Disturbing Discovery In Boston Chimney

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A police sketch of the victim shows a woman of mixed ethnicity in her late 20's or 30's.

On the morning of Oct. 14, 2005, chimney sweep Mike Scanlan unknowingly began  unearthing a nightmare. He was hired to clean out the basement chimney in an apartment building in Dorchester, right outside of Boston.  The owner of the building asked him to fix the heating before winter set in.

But Mike had some trouble getting into the chimney cavity. In the late 1960s, the chimney had been used as an incinerator, but since then an air conditioning unit was placed at the opening. Behind the air conditioner was a slab of cement and a piece of particle board. Once he had made a small hole through the board, Mike reached his hand in and began to pull out debris.

Mike pulled out what he thought was a tree branch. But when he looked closer at it, there were red plastic fingernails attached. Shocked and startled with what he held in his hand, Mike immediately called 9-1-1.

Soon, law enforcement officials discovered a female body entombed in the chimney. 

Reconstruction And Few Clues

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No one has come forward to identify the victim or who may have stuffed her murdered body inside the chimney.

Investigators believe the victim was placed in the chimney sometime between 2002 and when she was found in October 2005. A 2002 coin was located inside of the victim's clothing.

Based off the findings of a medical expert, she is believed to be mixed with Caucasian/Black and or Hispanic and between 25 to 35 years old. She is approximately 5 foot, 2 inches +/- 3 inches and has a small to medium build. She had long dark brown hair that she kept just above her shoulders. 

Even with these clues, police are still unsure of the woman's identity and who may have killed her.  In fact, no one came forward to tell police they were missing a loved one.  And, a check of known missing person's cases yielded nothing. And, with very little tissue left on her decomposed body, authorities couldn't do DNA testing.

Authorities' only hope is that their sketch of the victim will help someone give this woman a name.