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Ottawa County deputies highlight pair of cold cases: 'Jenny' and 'Matilda'

Ottawa County cold case.png
Posted at 5:32 PM, Sep 08, 2021
and last updated 2021-09-08 17:33:42-04

BLENDON/WRIGHT TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office is highlighting a pair of cold case victims that they say forensics experts may be close to identifying.

We’re told “Jenny” was found beaten and strangled to death in a wooded area back in 1967 in Blendon Township. Authorities say detectives put hundreds of hours into determining the woman’s true identity but have not yet succeeded, adding her murderer remains unknown.

The sheriff’s office describe “Jenny” as a young Black woman who was 5’8” tall and weighed 100 pounds.

Hunters discovered the skeletal remains of “Matilda,” an adult woman, in Wright Township back in 1994, according to deputies. They say her cause of death was indiscernible but her death was ruled a homicide. “Matilda” was described to have been 5’7” tall with reddish-brown hair and aged between 30 and 40 years old.

Like “Jenny,” the identities of “Matilda” and her killer remain unknown.

"We look foward to the day that we can introduce these victims with their true identities and restore the dignity that was lost so long ago," deputies wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday morning.

Those with information in connection to either cold case are asked to get in touch with the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office or Silent Observer.

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