{"id":682605,"date":"2026-06-03T21:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T21:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/682605\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T21:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T21:46:15","slug":"teen-found-dismembered-in-chelsea-parking-lot-identified-after-26-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/682605\/","title":{"rendered":"Teen found dismembered in Chelsea parking lot identified after 26 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMassachusetts investigators say “Chelsea Jane Doe,” whose mutilated remains were found in a parking lot nearly 26 years ago, has been identified as a missing 16-year-old girl from Pennsylvania. Authorities announced Wednesday that Tiffany Bradley was the victim found in a parking lot at the Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea on Nov. 13, 2000. She was just days away from her 17th birthday.”The fact that we are here today is a miracle. It is totally amazing that after 26 years, people cared enough to give her a name and return her to our family,” Bradley’s niece Shakirah Wiggins said. “The wheels of justice run slowly but surely.”The FBI said it was able to use DNA from Bradley’s body and match it first to distant relatives and then to her brother, James, who now lives Texas.”The story here is about an incredible 25-year effort by multiple law enforcement agencies to find the identity of a girl who had come to be known as ‘Chelsea Jane Doe,'” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.Hayden said the teen had been cut in half, and her head and hands were removed. Those body parts were later found buried in a bag at a Nahant beach. At the time, an autopsy provided investigators with only a physical description of the victim and no identification.Video: Family of Tiffany Bradley speaks about her caseIn 2005, Eugene McCollom of Lynn, then 40, was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death of the then-unidentified victim.”Investigators knew Eugene McCollom was the killer, but they did not know who he had killed,” Hayden said.At the time of his sentencing, McCollom was already serving a 10- to 12-year sentence after pleading guilty earlier in 2005 to manslaughter in the 2001 decapitation of John “Jackie” Leyden of Boston.According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, McCollom told investigators the victim was being sex trafficked at the time of her death. He claimed she identified herself as “Lisa” and said she was from Philadelphia.Bradley was reported missing from Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 8, 2000. Bradley’s family said the teen’s last phone call with her cousin was cut short, describing her voice as “trembling” as she promised to call back later. That call never came. Hayden said the teen was trafficked from Pennsylvania and ended up with McCollom in a motel, where he strangled and dismembered her. McCollom then dumped her body in Chelsea.FBI Boston Special Agent in Charge Ted Docks said the case highlights the “devastating reality” of child sex trafficking.”Behind every unidentified missing person and homicide victim is a human being, a daughter, a friend, a sibling, and grief that has never faded,” Docks said.”A case like this can challenge even the best and most hardened detectives and teams, but our team \u2014 this team of law enforcement partners, prosecutors and scientists \u2014 worked together, not just during the initial response but through the years,” said Col. Geoffrey Noble of the Massachusetts State Police.Investigators said DNA from a relative was used to positively identify Bradley. Her family remembered her as a young woman full of promise who loved her family and friends, dancing and traveling.”I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for not letting my baby be a box on shelf,” said aunt Janet Bradley-Knight. WCVB report from 2000: Woman’s body found near Chelsea Soldiers’ Home\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tBOSTON \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Massachusetts investigators say “Chelsea Jane Doe,” whose mutilated remains were found in a parking lot nearly 26 years ago, has been identified as a missing 16-year-old girl from Pennsylvania. <\/p>\n

Authorities announced Wednesday that Tiffany Bradley was the victim found in a parking lot at the Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea on Nov. 13, 2000. She was just days away from her 17th birthday.<\/p>\n

“The fact that we are here today is a miracle. It is totally amazing that after 26 years, people cared enough to give her a name and return her to our family,” Bradley’s niece Shakirah Wiggins said. “The wheels of justice run slowly but surely.”<\/p>\n

The FBI said it was able to use DNA from Bradley’s body and match it first to distant relatives and then to her brother, James, who now lives Texas.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"tiffany<\/p>\n

\n\t\tFamily photo\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTiffany Bradley\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The story here is about an incredible 25-year effort by multiple law enforcement agencies to find the identity of a girl who had come to be known as ‘Chelsea Jane Doe,'” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.<\/p>\n

Hayden said the teen had been cut in half, and her head and hands were removed. Those body parts were later found buried in a bag at a Nahant beach. At the time, an autopsy provided investigators with only a physical description of the victim and no identification.<\/p>\n

Video: Family of Tiffany Bradley speaks about her case<\/p>\n

In 2005, Eugene McCollom of Lynn, then 40, was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death of the then-unidentified victim.<\/p>\n

“Investigators knew Eugene McCollom was the killer, but they did not know who he had killed,” Hayden said.<\/p>\n

At the time of his sentencing, McCollom was already serving a 10- to 12-year sentence after pleading guilty earlier in 2005 to manslaughter in the 2001 decapitation of John “Jackie” Leyden of Boston.<\/p>\n

According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, McCollom told investigators the victim was being sex trafficked at the time of her death. He claimed she identified herself as “Lisa” and said she was from Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Eugene<\/p>\n

\n\t\tAP Photo\/Owen O’Rourke, Pool\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEugene McCollom, 40, appears during his sentencing at Essex Superior Court, in Salem, Mass., Thursday, Feb. 24, 2005.<\/p>\n

Bradley was reported missing from Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 8, 2000. Bradley’s family said the teen’s last phone call with her cousin was cut short, describing her voice as “trembling” as she promised to call back later. That call never came. <\/p>\n

Hayden said the teen was trafficked from Pennsylvania and ended up with McCollom in a motel, where he strangled and dismembered her. McCollom then dumped her body in Chelsea.<\/p>\n

FBI Boston Special Agent in Charge Ted Docks said the case highlights the “devastating reality” of child sex trafficking.<\/p>\n

“Behind every unidentified missing person and homicide victim is a human being, a daughter, a friend, a sibling, and grief that has never faded,” Docks said.<\/p>\n

“A case like this can challenge even the best and most hardened detectives and teams, but our team \u2014 this team of law enforcement partners, prosecutors and scientists \u2014 worked together, not just during the initial response but through the years,” said Col. Geoffrey Noble of the Massachusetts State Police.<\/p>\n

Investigators said DNA from a relative was used to positively identify Bradley. Her family remembered her as a young woman full of promise who loved her family and friends, dancing and traveling.<\/p>\n

“I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for not letting my baby be a box on shelf,” said aunt Janet Bradley-Knight. <\/p>\n

WCVB report from 2000: Woman’s body found near Chelsea Soldiers’ Home<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Massachusetts investigators say “Chelsea Jane Doe,” whose mutilated remains were found in a parking lot nearly 26 years…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":682606,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[297056,297060,4,450,297061,48042,297057,451,90857,12177,252247,934,2001,237274,698,3,29379,40358,297058,297059,452,453,297062,28123,2394,178420],"class_list":["post-682605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-boston-fbi","tag-boston-fbi-special-agent","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-charge-ted-docks","tag-cold-case","tag-geoffrey-noble","tag-headlines","tag-identification","tag-identity","tag-kevin-hayden","tag-live-update","tag-massachusetts","tag-massachusetts-state-police","tag-murder","tag-news","tag-news-conference","tag-suffolk-county","tag-suffolk-district-attorney","tag-ted-docks","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-video-player-above","tag-wcvb","tag-year","tag-young-woman"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/682606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}