The Box Lady of Benton County - Indiana 1976

Police estimated the victim had been killed 7 to 10 days before discovery, and the box containing her body had been in the cornfield for 12 to 18 hours.

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Initial investigation efforts included sending the woman's clothes, fingerprints, and dental X-rays to the state crime lab, and issuing a nationwide all-points bulletin. Additionally, three witness statements and ground damage suggest the box containing the body may have been dropped by a helicopter.

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DNA sequencing of a bone from the 'Box Lady' revealed she is largely Croatian and possibly from the Chicago area. This new information was obtained by Scott McCord, Coroner of Newton County, Indiana, and a Case Manager for the Identify Indiana Initiative.

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An updated reconstruction image of the unidentified woman was released on February 6, 2022, as part of ongoing efforts to identify the 'Box Lady' of Benton County. This new image aims to generate public recognition and new leads in the cold case.

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The 'Box Lady of Benton County' case was featured on the popular podcast 'My Favorite Murder' in March 2022, bringing renewed public attention to the unsolved mystery.

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The DNA Doe Project officially took on 'The Box Lady's' case, aiming to use genetic genealogy testing to identify her.

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After decades of the case remaining cold, the Benton County Coroner obtained a search warrant and order to exhume the 'Box Lady's' body. A team from the Human Identification Center at the University of Indianapolis carefully excavated the grave, finding her remains in a body bag, as the wooden coffin had disintegrated.

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The unidentified woman was given a pauper's burial in Fowler Cemetery, without a headstone, where her body remained largely forgotten for 43 years.

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Investigators theorized the box had been dropped into the cornfield by a helicopter, as there were no tire tracks leading to the box despite recent rain, and witnesses reported seeing a white and gold 1976 Bell Jet Ranger helicopter in the area around the time of the discovery.

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Authorities determined the woman was white, between 55-65 years old, approximately 5'2" tall, and weighed around 160 pounds. She had sandy, partially graying hair, brown eyes, and a significant scar from a right-side radical mastectomy. She also had callouses on her hands, suggesting a history of manual labor.

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Norman Skoog, a farmer in rural Benton County, Indiana, discovered a large, heavy cardboard box in his cornfield. Upon opening it with his family, they found the body of a woman, later known as 'The Box Lady,' wrapped in plastic and bound with rope. She was wearing a green pantsuit and had been shot in the back of the head. The box also contained a broken perfume bottle, seemingly used to mask the smell of decomposition.

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