{"id":410,"date":"2014-07-30T02:01:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-30T02:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=410"},"modified":"2014-12-22T19:27:06","modified_gmt":"2014-12-22T19:27:06","slug":"one-murder-one-body-two-identities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/07\/30\/one-murder-one-body-two-identities\/","title":{"rendered":"One murder, one body, two identities"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Family <\/a>
Family members identify the body of Julia Fesko. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Betty <\/a>
Betty Jane Yocobet. She was alive, after all. (Photo credit unknown) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Frank <\/a>
Frank Ringler recreated the murder for a police camera, then recanted his confession (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Murder <\/a>
Murder suspect Frank Ringler in a police mug shot. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Mary <\/a>
Mary Yocobet was stunned to learn her daughter was still alive. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Relatives <\/a>
Relatives of Julia Fesko wept after identifying the body. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The victim: Julia Fesko, 22. (Photo credit unknown) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

August 1947:\u00a0<\/strong>Family members were attending a wake for 14-year-old Betty Jane Yokobet when reporters burst in and told them there had been a terrible mistake. The body lying on a cold slab at the Allegheny County Morgue was not their beloved Betty Jane, but a 22-year-old woman named Julia Fesko.<\/p>\n

Mr. and Mrs. Yocobet immediately rejoiced and offered prayers of thanks. Suddenly there was hope for their daughter, missing 10 days.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Fesko family huddled together in mourning at the morgue and wondered how poor Julia, who went to church every Sunday and \u201cdidn\u2019t go out much with boys\u201d ended up with a .32 caliber bullet in her head. Her nude, battered body had been found five feet from a lonely \u201cLover\u2019s Lane\u201d in Versailles Township.<\/p>\n

Julia was a factory girl who lived in McKeesport. After her shift at the Westinghouse Airbrake on Friday night, Aug. 29, 1947, she bought a train ticket to Johnstown so she could visit her sister the next day.<\/p>\n

She never showed up in Johnstown and her family became concerned \u2014 especially after reading newspaper descriptions of the body found in Versailles Township. It was that of a \u201cchunky\u201d young lady with dark hair, weighing 160 pounds.<\/p>\n

Julia\u2019s family arrived at the morgue minutes before the body was to be removed for burial. Members of the Yocobet family had earlier signed statements swearing that the corpse belonged to their daughter, but authorities figured it wouldn\u2019t hurt to allow Julia\u2019s family to take a peek.<\/p>\n

Recognizing the disfigured face proved difficult. Then the coroner displayed rings found on the body\u2019s fingers and the family members burst into tears. To make certain of the identity, investigators summoned Julia\u2019s dentist, who recognized his dental work.<\/p>\n

Julia\u2019s murder and the subsequent mix-up were front-page news. Detectives scrambled to solve the now high-profile case and, in the next several months, interviewed more than 150 people. They investigated Julia\u2019s private life and were surprised to learn of her \u201camazing trail of romantic interludes,\u201d reported The Pittsburgh Press. Shockingly, the newspaper wrote in gasping tones, Julia had \u201cat least 10 male friends. Several were married.\u201d<\/p>\n

Police questioned several suspects: a truck driver, a Westmoreland County farmer, a few of her co-workers at Westinghouse. Nothing panned out.<\/p>\n

In June 1948, detectives got a big break. An Army deserter and car thief named Frank Ringler confessed to the killing.<\/p>\n

Ringler agreed to travel to the crime scene and recreate the murder for a police photographer\u2019s movie camera. A secretary from the district attorney\u2019s office played the role of Julia.<\/p>\n

Police gave Ringler a .32 revolver. The suspect then mugged for the camera and put his arm around the secretary. \u201cApparently enjoying his antics,\u201d a newspaper reported, Ringler then climbed into the back seat with the secretary and described how he pawed his victim, shot her behind the left ear, stripped her and dumped the body.<\/p>\n

Near the bizarre re-creation\u2019s end, however, Ringler suddenly recanted. He didn\u2019t kill Julia after all.<\/p>\n

Why\u2019d you confess, then? police asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I wanted to,\u201d Ringler replied.<\/p>\n

He was promptly sent to Western Penitentiary to serve time for armed robbery, auto theft and morals violations.<\/p>\n

Months passed, then years. Each Labor Day, Pittsburgh newspapers published short stories reminding readers that the case remained unsolved. Those stories disappeared in the early 1950s.<\/p>\n

And what happened to Betty Jane Yocobet? In early October, more than a month after the murder, she wrote to her family that she was alive and happy and living in Hood River, Ore. She planned to marry a merchant seaman named Al \u2014 as soon as he returned from a voyage to Rio.<\/p>\n

\u201cMom, I seen all the clippings about me,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI think it is silly of them to think of me as shot.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

August 1947:\u00a0Family members were attending a wake for 14-year-old Betty Jane Yokobet when reporters burst…<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesOne murder, one body, two identities<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[947],"tags":[960,1218,1048],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/tumblr_n9hbpb1MFP1rr5swxo4_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C623&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":893,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/03\/05\/the-allegheny-county-morgue-on-the-move\/","url_meta":{"origin":410,"position":0},"title":"The Allegheny County Morgue on the move","date":"March 5, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"A few months before the October 1929 stock market crash, the Allegheny County Morgue finished rolling.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/tumblr_n1mmbfBkM41rr5swxo7_r1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C1159&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8978,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2018\/07\/09\/remembering-julia-mae\/","url_meta":{"origin":410,"position":1},"title":"Remembering Julia Mae","date":"July 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Sixty-five years ago, Carol Johnson's beloved sister disappeared.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/20180709-JuliaMae02-1-1024x706.jpg?fit=1024%2C706&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":649,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/05\/19\/andy-warhols-childhood\/","url_meta":{"origin":410,"position":2},"title":"Andy Warhol\u2019s childhood","date":"May 19, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"He was the son of immigrants.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/tumblr_n5okseQwpa1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=734%2C649&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6203,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2015\/12\/16\/lightning-strike-stymies-downtown-morning-commute\/","url_meta":{"origin":410,"position":3},"title":"Lightning strike stymies Downtown morning commute","date":"December 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"How the lightning bolt hit in the 5 a.m. hour on May 5, 1950 (or 5-5-50) in front of the Old Post Office Building at Smithfield Street and Fourth Avenue.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"The inside of the Knoxville trolley, struck by lightning on May 5, 1950. (The Pittsburgh Press)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/trolley_inside.jpg?fit=1200%2C1001&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1401,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/09\/13\/the-pittsburgh-views-of-john-c-bragdon\/","url_meta":{"origin":410,"position":4},"title":"The Pittsburgh views of John C. Bragdon","date":"September 13, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Our limited knowledge of Pittsburgh\u2019s history leads us to believe the pictures were made sometime around 1900.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/tumblr_mszbyuKelC1rr5swxo3_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":761,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/04\/16\/officer-baby-face-palmer-and-the-hill-district\/","url_meta":{"origin":410,"position":5},"title":"Officer ‘Baby Face’ Palmer and the Hill District","date":"April 16, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"In the course of doing his job, he was shot, stabbed, stoned and beaten.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/tumblr_n430v7IhPt1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C880&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3874,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410\/revisions\/3874"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}