The Body Recycler: LAPD Uses Facebook to Help Identify Jane Doe Dumped In DTLA

When authorities look for suspects responsible for multiple robberies, they often give the perp a nickname based on the quirks of their crime, like the Geezer Bandit or the All Ears Bandit. And when a loved one goes missing these days, friends and family often turn to a site like Facebook, where they can centralize information related to the case. Those two worlds have collided in the hands of the Los Angeles Police Department, who've set up a page for "The Body Recycler," in an attempt to identify a Jane Doe whose body was dumped last year in DTLA.

Authorities came to the case on September 10, 2010, when the badly decomposed female body was discovered among the refuse at the L.A. Recycling Center in Downtown. The remains were found by workmen following an afternoon drop-off. To date, the LAPD have not been able to identify the body, or determine the circumstances surrounding her death.

According to an autopsy, "the woman was white or Hispanic and was 40 to 70 years old. She had a recent dental crown and wore a silver ring set with a blue stone and two cubic zirconias," reports CBS2. "She was probably a woman of means because her crown was exquisitely done, and it was done within two weeks of her death," said LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon, according to ABC7.

The coroner was able to determine the victim was killed, but the method remains unclear, as does the motive. Today the LAPD released a sketch of the woman, and a $50,000 reward is being offered for information leading to a solution to the case. The sketch has been added to the Facebook page, joining several shots of the woman's ring, in the hopes someone can identify her.

But..."The Body Recycler"? Come on, LAPD. That's a little low-budget horror film for a Facebook page about a victim.