Body Believed That of Coed

Body Believed That of Coed

By Norman Gibson

A body found yesterday afternoon on a Superior Township farm was tentatively identified today as that of a 19-year-old Eastern Michigan coed who disappeared suddenly without a trace July 9.

Authorities are attempting to establish at University Hospital that the body is definitely that of Mary Fleszar, 19, who was last seen by a roommate when she walked out of her apartment at 413 Washtenaw.

The body, decomposed beyond recognition, was found on a Superior Township farm two miles north of Ypsilanti.

Russell Crisovan Jr., 15, of Saline, son of the owner of the farm, and Mark A. Lucas, also 15 and of Saline, came upon the body while working at the farm.

They drove to the Ypsilanti post of the Michigan State Police and reported their grisly discovery.

Dr. Henry J. Scovill of Ypsilanti, medical examiner, said the woman whose body was found had been dead approximately one month.

Many tests were being made today at University Hospital to establish identity and the cause of death.

Partial results of the autopsy reportedly showed no bullet holes.

Medical authorities placed the age of the dead person at 19.

Both hands and feet were missing from the nude body, which was found on its side with face down. The body was so badly decomposed that authorities had a difficult time at first determining whether it was a man or woman.

Young Crisovan and Lucas had been working at the farm all summer. They were preparing to plow a field when they heard the slam of a car door.

Believing the noise to come from a part of the farm which formerly was the site of a farm house and silo, they investigated.

They found no car but a path which appeared to have been freshly made. Following the path, they found the body in a clump of bushes overgrown with weeds.

The farm is located north of Geddes and west of Leforge.

Police picked up pieces of clothing at the scene but they may be from unauthorized dumping of rubbish in the area.

The area also is described by police as a lovers' lane.

Medical authorities are taking X-rays and the teeth were being compared with dental charts.

Ypsilanti police began their search for the missing coed when she was reported missing by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Chester Fleszar of 10746 Willow, Augusta Township.

She had left her apartment, telling her roommate she was "going for a walk." When last seen, she was wearing a bright orange "tent dress" with large white polka dots.

Also employed at the EMU Field Service Office, Miss Fleszar was described as weighing about 110 pounds, five feet, two inches tall with brown hair and wearing glasses.