Dorothy Forstein -- Missing Since 1949 From Philadelphia
Missing Person: Dorothy Forstein
Aliases: Dorothy Cooper (maiden name), Dora Cooper
This is the description of the disappearance according to NamUs**:
In 1945 Dorothy went shopping. She was seen returning home in the evening, and a neighbor thought 'someone was with her, or walking behind her.' Dorothy was attacked and nearly beaten to death. They never found who did it; robbery was not a motive, and Dorothy's husband Jules was ruled out as a suspect.
Then, in 1950 [Note: this date is an error in NamUs], Jules called his wife to tell him he was going to a political banquet. Dorothy seemed in good spirits. She said, "Don't forget to miss me!" before she hung up. When he returned home later that evening, his wife was gone. The eldest daughter was away from home, but the two younger children were found huddled together in a bedroom. None of Dorothy's personal belongings were missing and the front door was locked.
The older of the two children at home that night (she would have been around 9 years old at that time) said she woke up and went to her mother's room. She saw a man coming up the stairs. She saw her mother lying on the carpet, face down. The man picked up her mother and told the little girl to go back to bed, that her Mommy was sick. She described her mother, who was wearing a red nightgown and red slippers, and the stranger, who was wearing a brown cap and a brown jacket with "something stuck in his shirt." He took the mother downstairs and out the door.
Nothing was disturbed in the house and there weren't any fingerprints.
Dorothy Forstein has never been seen again.
Last-contact date: Given as October 14th, 1949 (disputed) -- correct date likely October 18th, 1949
The location where she was last seen: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at her home at 1835 N. Franklin Street
Link to government source: NamUs #MP35306
VITAL DETAILS
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 40 years old
Birthdate: In either 1908 or 1909
Hair: Blonde, strawberry
Eyes: Blue
Scars and Deformities:
BMI*: Dorothy Forstein was in the normal range for BMI.
What stands out with this case, is the description of events surrounding her disappearance. NamUs has selected an incident that happened in 1945 as important of inclusion in this case. What does, if anything, the crime from 1945 have to do with her disappearance years later?
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 40 years old
Birthdate: In either 1908 or 1909
Hair: Blonde, strawberry
Eyes: Blue
Scars and Deformities:
- Cyst operation cross scar on front of left leg below knee
- Operation scar on front of neck (thyroid)
- Goiter operation scar at base of neck
- Abdominal appendectomy scar (from age ten)
- Infection scar on middle finger of right hand extending across the tip under the nail
- Deformity: Fractured jaw and nose from January 1945 assault, evidence still visible in facial expressions
- Deformity: Right shoulder issue requiring it to be set at least three times a year
- Clothing: Red nightgown (described by the eyewitness child, likely Marcy, in the 1949 disappearance narrative; NamUs lists this as "pajamas," possibly a general term for sleepwear)
- Footwear: Red slippers (consistent across NamUs and the eyewitness account, noted as part of her attire during the abduction)
- Jewelry: Plain narrow yellow gold wedding band without any inscriptions (per NamUs; not mentioned in the blog’s narrative but included here for completeness based on the official record)
BMI*: Dorothy Forstein was in the normal range for BMI.
- Please, Google-search BMI if you aren't familiar with the phrase. I think it's an important tool to be aware of when working on missing person cases.
What stands out with this case, is the description of events surrounding her disappearance. NamUs has selected an incident that happened in 1945 as important of inclusion in this case. What does, if anything, the crime from 1945 have to do with her disappearance years later?
Firstly, there seem to be some inconsistencies with the dates. According to the NamUs description, Dorothy went missing in 1950. However, that contradicts the last-seen date from the same source. When I consulted newspaper articles, I determined that the likely date of her disappearance was October 18th, 1949.
The child that reportedly saw what happened was named Marcy Forstein. She was not believed when she first regaled her version of events.
However, a psychologist evaluated the child and reported back that she was, in fact, being truthful. That's all according to an article from The Courier-Journal on Monday, October 24th, 1949. It reports that the disappearance of Dorothy Forstein happened on the previous Tuesday, which is how I determined a disappearance date of October 18th, 1949 (contrary to NamUs). The newspaper clipping is below. It is recommended reading for this case as it contains the young girl's description of the abduction.
Another clipping that has to do with the case is one regarding the assault that she suffered. This happened in her home according to the journalism from 1945. It was reported that the person who assaulted her was interested in "revenge" for something.
That Dorothy was the wife of a judge cannot be discounted when it comes to the "revenge" motive, in my opinion. We can imagine that there are likely to be a lot of shady characters out there that would like to get revenge against judges. Jules Forstein, Dorothy's husband, died on December 30th, 1955 according to his death certificate.
Many years have passed and this case has not been solved. It's very likely that the perpetrator is dead and it is much more likely that Dorothy is as well. But the events surrounding this disappearance might lead one to conjecture the following:
- Someone with a grudge against Jules Forstein attacked his wife in 1945.
- When she survived the event, this same person returned in 1949.
- On the second occasion, he abducted Dorothy to ensure that she couldn't recover.
Along these lines, one place to look is at Jules Forstein's career. What kind of judge was he? Who did he render a bitter verdict against?
Strange Details in the Case
There are strange details in this case.
Firstly, according to the article above from October 1949, Jules may have arrived home just 15 minutes after the abduction. That's a pretty close shave for the perpetrator to operate within.
Also, I found the description of the perpetrator's behavior quite strange. As he abducted Dorothy he was seen by Marcy and he realized that she had seen him.
The perpetrator was then cordial with the child eyewitness who saw him committing a felony. That's not like most caught-in-the-act-of-committing-a-felony types that you learn about. That the man that Marcy saw was so cool as to pat her on the head while operating in such a tight window was hard to accept.
Lastly, I thought it was strange that Jules did not believe his daughter. There was, after all, a previous attack to be aware of. Yet, I think some of these strange occurrences are explainable, which I turn to now.
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Theories and Assumptions About Jules Forstein’s Role and the Motive
The following assumptions, which are speculative, offer additional perspectives on Jules Forstein’s reactions and the potential motives behind Dorothy’s disappearance, considering his position as a judge:
- Jules did not believe his child, Marcy, at first because, as a judge, his training or experience would be to be skeptical of child witnesses, who are often fanciful and frivolous.
- The disappearance of Dorothy may have been an attempt to negatively affect Jules’ career, suggesting a workplace opponent as the perpetrator.
- Presumably, this person would know that Jules was at the banquet, indicating they planned the abduction around his absence. This also could explain the perpetrator's confidence in operating in a tight window, especially if he had an update from a partner who had eyes on the judge.
- Possibly, Jules wanted the media to be quiet over the matter, not because he was involved, but because he didn’t see any point in having his career hurt by the negative press.
These assumptions provide a framework for exploring Jules’ mindset and the possible intent of the abductor, though they remain speculative without concrete evidence.
How to Find Dorothy Among the Jane Does
The best chance of finding Dorothy is if she is already a Jane Doe that's been found. She disappeared close to the New Jersey border so it is advisable to look at both Pennsylvania and New Jersey Jane Does. Use broad ranges for age and height. If you come across any Jane Does, ever, that are believed to have died in 1949 or thereabouts -- that are also believed to be wearing pajamas -- then that's a great case to cross-reference against Dorothy's missing person case. It would be wise to look for "pajamas" or "pyjamas" in NamUs from time to time to see if any Jane Does that might be her are added to the database.
Author: Shane Lambert (Vancouver, Canada)
All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.
Shane Lambert (Vancouver, Canada) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of February 2021.
Website hashtag: #MPCSL
*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Text might be paraphrased. If taken verbatim, then grammar or spelling errors are not necessarily corrected from original sources.
Disclaimer: Whenever possible, government sources are preferred for getting the details of a missing person's case. However, any source that the article writer deems reputable may be used.
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