Yesterday afternoon here in Lawrence, the remains of a body was found hanging in a shed near campus. A sad, but not entirely unusual occurrence – except that according to this article, the body was found so decomposed that investigators could not determine its race or gender. The only unique indicators found were a yellow North Face backpack and a ball cap bearing the name of a bar in Kansas City.
The shed is in the backyard of a rental property. All of the people living there currently, as well as former residents, seem to be accounted for. I drove by the house earlier today to gawk (who me, morbid?), and the house and yard are overshadowed by trees and brush. It would appear that the mystery person had just happened upon this semi-secluded shed, in a very high profile location (the area is known as the “student ghetto”), and just randomly decided to kill him or herself there. Alone and in seclusion, surrounded by many unsuspecting strangers.
How bizarre, and how terrible? I can’t imagine how long the body must have hung there before someone noticed. Is there a family out there still searching for this kid, and do they have any idea where he or she might have ended up? I’m guessing the person did not want to be found, but why that spot in particular? The truly horrifying aspect of this, to me at any rate, is the sheer anonymity of the person. No driver’s license, student ID, not even a Blockbuster card. We just know that the person was a student (from the North Face gear). In a day when things like mydeathspace.com exist, and media outlets print every single salacious detail to be wrung out of any newsworthy death, an anonymous death is quite a feat.
Hopefully they’ll be able to identify the person over the next few days. I’ll keep updating this as information comes out.
One Comment
How sad, to be so alone and thinking suicide was the only way to stop the pain they felt. My heart goes out to the family of this individual, I cannot image how they must feel or will feel once the deceased has been identified. Obvious choice of location was that they chose to die alone and not be found until much later in such an isolated place. too many youth suicides even in Australia….yet youth today has everything to live for.
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