Economy police release sketch of woman whose embalmed head was found in wooded area

She's white, believed to be at least 50 with soft, whitish-gray hair, and with a full set of teeth.

Beyond that, investigators cannot say who she is or who apparently left her well-preserved, embalmed head lying alongside a road in Economy in Beaver County, making no attempt to hide the remains.

Whoever detached the head from the body had “anatomical knowledge,” District Attorney Anthony Berosh said, though officials declined to elaborate. Whoever did so could be charged with theft or abuse of a corpse, he said.

“We're speculating now, but it's obvious to all of us that somebody intervened at some point, whether it was just prior to burial transportation or after, and that's the person that we're looking for,” Berosh said.

Investigators Monday released a sketch of the woman, hoping that someone will recognize her. Investigators don't know when she died, but said that because her hair remained curly and not matted down from the weather, they don't believe the head had been out in the elements for very long.

“We believe this woman had been laid to rest. She's someone's loved one, sister, mother, grandmother or an aunt,” Economy police Chief Michael O'Brien said.

Investigators have reached out to law enforcement and cemeteries in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio but haven't received any reports of disturbed graves, Berosh and O'Brien said.

Information has been placed in the Middle Atlantic-Great Lakes Organized Crime Law Enforcement Network, which serves Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia, O'Brien said. The sketch will be distributed on that network.

State police are planning an aerial search, which has been delayed because of bad weather, O'Brien said. On Dec. 14, a foot search of the recovery area using a cadaver dog did not find any other human remains.

Coroner Teri Tatalovich-Rossi said that investigators have contacted the University of Pittsburgh's Medical School, the Humanity Gifts Registry and all members of the Pennsylvania State Coroners Association.

Mercyhurst College forensic anthropologist Dennis Dirkmaat and Charles Beall, a forensic odontologist, examined the remains. The sketch was done by Michelle Vitali, an art professor and forensic artist at Edinboro University.

Vitali said she had to approximate some portions of the woman's features because the head had lain on its right side, so the nose and mouth were somewhat distorted.

The woman's eyes apparently had been donated to science, Vitali said, though she did not offer additional details.

“We have all been consumed with this case since its inception, and we're hoping that someone can help us identify her through the sketch,” Tatalovich-Rossi said.

Because the remains are embalmed, “obviously, there had to be a funeral home involved,” said Stephanie Doriguzzi, president of the Allegheny County Funeral Directors Association. “To me, the questions are, who the funeral director was and where does the family think this person is, whether they were buried or cremated?”

Any one recognizing the woman is asked to call Economy police at 724-876-0380 or email police@economyboropd.com.

“It just didn't seem real until you actually heard the evidence and saw the picture,” Economy Mayor David Poling said about community reaction. “and then the reality sets in that this is a human head, and it's just eerie.”

Bill Vidonic is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5621 or bvidonic@tribweb.com.