In 1954, Boulderites were shocked by the brutal murder of an unidentified young woman. After a futile attempt to establish her identity, as well as that of her killer, citizens donated funds for woman's burial in Columbia Cemetery. She's still there today, with "Jane Doe" engraved on her headstone.

Police didn't have much to go on. Two male CU students hiking along Boulder Creek below Boulder Falls found her body lying on rocks at the bottom of a 29-foot embankment.

"At first we thought it was a store dummy," one of the students was quoted as saying. "We didn't think it could possibly be a human body." But it was. They jumped in their car, rode into town and returned with a skeptical sheriff.

All identification had been removed from the slender young victim, estimated to have been 20 years old. She had been stripped, beaten, and left to die, and then was exposed to the elements for three or four days. All that remained of her personal belongings were three pins in her long reddish blond hair.

There were no fillings in her teeth, so there could be no dental records. The only clue was a scar from an appendectomy.

Police combed Boulder Canyon and nearby mountain areas for her clothing, but nothing was ever found.

Request for missing persons went out all over the country. Several parents, whose daughters were missing traveled to Boulder, but no one could identify her.

The Camera dubbed the victim, "the mytery girl." A week after her body was found, county officials announced that she would be buried in a section of

Colombia Cemetery designated for paupers. The statement created an uproar in Boulder and brought in more than enough donations to cover the price of a cemetery lot. Others made in-kind contributions.

The casket and funeral service were provided by Howe Mortuary. The Rev. Paul Fife, pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, donated his time and read a mass for the dead. A reporter who attended the service wrote, "There was a blank- an almost imperceptible pause in the priest's voice at each point in the service where the name of the dead person is recited."

"A organ played softly in the mortuary chapel, and a few women wept," he continued. "Six pallbearers carried the casket with its frail burden to the hearse. The services were simple, restoring in death the dignity her murderer destroyed in the last violent moments of her life."

Each of the three Boulder florists, as well as five individuals, sent flowers. The drab gray of the cloth casket was said to have been in sharp contrast with the colorful sprays of lilies and roses that covered it.

"To Someone's Daughter" was written on a card that accompanied one of the floral pieces. Boulder Marble and Granite Works engraved and donated the headstone.

As he stood at the head of the grave, Father Fife intoned, "I am the resurrection and the life. Deliver us from the hand of the enemy. Accept this soul of thy servant.. .may she escape the justice of vengeance. May she rest in peace."

Said Coroner George Howe, "We don't know who she was or what religion she followed. We can only do what we think is right."