Forensics Journal - Stevenson University 2010 | Page 13

FORENSICS JOURNAL

ory that she had been working as a prostitute. Just as quickly as this
theory was raised, however, it was struck down as being completely
unsubstantiated on the grounds that not one person came forward
to identify her, either on or off the record, and that if she had in fact
been known to work in prostitution in the local area, it would have
been highly unlikely for her remains to go unclaimed.8 Nevertheless,
the website’s “Frequent Questions” page advises the reader to consult
the America’s Most Wanted website,9 which posits the theory that Princess Doe was in fact a prostitute and was killed by her pimp when she
was no longer of any use to him. Lieutenant Detective Stephen Speirs
was singlehandedly responsible for unearthing the information which
led to this conjecture, which is all the more tantalizing because it is
really the only viable theory that relies on the interviews of possible
witnesses to the girl’s murder.

So far, 13 of the entries have been ruled out as a possible match for
Princess Doe, but those entries remain on the site nonetheless. This
array of information is just one more example of, and is typical of, the
incredible work that has gone into the site’s construction and maintenance since its creation.
One name that appears on the site as a possible match is worthy of
note here, owing both to her local (Maryland) connection, and to
her seemingly uncanny resemblance to Princess Doe. Her name is
Karen Beth Kamsch, and although she disappeared from her home in
Pasadena, Maryland, in 1976, she was not reported to law enforcement agencies as a missing person until 31 years had passed since
she had last been sighted. It took the curiosity and persistence of her
brother, Tate Kamsch, to finally make her disappearance known to
the police.11 The resemblance between the photograph of the missing Kamsch girl (left), and the artist’s reconstruction of what Princess
Doe might have looked like (right) is striking:

One theory that is not raised on the website concerns the victim’s
country of origin; the site makes the implicit assumption that the
victim was in all likelihood from the United States; however, it is possible that the victim was from elsewhere in North America, or even
from overseas, and had entered into the US illegally, and/or without
the knowledge of her family and friends. This theory begs for further
investigation, and, for his part, Riggs allows that he, too, needs to
“address the possibility of her being an international victim.”10
Another intriguing feature of the Princess Doe website is the “Possible
Matches” page. Here, the assiduous and patient Riggs has taken the
trouble to compile a list of no fewer than 85 women who have disappeared during the stretch from as early as August 1974, up to within
a month of the discovery of Princess Doe’s body. The list includes the
obvious categories of name, date of birth, date missing, age [at the
time of disappearance], and [last known] city [of residence]. The list
also includes some absolutely vital categories such as ruled out [as a
match for Princess Doe], rule out method, and age at the time Princess D