She died a violent death.

The woman was in her 30s. She was black. She could have been 5 feet, 3 inches to 5 feet, 11 inches tall.

The only pieces of her that remain are sawed-off legs that are being stored at the Franklin County coroner's office. (She's one of three unidentified bodies stored there.) She had no scars or tattoos on her legs. She was wearing a pair of size 10 JustFab brown boots with fur trim and lining.

"Usually, you can ID the victim in the first couple days even if you don't have much to go on," said detective Steve Glasure, who has investigated homicides at the Columbus Division of Police for more than 14 years. "But this is definitely different."

Nearly five months after the legs were found in garbage at a South Side waste-collection center, no one knows who they belong to.

The Bureau of Criminal Investigation is expected to roll out an ad campaign soon in hopes of generating tips.

"At this point, we’re trying to come up with a victim," Glasure said.

Some of the few details that investigators do have came from an examination of the legs by Ohio State University's Forensic Anthropology Case Team, which includes experts to help law-enforcement agencies determine details about an unidentified body. The team works about three to five cases each year.

Jules Angel, a forensic archaeologist and former crime photographer for Scotland Yard, oversees the team. Bodies donated for science are studied. Based on the detailed data from those bodies, formulas are calculated to provide approximate ranges for unidentified bodies, she said.

The team was able to measure the woman's bones to determine a range in height that spans 8 inches.

"That may not seem very useful. That's a big range," Angel said. "However, that does narrow things down to a certain extent."

>> Join the conversation at Facebook.com/columbusdispatch and connect with us on Twitter @DispatchAlerts

The forensic anthropology team was able to take a thin slice of bone and examine it under a light to count the number of bone cells. The number of cells was used to calculate an age. A more detailed estimate can be given if there are other parts of the body remaining, such as teeth.

"Again, it seems quite a large range — a 10-year span, but it does narrow things down," Angel said. "Especially if police have no other information to go on."

The woman's DNA is not listed in any databases, Glasure said. She hasn't been matched to anyone reported missing in the surrounding area where family members have submitted DNA samples.

"There’s family somewhere wanting to know what’s going on. They don’t know it’s one of their loved ones," Glasure said. "We just have nothing else to go on. It’s kind of bizarre."

It hasn't been for a lack of trying, he said.

Investigators traced the route of the garbage truck for Local Waste Services before it ended at a facility at 1300 S. Columbus Airport Road. The legs were discovered March 28. The truck made collections in the previous week beginning in New Albany, before winding through Dublin, Hilliard and ending on Columbus' West Side.

Investigators were unable to pinpoint the Dumpster that had held her legs.

"So many (Dumpsters) are sitting in wide-open parking lots that someone could have dumped it in and no one would ever know," Glasure said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Columbus homicide at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS.

bburger@dispatch.com

@ByBethBurger