD Det. Ryan Glas told WNBC. “Patricia Kathleen McGlone.”
When the body was discovered, investigators estimated the victim was between 15 and 21. Early in the case, cops compared the initials to every missing person case in the country but the details didn’t match any of them.
In August 2004, the investigation was featured on “America’s Most Wanted” but the spotlight didn’t lead to any new clues. At the time, police believed the woman could have been killed any time between 1969 and 1987. Over the years, various detectives were assigned to the case but cops weren’t able to narrow down when the victim died or where she was from.
“A lot of girls came from the Midwest and moved to New York thinking they were going to make it big or get away from circumstances at home but that is not what happened,” Det. Robert Hahn told WABC in 2017 while speaking about the case.
But having confirmed McGlone’s identity, police now know she died in 1969 at age 16, Glas told WNBC.
In the late 1960s, the basement where McGlone was found dead was a popular nightclub named “Steve Paul’s The Scene” and commonly just known as “The Scene.” The club was known for performances by Jimi Hendrix and The Doors, among others. The club operated from 1964 to 1970.
Investigators determined McGlone was a native New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn.
“She was Catholic and she lived in Sunset Park,” Glas told the station. “She was baptized, she received communion and ultimately had confirmation. She went to public school and she went to Catholic school. She went to Charles Dewey Middle School in Sunset Park.”
Police have not named any suspects or publicly speculated on any details of the murder itself. It remains unclear why McGlone’s body was found in Hell’s Kitchen, though police said the area was much seedier around the time of her death than it is now.
“With any investigation, any especially homicide investigation, the first thing you need to have is a name to the victim because it gives you a starting point,” Glas told WNBC.
The construction project that led to the discovery of McGlone’s body was completed in 2016, when the Riu Plaza New York Times Square hotel opened at 301 W. 46th St. There are also apartments available at the address.
