Erika Rowe's identity has been verified through her My Space site:

http://www.myspace.com/iateagummibear

That might not be the question on everyone's lips but the allegation alone is certainly enough for the Marlowe Files to crack open a new manila folder and direct Velma to provide some space in the old rusty file cabinet in the corner for a new case.

FACT: On August 10, 2005 at 5:00 AM, 25-year old Jessica Rowe of Irvine, California, was killed when she felt out of a monster Humvee Limousine on the 405 Freeway.

FACT: Sitting next to Miss Rowe in the limousine before her fatal plunge was her boyfriend, Jeremiah Vincent, 23, of Irvine, and a 23-year old male model that Rowe and Vincent met at a Hollywood night club on the eve of her death.

FACT: The $3,000 tab for the all-night limo and bar romp was paid for on the credit card of Jessica's room-mate, someone named Amy.

FACT: Jessica Rowe lost custody of her children, Tyler, 5, and Kael, 1. Mr. Vincent told OC Register reporters that her "children were taken from her in February because of her drug and alcohol problems. She went into a treatment center and was intent on getting back her children."

FACT: OC investigators ruled that Rowe's death was "accidental, not a suicide."

ALLEGATION: On the eve of her plunge onto the freeway, according to statements made by Mr. Vincent, Rowe was depressed over the custody battle.

ALLEGATION: Vincent, who goes by the nickname Bozzie, claims to have met Rowe "about a year ago" when he was working at Wal-Mart.

Whip out your notebooks because here's where the story gets interesting, gumshoes.

Early in the morning on September 17, 2005, someone purporting to be Erica Rowe, sister of Jessica Rowe, posted some comments over at the online home of L.A. journalist and blogger Rodger Jacobs (8763wonderland.com).

Rodger had posted a piece called "8 Million Ways To Die: Road Kill" about the Rowe case (Insensitive title, I know, but hey).

you sick fucking people…," Rowe wrote at 5:04 AM from an AOL address. "How dare you put my sister in this shit…where the fuck is your respect, she did not commit suicide, i know….she was fucking pushed…please take her name off this..it makes me sick to see this crap, after losong my sister/ and my best friend!! please..take her off!!

At 5:08 AM, Rowe returned to correct her spelling and to offer more:

loosing*..please…everyone….. take her off this….i beg of you… my sister deserves better….if anyone has questions, please email me!! ocsfinest714@aol.com…my name is erica rowe..jessica was my sister.. i miss her dearly!! dont listen to theses shit stories. its crap..all lies!

Jacobs tells me he corresponded with Rowe once, basically to apologize for not being able to remove the postings -- his sponsors would be dissastisfied, he claims -- and here was Rowe's reply:

i appreciate you writting back, it was very hurtful that so many people are calling her selfish, what was done to her was not her fault! I miss my sister dearly and i would appreciate if you would post that you spoke to me, and know she was murdered.... my sister left behind 2 beautiful boys, who are both in my care... again, i cant thankyou enough for writing me back

.

My curiosity piqued, I sent Rowe an e-mail asking her if she could verify her identity so I could begin a private investigation. Rowe's response:

I would be glad to verify anything you want to know! ask anything! i am not a whack job... I am her sister and ill do whatever it takes..

.

Fair enough. I started out by asking her how she got custody of her sistr's children. Erica writes:

It was not a year ago that Jessica lost her kids, its only been about 6 months....The news got the information from Jeremiah Vincent, her bf.... The stories that were posted about Jessica and jeremiah knowing eachother for a year, is all a lie also, she only knew him for 2 months..She met him in the Royale Theraputic center.... I was there when she first met him.. Look, my sister was a very good person, she had problems, and suffered from depression, but who doesnt?
Right now, my nephews tyler and Kael are currently living with my father in Washington.. they are gonna legally adopt them both....I actually just went to pick them up from the airport, they are going back to the foster family temporarily until the adoption is final. They will be here in California for about 2 months... anything else you would like to know?

Sure, there's a lot we would like to know. Like how about these allegations that sister Jessica was pushed to her death? Erica provides some answers:

Well I know that she didnt jump, number one, thats not like my sister to do that stuff, number 2, shes would never leave her 2 kids, number 3, the guy she dated, is a member of a Nazi movement called The Hammer Skins, and they are violent evil people. Number 4, I have spoken to the detective a few times for the OC Sheriff, and they are very hush hush about the case. He tried to tell me that the girl Amy, who supposibly my sister was using her id that night she died, he tried to tell me that he spoke to her and that Amy told him, she knew my sister for years, which is bullshit, she met Amy about 3 days before all that..in conclusion it seems to me, it was planned, they use my sister, run up a bill, and pin it on her, she's dead anyway, she cant talk or defend herself.. When I first met this guy, in Royale when my sister was there, I saw right through him, and I told her he was trash from the beginning..He lied all the time, which I caught him everytime, and there was point where he even told me, that he would leave my sister and be with me, because, I have brains and he is a good con/scam artist..in those words, he admitted to fucking people over. He beat one girl, and had her put in the hospital, so what makes me think he wouldnt push my sister. that's my theory, and because his dad works for OC Sheriff, I believe, he is being protected.

Rowe also responded to my question regarding whether she addressed her concerns to the police:

For your second question, yes I have told the police, but they insist she jumped, and they told me that they wouldn't close the case and they would keep investigating, but I havent seen any action nor have I heard from the detective lately.

When, I asked, was the last time Erica saw sister Jessica?

and for question number 3, the last time I saw my sister, was July 26th, the day I left to Washington, when I was up there, I tried several times to call her, and everytime Jeremiah (bf) would answer and tell me hold on, I'll go get her, and would hang up on me, and if I called back he wouldnt answer, so he was trying to keep me away from my sister, for the simple fact he knew what I felt about him and that I was trying to convince her to come to Washington with me.. Even on her birthday I called, he didnt let me speak to her, so I sent her a text message saying Happy Birthday, and I still got no response..On August 10th when she passed away, I was on an airplane home to California, to go get her, I made a promise that I would come back for her, and she promised she would be waiting.. My sister wouldnt do this to herself, I loved her very much and I tried to be there the best I could, and she knew how much she meant to me and her boys, and my son.. I hope everything I told you helps to see her in a different perspective. She was a good person, very kind..anything else I can help you with, feel free to ask!

The next line of questioning for Erica Rowe: Why would anyone else in the limo claiming to see Jessica jump -- particularly the male model they met that evening -- lie about it? Erica's answer?

I believe that the guys in the limo did know Jeremiah but he lies about everything else, so why wouldnt he lie about meeting them? The last time I spoke to the detective, he also told me that when he went to see Jeremiah in jail, he still lied about stuff.. so we will never know the truth, but I have a gut feeling it wasn't an accident.

So, Erica has a "gut feeling" but no proof.

And yet the whole thing does have a smell like rancid milk about it, doesn't it?

For the record, Erica Rowe has offered to fax me a copy of her drivers license as proof of identity so I have no doubt that she is the real deal, sleuths.

UPDATE: At 3:40 PM on 09/18/05 Erica Rowe writes:

I can't begin to thankyou enough for hearing me out! I really do appreciate you taking the time to do this. It means a lot to me and it would mean a lot to my sister.