Forensic artist puts a face on 1971 mystery
Deputies hope a model by the Clackamas County artist will help them identify remains found 33 years ago
Thursday, October 28, 2004
EMILY TSAO
OREGON CITY -- More than three decades ago, a father and son made a discovery that remains a mystery today.
While camping in Josephine County, the pair came across the remains of a young woman, partly hidden under branches. They found bones, tattered clothes, a skull and long auburn hair. In her jeans pockets were 38 cents and a California map.
Time had eroded the woman's face and her identity.
This week, Clackamas County forensic artist Joyce Nagy gave the unidentified woman a face.
"You do what the bones tell you," Nagy said.
Nagy's police work is unlike any other in the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. She uses pencils, paper and clay to solve crimes.
Since July 2003, Nagy, who lives in Oregon City, has served as a full-time forensic artist, one of a handful of professionals throughout the country who can make that claim.
It's a job that requires her to be part artist, part counselor and part detective. Because of her rare skill, she offers her sketching and sculpting services to other police agencies throughout the state.
Nagy, 38, had practiced sculpting with other skulls. The woman found in 1971 near the California-Oregon border is her first real case.
Deputies at the Josephine County Sheriff's Office still remember "Jane Doe," the only unidentified body in the county.
"We want to find her a home," said Deputy Kari Babson.
Detective Sgt. Ken Selig said the county started reviewing cold cases last year and added her description to a national database.
But it was Selig's work on another unidentified person's case that led him to Nagy.
"I didn't want a drawing," Selig said. "Drawings are two-dimensional." And Nagy was offering her help for free.
In September, Josephine County shipped the skull to Nagy in a bowling ball box via UPS. The skull had been carefully packed "like fine china," surrounded by tufts of soft cotton, Nagy said.
Nagy named the skull "Annie" because the name seemed to fit the fragile features.
Nagy first took the skull to her dentist, who replaced missing teeth and reset the jawbone.
Over the next several weeks, Nagy referred to a textbook to determine the depth of tissue on Annie's face. The textbook provided specific depths for different races, different genders and different body types.
Investigators had already determined from Annie's clothes that she was about 125 pounds and about 5 feet 4 inches tall. They also determined she was about 20 years old.
Nagy carefully measured pencil erasers and placed them on the skull to mark tissue depth, then began to create the face.
Much of Nagy's work takes place in her office, which has the feel of an artist's studio. Soothing classical music plays in the background. Tablecloths soften the look of sterile office furniture. A desk lamp provides gentle lighting. The walls tinted a light pink provide a calming effect. Nevermind that the county jail sits across the driveway.
Nagy said she tries to make her office feel comfortable and cozy for a reason. As she works with victims and witnesses to create a sketch of an assailant, a burglar or a rapist, she also serves as a counselor.
She sometimes serves crime victims coffee or tea as they work together. "It makes them feel a little better," she said.
She's done sketches for police departments in West Linn, Tualatin and across the state.
Nagy said she had aspired to be a coroner and ended up in a career that reflects her parents' influence. Her late father, James Brouillette, was deputy chief for the Portland Police Bureau. Her late mother, Dorothy, was an oil painter.
Inside Nagy's office, "Annie" rests on a pedestal, staring out with her lips slightly parted.
From about 10 pounds of "flesh tone" clay, Nagy's fingers have created a face for Annie. Nagy found green-gray glass eyes from the auction of a doctor's estate on eBay. "Her eyes are mismatched," Nagy pointed out. "We don't know the real color of her eyes."
Her eyelashes are cosmetic ones from Fred Meyer.
The model has no ears. But that's because Annie's long auburn hair (a $7.99 Halloween wig from K-mart) would have covered it up anyway.
Annie wears a white turtleneck from Goodwill and a woven plaid blazer from Sears. The clothes are similar to those she was wearing 33 years ago, Nagy said.
Nagy bought the clothing with her own money and plans to wear them some day.
Nagy said she hopes someone will be able to recognize Annie from the model. "Her family could be anywhere," Nagy said.
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