Warning: This blog post discusses sensitive details about death and abortion, which may be disturbing to some readers. Viewer discretion advised!
(I recently made a Reddit post about this, where you get to see other people's input on the case. Don't forget to check it out!)
Welcome to my first true crime blog post! Today I would like to discuss the case of Patra Patmios, formerly known as Miss X, which remains unresolved.
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| Enhanced undated image of Patrona "Patra" Patmios (1946 - 1967) |
Patrona Patmios, who often went by "Patra", was a Greek woman in her 20s who had been adopted by a Alexandros and Margarita Patmios as a child. She then immigrated to the United States sometime during her childhood. She was living in New Jersey in 1967, living a pretty unknown yet normal life.
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| Immigration document; Patmios and her parents have been highlighted |
However, in 1967, she disappeared, and her life come to an abrupt, graphic...and rather strange end in Delaware, that to this day people are still confused about.
DISCOVERY
On March 18th, 1967, the partially nude body of Patmios was found near Porter Road, located outside the rural area of Bear, Delaware. Her legs were covered in a laundry bag, and a red bow was found near the scene. Blue panties were also found at the scene. She had been dead for a few hours to a few days. Sadly, she had also been about 3 months pregnant, and her unborn baby was dead to.
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| Laundry bag |
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| Ribbon |
Initially it seemed it was another case of some trash human being murdering and discarding a innocent life like garbage on the highway, like many cases you've heard before. However, the autopsy proved that she hadn't died from murder...but the results were still odd.
AUTOPSY
The initial investigation suggested the woman had actually died of fat embolism due to the insertion of a foreign object in her uterus. Something also intriguing- but disturbing, was that a foamy, soap like substance was found in her vaginal cavity. And as I mentioned earlier, she was pregnant.
Due to this, police concluded at the time she likely died from a botched illegal abortion. You see, back before abortions were legal in more states, women would insert harmful chemicals into their uterus, killing the baby, which sounds terrible, and understandably dangerous. Hence why police thought this is what killed her.
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| Original death certificate |
However, later investigation revealed she had actually died of sepsis (blood poisoning), which is when deadly bacteria invade the bloodstream. She had not received medical care for this infection, which lead to her demise. We aren't sure of what caused the infection, and it could've been completely unrelated to the abortion theory.
Now, it is good to know she was not brutally murdered. However, knowing she died from sepsis only made her death more confusing.
Considering the fact her body was dumped on a road side, it's clear whoever was involved in her death did not want people to know. But why would they go through such efforts to conceal her death? And why hadn't they tried to get medical help for the victim? Did she even know she had sepsis?
Because of these suspicious circumstances, examiners ruled her manner of death as homicide. Remember, homicide is when a human kills another one, whether through manslaughter, accident, or murder.
WHO WAS SHE?
Unfortunately, there was another problem: investigators could not identify this woman. No missing reports were connected to her; as a result, she remained unidentified. She was given the nickname "Miss X".
The victim was estimated to be a late teen or early adult, about 16 - 25. She was also possibly of Jewish, Italian, or Greece descent. Along with this she had long, curly brown hair and brown eyes. The victim also might've had good access to health care, as she had a vaccination scar on her left thigh. Her teeth were also in good condition, suggesting she had visited the dentist at least half a year before her death.
In an effort to help identify her, multiple reconstructions over the years were made of her, and police released her autopsy photographs. They're not necessarily graphic, but they are kind of disturbing. You can see her bruises and skin discoloration as a result of the infection. I won't show you the postmortems on this website to spare you, but you can view them here and here.
RECONSTRUCTION DISCUSSSION
Here are the reconstructions of Miss X over the year:
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| Inital sketch |
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| PM Derivatives |
This was the initial sketch, and the postmortem derivatives. Looks pretty unsettling if you ask me. Looks like they could be in an analog horror! But the strange sketches do have some similarities, particularly the eyebrows and nose. It still just looks so...wrong...
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| Carl Koppelman reconstruction |
Then there was this reconstruction by the ever so talented Carl Koppelman, depicting her with the ribbon found at the scene. I think this one matches her the most, especially her nose and teeth. I also like how the skin matches someone of her descent.
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| NCMEC Reconstruction |
Lastly was this reconstruction by the NCMEC, which is also quite accurate. However, I feel they slightly misrepresented her Greek ancestry, and she looks younger here.
IDENTIFICATION
For over 50 years, Patra would only be buried under Miss X. That was until some time in 2022, when Patra's younger half-brother wanted to figure out what happened to his half-sister. He ended up submitting his DNA, and ancestry connected it to the Doe and his sister. Further DNA testing was needed to verify this. Her grave was then silently updated to match her alleged identity; however, this remained unconfirmed.
In January 2023, her NamUs was removed, and the Doe Network successfully announced Miss X was in fact 21-year-old Patmios.
Patra Patmios was finally home.
AND NOW...
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| Bould Blvd Potter's Field, where Patmios would be buried. |
To this day, we still don't know what happened to Patra Patmios in the months she was missing and on the fateful night she died. And considering it's been over 60 years, it sadly seems we may never know. However, the main theory is that her partner of Patmios, the father of the baby, was responsible for dumping her body. Why remains unclear.
I have mentioned another theory was the infection was a byproduct of an attempted abortion, but the theory she had tried to is unconfirmed. As I mentioned, the infection could've just been from something else. I also understand the concept of abortion is controversial in some places, but regardless on your view on it, I don't think Patmios deserved to die if she (or someone else) didn't want her baby. If you think she did deserve a fate like this, I suggest you get out off the internet for a while.
I hope one day a break in the case can help find whoever disposed of Patra, or possibly even killed her. Patra would've been in her late 70s at of writing, so the guilty party is likely in their 80s or possibly deceased at this point.
Rest in piece, Patra Patmios. You were never forgotten, and will always be loved.
- ninesevenpotatoes, 2025
SOURCES AND FURTHER READING:
Reddit - r/gratefuldoe (annoucement)
Reddit - r/gratefuldoe (revisiting crime scene)
Wikipedia Article (archived)
Wikimedia Commons [POSTMORTEM WARNING]
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