LORAIN "FOOT" CASE -- VICTIM IDENTIFIED

The identity is revealed, but the mystery remains.

Coroner identifies mystery foot as belonging to Darla Kustra
By Patrick O'Donnell, The Plain Dealer
April 14, 2010, 2:59PM

ELYRIA, Ohio -- The severed foot found on an abandoned railroad trestle belonged to Darla Kustra, 56, a divorced mother of four who lived less than two miles away.
But investigators cannot say definitively what happened to Kustra, only offering several theories about what may have occurred.
The leading theory is that she was walking to work at a local plastics company along Ohio Route 57 the morning of March 26 and was struck by a southbound vehicle. But sheriff's investigators and the Lorain County Coroner acknowledge that it is very unusual for a pedestrian to be hit by a car and to not find a body, significant blood or clothing.
The trestle where the foot was found was 16 feet above the roadway and would have needed to be thrown high in the air for it to end up there.
"It was very bizarre that the foot was located there but there was no other evidence," Lorain County Sheriff's Captain John Reiber said.
Investigators did find some traces of blood on the northern face of the trestle structure but found no other body parts or even the shoe to the foot, which was found wearing a sock.
Kustra's coworkers reported her missing and investigators then contacted her four daughters to obtain a DNA sample from one to make the identification. Though the family can claim the foot, the Lorain County Coroner has not issued a death certificate because there is no body.
Coroner Paul Matus said he assumes that Kustra died because people cannot suffer those kinds of injuries and survive without immediate medical treatment.
Investigators have speculated that the body may have become lodged beneath a truck or other vehicle that struck her and either remains there or fell off away from the site. They have issued a national police alert for any body that turns up.
The foot was found by four youths on March 29.
Kustra was last seen in security footage leaving her apartment building in Lorain at 4 a.m. Friday, March 26.

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LORAIN "FOOT" CASE -- UPDATE

Well, it's Monday. Perhaps today we will discover who the victim was.

Identity of woman whose severed foot was found may be known
[source]
By Pat Galbincea, The Plain Dealer
April 09, 2010, 9:53PM
ELRYIA TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Lorain County Coroner Paul Matus said Friday the identity of a woman whose severed foot was found March 29 by two teenagers on an abandoned bridge over Ohio 57 might be revealed as soon as Monday.
Matus said an individual provided investigators with information about a missing relative whose description matched that of a woman reported "not seen or heard from" since March 26.
The coroner said the foot belonged to a white woman between ages 47 and 60, weighing between 190 and 215 pounds, and with a height between 5-5 and 5-7. He said a DNA sample from that person was taken, and will be compared with DNA taken from the foot.
The woman's foot was severed "as would be seen" in an auto accident, Matus said. He also added the woman would not likely be alive because of the severity of the injury.
The case has been under investigation by the Lorain County Sheriff's Office.

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LORAIN "FOOT" CASE

This is a local story that I'll be avidly keeping tabs on. The kids who discovered the body have some relation to a colleague of mine, and he has pictures of the foot on his cell phone. It was severed about one-third to halfway up the tibia (from the ankle) and the flesh was extremely swollen, bloody, and splayed. The development of this case should be interesting, if it doesn't dead-end. There is the question of victim identification, the location of the remainder of the body, and of course the suspect.

Severed foot found in Lorain County
[source]

Sheriff's deputies are investigating.
By Colleen O'Neill, Newsradio WTAM 1100
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
(Sheffield Township)- Lorain County sheriff’s deputies are investigating a grisly find...

Cpt. John Reiber says two kids walking along railroad tracks near Route 57 and 254 Monday night found what appeared to be a human foot. That turned out to be the case. Sheriff’s deputies searched the area but did not find the rest of the body.

Deputies are trying to find out where it came from...Reiber says there isn't anyone missing from the area that fits the description so it may not have come from Lorain County.

The Lorain County Coroner has taken custody of the limb. Dr. Paul Matus says this is a female's foot and they believe she was 5'5’’ to 5'7’’ tall, 210 to 215 lbs. and in her 50's. The foot is in tact with a portion of the right lower leg attached. Matus adds it's fresh only 24 to 48 hours old.

A bulletin has been sent to police departments and coroners all the way to east of the Mississippi. If need be, a DNA test will be done on the foot.

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