5 State Wards Remain John And Jane Does
CHICAGO (CBS) -- There are five people in the state of Illinois who share an unusual distinction – no one has known who they are for years, and they don't even know themselves.
As WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya reports, there is one Jane Doe and four John Does, although the Chicago Tribune reports the five unidentified adults generally are given names where they are being cared for, or they give themselves a name.
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The only unidentified woman calls herself "Seven." She says she is 71 years old and a lifelong Cubs fan, the Tribune reports. Police say her fingerprints are so deformed that they are unreadable, the newspaper reports.
Seven Doe has lived without anyone knowing who she is for the last 36 years, the Tribune reports.
Among the other unidentified people is Witek Doe, who is developmentally disabled and barely speaks, the Tribune reported. He told police his name was Witek Dziedziecki and he was from New York City, but a search didn't turn up any matches for that name, the newspaper reported.
Another man, Shannon Night, has suffered brain damage after a stroke and cannot remember his past. A third, Robert Rockefeller, is considered "disoriented to person, time and place," and the last, just known As John Doe, suffers from schizoaffective disorder and provides a different name each time he is asked, the Tribune reported.
All five unknowns are wards of the state, and according to the Tribune, they each have mental or physical problems of some kind.
Their care is supported by taxpayers, and by hospitals and nursing homes taking them on as charity cases.
