NYPD detectives have identified the remains of a woman found entombed in cement in Hell’s Kitchen 20 years ago with the help of a 9/11 victim. Patricia Kathleen McGlone was believed to be the woman, known as “Midtown Jane Doe” after her skeleton was found in 2003. Detective Ryan Glas of the NYPD’s Cold Case Squad led the investigation that focused on finding the killer and providing closure for the victim’s family.
McGlone, who was between 17 and 19 years old when she was killed, was found strangled, bound with electrical wire, wrapped in a carpet, and encased in cement in the basement of a former mob-tied rock ‘n’ roll club. The discovery of her body, along with personal items including a wristwatch, children’s toys, and a signet ring bearing the initials PMcG, led to an extensive investigation. However, limited forensics technology and dead ends in the case hindered the progress of the investigation until advancements were made in DNA sampling technology.
By using genetic material from the woman’s skeleton to create a family tree through forensic investigative genealogy, investigators were able to identify a distant cousin of Midtown Jane Doe who provided valuable information. DNA samples from a woman who died on 9/11 also played a crucial role in confirming the identification. Additional leads led investigators to McGlone’s parents and ultimately confirmed her identity, allowing detectives to begin the process of finding her killer.
Glas delved into public records, church records, and interviews with family members to reconstruct McGlone’s life story. She grew up in Sunset Park, attended Catholic school, briefly went to public high school, married a man in his early 30s in the late 1960s, and then disappeared. Now that investigators have a name, they are focused on identifying McGlone’s killer, who is believed to have a connection to the Hell’s Kitchen building where her body was found.
The investigative team behind the successful identification of Midtown Jane Doe included members of the NYPD Cold Case Squad, the Police Laboratory’s Forensic Investigations Division genealogist, and experts from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The investigation is ongoing under the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s Investigations Bureau and Forensic Sciences Cold Case Unit, as detectives work to gather more information to solve the case and bring justice to Patricia Kathleen McGlone.
