Dawn Marie Birnbaum (September 2, 1975 - March 22, 1993) was a runaway from a boarding school who was killed by a trucker while hitchhiking; she was found about two days after her death.
Dawn remained unidentified for about a month after her discovery, during which she was coincidentally nicknamed "Spring Dawn" in accordance to the town and time of day she was found. 36-year-old James Robert Cruz was convicted of her murder.
Case[]
Birnbaum was a student of Élan School, which was a private boarding school in Poland Springs, Maine. The school was reported of being an abusive behavioral modification program.
On March 21, 1993, Dawn escaped the school during an outing. She hoped to find an ex-boyfriend she'd lost touch with, who was a trucker.
Discovery[]
Birnbaum's body was discovered by a passing motorist on March 24, 1993, in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Her body was bound with rope and she was killed by ligature strangulation.
She had died at a different location, less than twelve hours before her body was found. Tire tracks nearby were observed and casts were made. Additionally, a single dark hair was recovered from under the rope around her neck, which did not belong to her.
Faint numbers were visible on her left hand written with ink. Her fingerprints and dental records did not match any known missing person at the time she was discovered. The writing on her hand was discovered to be two phone numbers, one of which originated from Florida. Because she wasn't tanned, it was assumed she was from the western part of the country.
Identification[]
Following the autopsy, Dawn's body was photographed and the images were published in local newspapers in hopes that someone would visually identify her.
One of the phone numbers was called, which led to a guidance counsellor who visually identified her. He communicated with her while she was travelling and spoke with her days before her murder.
Gallery[]
Media[]
- Her case appeared on The FBI Files
- Her murder was mentioned on Evil Lives Here
Sources[]
- Dawn Birnbaum at Find a Grave
- iLasting
- Murderpedia article on James Cruz
- Medium
- Élan School on Wikipedia