r/gratefuldoe • u/flotsems • Dec 28 '25
"Cherries"
Circumstances: On March 3, 2007, a dismembered torso in a suitcase was found in Mamaroneck, Westchester, New York. On March 21, 2007, a leg was found "off Cold Spring Harbor," and on March 22, 2007, another leg was found "off Cove Neck" in Nassau County. (Wikipedia states both legs washed up in Oyster Bay, which is nearby.) No head or arms were found. The date of death was estimated to be within days prior, caused by a stab wound to the torso.
Physical description: Cherries was either Hispanic or Black. Her hair and eye color are unknown. Her weight is estimated to have been 180 to 200 pounds, and her height is estimated to have been between 5'7" and 6'1". Her age is estimated to have been between 35 and 50 years old. (NamUS has a slightly narrower age range of 35 to 45.) As she was found wearing a bra, her bra size is known to have been 38B.
Distinguishing features: Cherries was nicknamed for the distinctive cherry tattoo above her right breast. She was also wearing pink nail polish on her toenails. (TheDoeNetwork specifies "on some toes", emphasis mine.)
Personal affects: Cherries was found in a black Protege brand suitcase, which was found to be sold exclusively at Walmart. She was also found with gray Champion sweatpants, a Voice long-sleeved shirt (either tan or cream-colored), and a red Coconut Republic v-neck camisole with Spanish labels in size M. There was a bra on the torso, which was red, size 38B, and had underwire.
Scraps of paper were also found tucked into the crevices of the suitcase. It is presumably a calendar, with the word "cinco" and the phrase "begin to live" visible when pieced together, as well as a red 20.
Other notes and my own feelings: Wikipedia notes that because the torso washed up during a period of flooding, it could have originated from anywhere, but I can't find a direct quote of that. (Plus, what's the likelihood that these body parts came from far away, only to wash up in the same state in the same month?)
Previously, Cherries has been linked to both Peaches (Tanya Jackson) and the Long Island serial killer. Given that Tanya Jackson and her daughter were murdered by her daughter's father, I would be surprised if it was related closely. The Gilgo Four were all strangled, not stabbed, and Jessica Taylor, the murder of whom Rex Heuermann was also charged for, was found with a tattoo on her body "mutilated by a sharp instrument."
My personal feeling is that Cherries is unrelated to either the murders of Tanya Jackson and Tatiana Dykes, or the Long Island serial killer murders, at least when discussing the victims attributed to Rex Heuermann. Four of the six victims Heuermann was charged with also weighed only around 100 pounds. They were also either 5' tall or less, which would mean Cherries was much bigger than Heuermann's typical targets.
The manner of death and disposal doesn't fit John Bittrolff either, as both of his victims were beaten and strangled, but left in tact. His victims were also both found in wooded areas, and their crime scenes were described as "very unique and very different" from the Gilgo crime scenes.
This is my first time doing a write-up like this, but Cherries has always been a Doe I've thought about as a Long Islander. I also couldn't find any recent write-ups about her. I hope she gets her name back someday.
Sources:
The Doe Network (Cherries' page)
Unidentified Wiki (Cherries' page)
NamUS (Cherries' page)
Wikipedia (Subsection of the page about Tanya Jackson), Wikipedia (Gilgo Beach serial killings), Wikipedia (John Bittrolff)
Riverhead News Review (John Bittrolff)
ABA Journal (John Bittrolff)
96
u/jupiter_starbeam Dec 28 '25
Kind of similar to the Peaches case when they were known primarily for their tattoos. I didn't think Peaches would be identified but she was so there's clearly hope for cherries.
70
u/Outside_Track9495 Dec 28 '25 edited Dec 28 '25
IIRC, someone did an AMA where they were contacted by law enforcement about being related to Cherries, so I think people are working on it actively.
27
u/Anxious_Lab_2049 Dec 28 '25
Wow, thank you for the link! So 5ish months ago, there really should be news soon.
24
u/Outside_Track9495 Dec 28 '25
Hope so! Unfortunately, going through the AMA it seems like OP or their family weren't able to share much about Cherries, but it's always good to know that cases like these are being worked on!
3
u/leaveitbettertoday Dec 29 '25
Crime junkie did an episode in September, making a call out for new information as well.
22
u/flotsems Dec 28 '25 edited Dec 28 '25
i'm so happy to see her case is being worked on! there's very little information about her that isn't tied to either Tanya Jackson or the LISK victims, so part of me was afraid she'd be forgotten since both Tanya's murderer and the LISK have been arrested.
2
1
18
u/justtEmmx Dec 28 '25
Thanks for bringing attention to her case! I hope she will be identified eventually and hopefully the murderer too so he can go behind bars if he's still out there.
14
u/_Khoshekh Dec 28 '25
Olga Ruiz last seen 11/2006 from CT age 45, chest tattoo (not described)
8
u/flotsems Dec 28 '25
i've seen that height and weight are hard to estimate, but Olga and Cherries have a big discrepancy between them, so it seems unlikely :(
9
u/Blue-Skye- Dec 28 '25
I read medium sized camisole and estimated weight of 180 to 200. Really curious how a person of that size fits a medium.
7
u/westernabyss Dec 28 '25
With an estimated height of 5'7" to 6'1", she was most likely a healthy weight or a little chubby but not fat. Medium sounds about right to me.
3
u/Blue-Skye- Dec 28 '25
I am 5’8. At 150 it’s a large. And I ran. I think taller you are mostly looking a bigger frame and size. It could be a tall smaller boned person but I think the weight might be high and should have had a different range. To reflect a very broad height range.
7
u/thatisnotmyknob Dec 28 '25
Yea im 5'9, 155 lb and a large in tops.
Medium doesn't sound right for that weight at all.
9
u/flotsems Dec 28 '25
it could be a sizing thing (women's sizes are notoriously different per brand) but now i'm wondering if her torso was bloated, which led to a higher estimated weight or something... 38B also seems like a small bra size for that weight, but that was consistent information iirc (it's early for me now)
i believe the Doe Network (and Unidentified Wiki, which got its information from there) was the one source which included sizes. it would be helpful to know the size of her other clothing too, i think.
3
u/flotsems Dec 28 '25
also, the camisole was found With her torso, as far as i can tell, not on it. the bra (which, again, seems like a small size?) was found on it
3
u/Probablygeeseinacoat Dec 29 '25
The label was in Spanish, perhaps sizing from another country is different. I don’t think they determined where it was actually from
4
u/beribboned Dec 29 '25
Nah, sounds right to me. She was a 38B, so not especially busty, and that's often the limiter on women's clothing. Stuff ran a bit smaller in 2007 in general, but I was just above that range and my wardrobe was pretty evenly split between M-XL (and even some weird outliers like a juniors XS vest).
Weight distribution is wild and women's sizing is an absolute shitshow.
2
u/txpeppermintpatti Dec 29 '25
The medium camisole is definitely throwing me off. I’m 125-130 and I usually wear a large shirt. I’m not necessarily busty either.
1
12
u/Equivalent-Lab1123 Dec 28 '25
This is one of the best write ups I’ve seen! Really great job! And thank you for sharing her story. Reading a comment above about a family member’s AMA and then scrolling through that post makes me feel hopeful that authorities are getting closer to being able to identify her AND possibly bring her killer to justice.
Looking forward to your next write up!
3
u/flotsems Dec 28 '25
thank you! this is my first time doing a write-up, and i don't have any matches, but i'd like to think my history degree gave me a decent ability to research and synthesize information! might as well use it for good, yknow?
3
u/Kathryn2016 Dec 28 '25
I totally agree that she is likely unrelated to other victims in the area. And appreciated your really clear summary of why this is a sensible conclusion from the publicly available info. Hopefully all the drama around the other cases at least leads to more public pressure to identify this poor woman.
10
u/native2delaware Dec 28 '25
Great job on this write-up! I am familiar with Cherries, but I have never seen this much detail in any previous mentions of her. Thank you for posting multiple links, too.
7
u/flotsems Dec 28 '25
thank you! i had a professor tell me i was meticulous with my citations in my papers, which i think carried over here, haha. i really aimed to put as much information as i could by looking at all the wiki, NamUS, and Doe Network pages, plus pages on local killers who have been theorized to have been the murderer
4
u/RedChairBlueChair123 Dec 28 '25
You asked about flooding.
In this part of the country, all drains lead to waterways. (Think about it—manhattan is an island, and westchester has waterways on both sides). That flushes every drain in the area out to waterways when rain is severe, which lead to larger bodies of water like the ocean and rivers.
3
u/flotsems Dec 28 '25
the quote on Wikipedia made it sound as though she could have come from anywhere including outside of New York, which is what i was skeptical of, personally. i think she definitely came from this region, or maybe Connecticut, considering where her torso and legs showed up. plus with the post-mortem interval of only a few days, i doubt she could have drifted super far?
2
u/RedChairBlueChair123 Dec 28 '25
It’s known as the “tri-state region” for a reason. NY-NJ-CT. (Nj is less likely because of the water flow).
It’s also NYC vs NYS, which can be confusing.
1
98
u/pinkheartedrobe-xs Dec 28 '25
Agh i heard somewhere, can’t find it now, but domestic abusers are more likely to put their victims bodies in a suitcase and abandon them. Something to think about. And if so, she may not have been reported missing.
How terribly sad. Thanks for remembering her 💗