Economy police hope 3-D model helps identify woman's embalmed head

An artist working with police hopes a newly released three-dimensional likeness of an embalmed head found in Economy will strike a chord with someone.

“You never know what will spike somebody's attention,” said Michelle Vitali, an art professor and forensic artist at Edinboro University. “Maybe they'll remember the profile. (A 3-D model) provides different views. More views are a good thing.”

One month after the well-preserved, embalmed head of a woman was found, police have no idea who the woman was — or how her head ended up along a rural Beaver County road.

A pedestrian walking near Mason Road on Dec. 12 found the head, which police believe is that of a white woman 50 or older, with whitish-gray hair and a full set of teeth. A two-day search by police and cadaver dogs found no other body parts.

“We're hoping maybe the 3-D rendition is more recognizable than the sketch was,” said Beaver County District Attorney Anthony Berosh. “We thought with the model people could get a better feel for who this person was.”

Vitali said she spent more time on the 3-D model than the sketch, for which she had a 24-hour turnaround requirement. That allowed her to spend time determining what the woman may have looked like, which can lead to a better family likeness.

“That's the best you can get with reconstruction — that this looks somewhat like a relative,” she said.

Economy police Chief Michael O'Brien said his department, the Beaver County Coroner, and Berosh's office investigated several leads, but dental records eliminated those possibilities.

“When we get a lead, we have to run it down,” Berosh said. “We have to match dental records. It takes time.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Economy police at 724-876-0380 or police@economyboropd.com.

Megan Guza is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach her at 724-779-6902 or mguza@tribweb.com.