Case #8: The Lady of the Dunes

A Brief Introduction: 

July 26th, 1974. Thirteen-year-old Leslie Metcalfe (another source claimed the lady of the dunes was discovered by a girl who was nine) walked her dog along Race Point Beach in Provincetown, Massachusetts and found a decomposing body. 

A reconstruction of what the lady of the dunes may have looked like

The Murder: 

The victim appeared as though she was sunbathing. A pair of blue jeans and a bandana were folded underneath her head and she was laying face down. The killer had severed her hands, and attempted to sever her head in an attempt to keep her identity hidden. Part of her head had also appeared to have been crushed. It was determined that blunt force trauma was mostly likely the cause of death. The sand around her body was undisturbed, and there appeared to be no sign of a struggle. What makes this even stranger is that at least one source mentioned that she had been sexually assaulted after her death. However, it was also suggested that she may have been murdered while she was asleep.  

A look at how the lady of the dunes was discovered from a distance

The Investigation

During the investigation, the police learned that she had expensive dental work done. Unfortunately, this didn't do anything to help solve her identity. The case didn't go anywhere. Missing persons reports didn't give way to any leads. The police received many calls over the years from parents looking to find their missing daughters, none of which could actually be linked to the lady of the dunes. Other records didn't lead to anything either. There were no hotel records, or an abandoned car or anything of the sort. The lady of the Dunes was exhumed three times over the years. The first time was in 1980 in an attempt to identify her. The second time was in 2000 to take DNA. The body was exhumed yet again in 2013. To this day, we have no official leads. 

Potential Theories: 

I won't go over every single theory. But, I will briefly discuss a couple of the theories I found while I was doing my research. 

One theory involves a woman named Rory Gene Kesinger, who escaped from the Provincetown jail in 1974, and then disappeared forever. She appeared to resemble the victim. However, she was excluded due to DNA testing. 

Rory Gene Kesinger

Another theory suggests that a woman who resembles the Lady of the Dunes was seen with the notorious gangster Whitey Bulger. Bulger was said to frequent Provincetown quite often. Investigators have also said her murder was eerily similar to some of the murders Bulger and his associates have committed. If Bulger was involved at all, we'll never know, as he was killed in prison by other inmates in 2018. 

Whitey Bulger

Another theory was brought forward in 2015 by author Joe Hill. This theory suggests that the Lady of the Dunes was an on-screen extra in the movie Jaws. To be fair, even Hill himself said this theory was far-fetched.    

The woman who was an extra in the movie Jaws

Final Notes: 

I find that there is something eerie about a case where we don't even know the victim's identity. I always find unsolved cases very interesting as well. It does seem to me that the theory about Whitey Bulger is the most likely. However, since he was murdered in prison, it kind of robs us of the chance of any sort of death-bed confession. That said, it still doesn't give any closure to the identity of the lady of the dunes

Sources:

http://www.celebrateboston.com/crime/lady-of-the-dunes.htm

https://medium.com/true-crime-by-cat-leigh/lady-of-the-dunes-623d5d723030

https://www.vice.com/en/article/59egp5/a-cold-case-murder-the-movie-jaws-and-the-dubious-value-of-internet-sleuthing

https://web.archive.org/web/20140301005816/http://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2012/03/03/10101-lady-dunes-may-be-another-whitey-bulgers-victims

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