New digital images released of unidentified man found dead in Akron 8 years ago
AKRON, Ohio (WOIO) - New realistic, 3D images based off a forensic facial reconstruction of a John Doe found in Summit County years ago were released Thursday.
His skull was found sitting on the sidewalk in front of an abandoned home in Akron back in January 2016.
“We are here today asking the public’s assistance to help identify this individual,” BCI Superintendent Bruce Pijanowski said at a press conference.
19 Investigates covered the case of Akron John Doe just two months ago in our series Unidentified.
This John Doe is one of just over 100 unidentified remains cases in Ohio.
The grisly discovery was made eight years ago at a home on Marcy Street. Dr. Kohler said more of the victim’s remains were found on the second floor of the abandoned home.
It’s believed people in that area may have disturbed the remains before they were found.
The home caught fire a few months later, but investigators believe the man died weeks to three months before the fire that damaged that house back in 2012.
And, Dr. Kohler said it doesn’t look like the fire was set to cover up his death.
“Minor injuries were found with some broken ribs, but we couldn’t find enough information to explain why he had died,” said Dr. Kohler.
At this time, the John Doe’s weight, hair and eye colors are all unknown, but investigators said he was white, between 30 to 55 years old, about 5′9″ to 6′5″ tall.
He was wearing a lot of clothing, including two coats and three pairs of pants. The coat on top was an XXL Croft and Barrow coat and he wore Wrangler jeans as an outer layer, added Dr. Kohler.
“I would presume that he was homeless given the circumstances in which he was found,” said Dr. Kohler.
Investigators found other clues too, including some coins, a key, a belt buckle, and some zipper pulls.
BCI Forensic Artist Samantha Molnar created a clay facial reconstruction of Akron John Doe back in 2017.
But they still could not identify him.
Now she’s trying another method, working on these images with the help of new technology and the Ohio State University.
“The best thing is being able to generate more variations of hairstyle, hair color, eye color, skin tone-- because those are all things that are unknown when you recover someone that’s skeletal. All of those things are gone. And those are things that somebody might remember,” Molnar said.
A small tip could be all it takes to crack this case.
“I have seen what our intelligence analysts can do with just a little bit of information and if they can start backtracking that information and develop a potential name and then we can identify family members. We can give this individual name and that’s really really important to us,” Superintendent Pijanowski said.
Investigators hope these new images help solve the mystery of who Akron John Doe was.
“It’s just another piece of technology we can use to help find some closure for this family,” Dr. Kohler said.
“And I’m just looking forward to the day someone looks at those images and says, ‘hey, I recognize that,’” she said.
The DNA of Akron’s John Doe has been run through law enforcement databases, but no hits have come back.
It is on file and can be compared to a possible family member out there who think this could be their missing loved one.
If you know who this man was, you can call the Summit County Medical Examiner’s office at 330-643-2101.
19 Investigates has profiled more than 15 cases of John and Jane Does in northern Ohio in our series Unidentified, which airs Fridays at 3 and 5 p.m.
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