Who is the 'Midtown Jane Doe'? New York murder victim finally identified 21 years after remains were found hidden in concrete floor

NYPD detectives have identified a previously-unknown murder victim whose body was discovered in 2003 and dubbed the 'Midtown Jane Doe'.

After 21 years of exhaustive detective work, assisted by ever-developing forensic techniques, Detective Ryan Glas of the Cold Case Squad got a positive ID confirming the victim was Patricia McGlone.

However, the killer is still unknown, with the identification hopefully giving rise to new details in the case.

Though Patricia's body was only discovered in the 2000s, it is suspected that she had been dead for over 30 years by then.

Find out more about the true identity of 'Midtown Jane Doe' and how she was identified below. 

NYPD detectives have been able to identify 'Midtown Jane Doe' as Patricia McGlone (snapshot based on genetic profile pictured), 21 years after her remains were found

Manhattan construction workers discovered the body in 2003 as they demolished a concrete floor in a building in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan, New York, when a skull rolled out from the rubble

An entire skeleton was found tied up and wrapped in a carpet. inside the concrete floor

Who is 'Midtown Jane Doe'?

On February 10, 2003, construction workers in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, were preparing to demolish a building on West 46th Street discovered a dead body.

While knocking through a concrete floor, a skull rolled out from a carpet which was hiding an entire skeleton of a 16-year-old who had been tied up in the fetal position before being encased in cement.

Unable to identify her at the time, the victim was labelled 'Midtown Jane Doe' amid a wave of horror and curiosity.

A medical examination determined that the victim had died from strangulation. 

A gold signet ring with 'PMcG' engraved was found on one finger, and a 1960s Bulova watch was on her wrist. The body was also buried with a 1969-minted dime and a classic green toy soldier.

The building where 'Midtown Jane Doe was found was a nightclub and rock and roll venue, which hosted the likes of The Doors and Jimi Hendrix, called Steve Paul's The Scene from 1964 to 1969 - potentially closing around the time of the murder.

How was 'Midtown Jane Doe' identified?

A gold signet ring with 'PMcG' engraved (pictured) was found on one finger, and a 1960s Bulova watch was on her wrist. The body was also buried with a 1969-minted dime and a classic green toy soldier

The case was reopened in 2017, and using new methods investigators were able to build a genetic profile of their victim, including an estimate of how they looked (seen top-left)

After the case went cold, it was reopened in 2017 and modern tests were applied to the forensic evidence, lifting DNA from the victim's remains to form a genetic profile.

This profile enabled detectives to generate a snapshot of the victim, including an estimate of how she looked. 

Said profile was linked to potential relatives using updated genealogy databases and detectives learned that the still-unknown victim was born in 1953.

However, both her suspected parents had died and she had no siblings, so finding a DNA match to confirm her identity as Patricia McGlone  - a name which matched the initials on the aforementioned ring - seemed difficult.

Genetic experts claimed the DNA of a specific maternal cousin was the answer and after a series of interviews with possible relatives across the US, spanning different generations, Glas found his woman.

But this cousin was also dead. This was not the end of the road though, as Glas found her son, who revealed that she submitted a DNA swab in the aftermath of 9/11 because his sister - Patricia's cousin's daughter - was killed in the terror attack.

Relatives of those who were missing after the 2001 tragedy provided their DNA en masse to help identify unknown victims.

This allowed Glas to access a genetic record of the woman who went on to verify 'Midtown Jane Doe' was, indeed, McGlone.

Who was Patricia McGlone?

With the murder victim's ID confirmed, NYPD detectives (Detective Ryan Glas pictured) have been able to divulge some details of the victim's life including that she was married at the time of her murder

With the murder victim's ID confirmed, NYPD detectives have been able to divulge some details of the victim's life.

Patricia Kathleen McGlone was the daughter of Bernard McGlone and Patricia Gilligan. She was born on April 20, 1953, within a year of her parents marriage.

At the time of their wedding, Bernard and Patricia were 45 and 21 respectively. The two parents, both now dead, are not considered as suspects by police. 

She went to a Catholic school and a public middle school in Sunset Park across the 1960s, but her attendance record fell off in 1968 and 1969, according to Detective Glas.

Patricia was described by Glas as 'a runaway and a truant' in the period leading up to her death. 

She apparently married and lost touch with her family around the same time, though police have not found records of missing persons reports filed after her disappearance.

An active homicide investigation has been launched to learn more about the circumstances surrounding Patricia's death, with the exact date and age she died still unknown, but suspected to be in late 1969 or in 1970. 

According to NBC, detectives believe that Patricia may have had a child who the toy soldier buried with her belonged to.

Police have not named any suspects but Glas said that her former husband was connected to the building where her remains were found and his team is asking anyone who knew Patricia, her family or the area around Steve Paul's The Scene at the time of her murder to contact the NYPD.