Who is this Unidentified Murder Victim?

The death certificate in the Granby Town Clerk’s office lists his name as Unidentified White Male. That’s what he has been known as since a passing motorist found his body on the side of route 219 in Enders State Park in Granby, Connecticut on September 5, 1977. According to the death certificate, his skull, larynx and facial bones all had fractures. He also had contusions of the brain. The cause of death was listed as a homicide. The Hayes-Huling & Caromon Funeral Home handled his burial and he was laid to rest in March of 1978 in an unmarked grave in Granby Cemetery across the street from the Town Library. Homicides are rare in Granby and it’s neighboring towns. The fact that the victim remains without a name makes this crime harder to solve. It is believed that he was deceased for 24 hours before he was found. A composite sketch was drawn of what he may have looked like and was distributed to various Law Enforcement Agencies and newspapers across the country.

He was 5 foot 7 inches, weighed 140 pounds and his age was estimated to be around 25 years of age. He wore his hair in a pony tale, had a four inch braided goatee and a mole on his right ear. The victim also had brown hair (with blonde roots), brown eyes and a mustache. Another unique identifying factor about the mystery victim is that he had several unusual scars. There were two circular scars on his right knee and a comma shaped scar on his upper left chest. He also had several chipped and missing teeth. According to a 1982 Hartford Courant article, the deceased wore a white shirt that had a print of storefront scenes. One of the stores was of a barbershop that had the name “Lewis” on it. Underneath his shirt, was a T-Shirt that was stamped with the name “Ferguson.” The deceased was also found with no shoes or socks. Perhaps it was message to others from his killers.

In January of 1980, the State of Connecticut offered a twenty thousand dollar reward for information leading to the arrest of the person(s) responsible for the homicide. It is not known if the reward is still available. Because he was found in a State Park, the Connecticut State Police are in charge of investigating his case. The Connecticut State Police did not return phone calls regarding this case. His case is featured as 214UMCT on the Doe Network Web site. The Doe Network is an online database that profiles missing and unidentified persons.  His NAMUS file can be found here.

The problem of unidentified persons is a troubling one for the Connecticut State Victim’s Crime Advocate, Michelle Cruz. Her office is in charge of helping victims of crimes and their loved ones seek justice. One of their responsibilities is to work with various police departments and agencies to solve cold cases involving unidentified persons. “Just because they [deceased unidentified persons] don’t have family to press for justice does not mean that their cases should not be pursued and solved.” Cruz stated. “These unidentified persons are someone’s son or daughter; they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and have the person(s) responsible brought to justice.”

Nearly forty years later, Law Enforcement is no closer to finding his name or his killer(s). If you have any information about the identity of this victim or his killer(s) you are urged to contact Connecticut State Police at 1-800-842-0200. All calls can remain confidential.

Fifty Year Mysteries

The Willamette River turned up a mystery on September 9th 1966 in Portland, Oregon.  The body of an unidentified Native American Male was found in the water of Multnomah County.  The man was estimated to be between the ages of 35 to 40 years old and had died according to his death certificate of Asphyxiation by submersion.

The manner of the man’s drowning is not known and it could be accidental, suicide or even a homicide. His body was found by the Burnside Bridge and he was buried at the Union Cemetery of Cedar Mill.  It Death Certificate picture was taken by Tracy Turner and taken from the Find A Grave website.

Several months earlier another unidentified body of a white male was found in the Willamette River near the Broadway Bridge in Portland on June 18th, 1966.

He was a white male that was believed to be around 50 years of age.  His death was also listed as Asphyxiation by submersion and no manner of death was listed.   Suicide, Accidental or Homicide could be any of the reasons why this individual was found in the water.   Death Certificate picture was also taken by Tracy Turner and found on the Find A Grave Website.

If you have any information as to who either of these two deceased men may be, please contact the Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office at 971-673-8220

A Gruesome Discovery With Few Clues To Go On

Police in the Connecticut town of Milford are still trying to discover the secret behind a gruesome discovery found near the banks of the Housatonic River in 1994. A torso was found dumped at the end of Oronoque Road, and has yet to be identified. The torso was found March 24, 1994, in a secluded neighborhood near the river banks. It was wearing shorts, wrapped in a bedspread and stuffed inside a canvas bag according to police sources. Police said they believe the remains were that of a black-haired Latino male who was between 24 to 30 years old, weighed 120 pounds and had a birthmark on his buttocks.

In 1992, the body of an Asian man wrapped in a rug was also found off Oronoque Road in another  unsolved case. The victim in that case had been shot to death. Law Enforcement believe that the Asian male may have been from out of state and between the ages of 18 and 25. For additional information about this victim go to here.

Newborn Baby Never Identified, Killer Unknown

It was a discovery no one wants to make. On January 24, 1974, an eleven year old boy opened a suitcase at 4:30 pm near a building at the corner of Ely Avenue and Wilson Avenues in Norwalk. Inside a suitcase was the body of a newborn female infant believed to be either white or Hispanic. A Medical Examiner declared the death was as result of a homicide and that she had been deceased for 2-3 days. There are few clues as to who killed and may have given birth to the dead child. A half an hour earlier, a white or Hispanic female had been seen walking down Ely Avenue carrying the same type of briefcase. She was described as being Caucasian (possibly Italian) or Hispanic. She is believed to be in her early 20’s,with dark hair, and a medium complexion. She was also described as being well dressed as well. The suitcase also had a brand name of ”Jesus A. Ossam” of Medellin, Colombia. If you have any information you can contact Lt. Art Weisgerber at the Norwalk Police Department at (203)854-3028. Or email him at aweisgerber@norwalkct.org. Anonymous Tips can be called in at (203)-854-3111.

Buried without a Name and Forgotten

Hartford, Connecticut has had several unidentified dead buried over the decades.  Most of these have been stillborn/murdered newborns from the 1960’s and earlier as well as illegal abortions in Northwood Cemetery in nearby Windsor.  Northwood is also where several of the nameless 1945 Hartford Circus Fire victims are buried.

There are two unidentified adults though whose remains are also without a name.  A black female estimated to be around 24 years of age was found at 4 Kensington Street in the North end of Hartford on April 13th, 1969.   On August 26th 1977, a white male in his late fifties was also discovered in the Connecticut River.   At the time an article in the Hartford Courant estimated that he had been in the water for four or five days.   These two are not in any databases and the record obtained above were from the Northwood Cemetery.

Baby Abandoned and Left To Die

It was a horrible discovery was made two boys on Christmas Eve in 1984. The boys found the body of a white female baby with brown hair that was dead in Woodland Lake located at the Dismal Harmony Park in Mendham Township, New Jersey.  An autopsy revealed that the baby died of exposure and hypothermia.  The child had lived for around 24 hours before her life would be lost.  A month later another baby would be abandoned in the town of Teaneck.  Fortunately, the male child was saved by someone who heard his cries.  Sadly, Morris County has had several cases of babies being left for dead in which they and their parents were never identified.

Morris County Unsolved Cases   If you have any information about this case, please contact the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office at  (973) 285-6200.

Man Remains Nameless Fifty Years Later

Spanning over 400 miles through four states, the Connecticut River is the longest body of water in New England.  Popular for fishing,  swimming, boating, it is sadly a place where people go to commit suicide and criminals dump the bodies of their victims.

On April 21st, 1969, police in Glastonbury, CT (two towns southeast of Hartford), pulled out the body of an unidentified white male possibly aged 55 to 65 years of age.  He was estimated to be about five foot nine inches (175 centimeters) and 170 pounds (77 kilograms).   The deceased wore blacks leather shoes, heavy socks, a belt made of leather and what may have been a red & dark striped shirt.  The autopsy performed discovered that the man had a hernia operation done on his left groin.

Perhaps most telling about the man was that he had three tattoos. The first was of a naked girl on his right arm.  On his left arm was a bird’s wing and the letters W-A-R-D.  It is possible that there were other letters on the arm, the deceased may have had the name edward or howard but the body did suffer from severe decomposition.  At the time of death, a Hartford Courant article stated that the body could have been in the water from 6 months to 2 years.  It is unknown where the body came from, and that heavy flooding could have dislodged the body from a wooded area near the river further north.   This case is not on NAMUS and is still listed as Unidentified in the Glastonbury Death Records.  If you have any information about who this person may be, contact this website at unsolvedct  @  hotmail.com.

Who was Dead Appalachian Trail Hiker?

It was January 26, 1997 when a hiker was going through some brush 150 yards off of the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah Park in Virginia. The hiker discovered skeletal remains that are believed to be that of a white male between the ages of 45 to 70 years old. It is possible that due to the clothes of the deceased, that this may have been a hiker. There was no hiking equipment nor supplies found with the body. however clothing found on the deceased indicate that the person was indeed equipped to go for a “day hike”. The following clothing was found on the deceased.
A short sleeve tan shirt that had the label,”Authentic Mountain Tex” “Size L”. There was a pair of Tan pants with legs that zip-off that had no label. He wore a black synthetic belt which when closed around the loops measured 29 inches in circumference. He also wore green socks and had a red, green, and white bandana in a pocket of his pants.

The deceased also wore a pair of Brown hiking-type boots that had “Raichle” on soles. Both of his boots were missing the tongues and measured 11 1/2 inches.

It is likely that he died in 1995 to 1996. He may have been around 5 foot 7 inches and may have had a previous fracture of his right wrist It is unknown if this was a murder, suicide or accidental death.

If you have any information about who this may be please contact the Northern District Medical Examiner Office at 703-530-2600.