Carbon County Beth Doe

Episode 081

UPDATE - “Beth Doe” identified as Evelyn Colon, 15, of Jersey City, NJ. Luis Sierra, 63 of Queens, NY, has been arrested and charged with her murder.

Evelyn Colon and a composite of the Carbon County Beth Doe

On December 20th, 1976, a fourteen year old boy made a horrifying discovery along the banks of the Lehigh River in Pennsylvania. The body of an unidentified woman was found, severely mutilated and stuffed into three separate suit cases which had been thrown from the i80 interstate, some three hundred feet above.

For the past forty-three years, the victim, known only as Carbon County Beth Doe, has remained unidentified and her killer has never been located. Making it even more horrifying was the discovery that, at the time of her death, Beth Doe was nine months pregnant.

The crime was committed in an atrocious manner, and for many, the case will forever haunt them. Who killed and mutilated Beth, and for what reason? Was it a chance encounter, someone she knew or perhaps even a member of her own family?

UPDATE

In late March, 2021, Pennsylvania authorities announced that they had positively identified the Carbon County Beth Doe as Evelyn Colon, a fifteen year old young woman who vanished from Jersey City, New Jersey in December of 1976. They were able to identity Evelyn through the use of genetic genealogy when they got a match to her nephew, Luis Colon, Jr.

On March 31st, 2021, Pennsylvania State Troopers announced the arrest of sixty-three year old Queens, New York resident Luis Sierra. In 1976, Sierra was nineteen years old, the father of Evelyn’s child and her boyfriend. The two lived together in an apartment until mid-December when Evelyn vanished. Sierra never spoke to her family, nor did he make attempts to find her. No missing person’s report was ever filed.

In January of 1977, Evelyn’s family received a letter explaining that she and Sierra had moved to Connecticut. It also specified that Evelyn had given birth to a 9lbs baby boy. Believing Evelyn had moved on and didn’t wish to maintain contact with her family, they begrudgingly accepted the situation, at first. As years went by, however, Evelyn’s family began searching for her only to discovery, more than four decades later, that she was the victim of a brutal and violent murder.

As it currently stands, Sierra is awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania while he sits in a New York jail. Sierra denied involvement in the crime and told investigators that, as far as he knew, Evelyn left him and went back to her family.

As a result of this breaking news, Evelyn’s family are now hoping to gather enough money to have her remains moved, a headstone created and to hold a memorial for her. If you wish to contribute to that fund, please visit The Official “Beth Doe” Evelyn Colon Memorial Fund.

Listen to 081 - Carbon County Beth Doe

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Sources:

https://www.crimewatchpa.com/crimestoppers/316/cases/media-release-1956-unidentified-beth-doe-and-female-fetus-east-side-borough-carbon-county

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23646820/beth-doe

https://wksirana.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-unsolved-murder-of-beth-doe-of.html

http://amwfans.com/thread/7608/beth-doe-pennsylvania-1976

https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/2017/12/police_need_publics_help_in_id.html

https://unidentified.wikia.org/wiki/Beth_Doe

https://allthatsinteresting.com/strange-cold-cases/5

https://www.documentingreality.com/forum/f249/beth-doe-white-haven-pennsylvania-1976-a-158996/