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#Post#: 9641--------------------------------------------------
LA VERGNE JOHN DOE: WM, 31-45, found shot and partially burned
near Murfreesboro - 1 August 1978
DIR By: Akoya
Date: November 18, 2020, 12:11 pm
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HTML https://i.imgur.com/psBBhKD.jpg
The victim's remains remains were located in Rutherford County,
Tennessee, near Murfreesboro, on August 1, 1978. He had been
partially burned and left near the Poole Knobs campground.
#Post#: 9642--------------------------------------------------
Re: LA VERGNE JOHN DOE: WM, 31-45, found shot and partially
burned near Murfreesboro - 1 August 1978
DIR By: Akoya
Date: November 18, 2020, 12:12 pm
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HTML https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/1585/details?nav
[img]
HTML https://www.namus.gov/api/CaseSets/NamUs/UnidentifiedPersons/Cases/1585/Images/15138/Thumbnail[/img]
Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP1585 Male, White / Caucasian
Date Body Found
August 1, 1978
Location Found
Rutherford County, Tennessee
Estimated Age Range
31-45 Years
Case Information
Case Numbers
NCMEC Number
--
ME/C Case Number
UT78-11F
Demographics
Sex
Male
Race / Ethnicity
White / Caucasian
Estimated Age Group
Adult - Pre 50
Estimated Age Range (Years)
31-45
Estimated Year of Death
1978
Estimated PMI
--
Height
5' 10"(70 inches) , Estimated
Weight
Cannot Estimate
Circumstances
Type
Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found
August 1, 1978
NamUs Case Created
April 10, 2008
ME/C QA Reviewed
--
Location Found Map
General Location
--
Tennessee
County
Rutherford County
GPS Coordinates
--
Circumstances of Recovery
Unidentified adult found near Murfreesboro, Rutherford County,
TN.
Details of Recovery
Inventory of Remains
--
Condition of Remains
Not recognizable - Near complete or complete skeleton
Physical Description
Hair Color
Brown
Head Hair Description
Brown; Gray
HAS MEDIUM STRAIGHT BR0WN HAIR
Body Hair Description
--
Facial Hair Description
No
Left Eye Color
Brown
Right Eye Color
Brown
Eye Description
--
Distinctive Physical Features
Item
Description
Scar/markCHEST, DECEASED HAS BYPASS SURGERY SCAR MID ABD0MEN,
DACR0N GRAFT AND METAL CLIPS.
Other distinctive physical characteristicHAS M0LES 0N
UNSPECIFIED L0CATI0N
Investigating Agencies
CASE OWNER
Rutherford Cnty Med Examiners Ofc
615-890-4908
Agency Case Number
--
Barton Warner, Medical Examiner
--
Rutherford County Sheriff's Department
--
Agency Case Number
--
Steve Kohler, --
--
Case Contributors
Lee Jantz, Forensic Anthropologist
Forensic Anthropology Center, Univ of TN
865.974.4408
#Post#: 9643--------------------------------------------------
Re: LA VERGNE JOHN DOE: WM, 31-45, found shot and partially
burned near Murfreesboro - 1 August 1978
DIR By: Akoya
Date: November 18, 2020, 12:14 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
HTML https://i.imgur.com/fdzWUdD.jpg
#Post#: 9644--------------------------------------------------
Re: LA VERGNE JOHN DOE: WM, 31-45, found shot and partially
burned near Murfreesboro - 1 August 1978
DIR By: Akoya
Date: November 18, 2020, 12:24 pm
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HTML http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1830umtn.html
1830UMTN - Unidentified Male
HTML https://i.imgur.com/psBBhKD.jpg
Reconstruction by the Tennesee Bureau of Investigation.
Date of Discovery: August 1, 1978
Location of Discovery: Murfreesboro, Rutherford County,
Tennessee
Estimated Date of Death: Unknown
State of Remains: Not recognizable - Decomposing/putrefaction
Cause of Death: Homicide by gunshot
Physical Description
Estimated Age: 31-45 years old
Race: White
Sex: Male
Height: 5'10"
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Brown, graying.
Eye Color: Brown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Scar on abdomen at mid-line.
Bilateral scars from aorta by-pass surgery.
Identifiers
Dentals: Available. No teeth present, no dentures recovered.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Available.
Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Possibly White jockey shorts.
Jewelry: None.
Additional Personal Items: None.
Circumstances of Discovery
The victim's remains remains were located in Rutherford County,
Tennessee, near Murfreesboro, on August 1, 1978. He had been
partially burned and left near the Poole Knobs campground.
Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: Rutherford County Medical Examiner
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 615-890-4908
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: UT78-11F
Agency Name: University of Tennessee - Forensic Anthropology
Unit
Agency Contact Person: Lee Jantz
Agency Phone Number: 865-974-4408
Agency E-Mail: ljantz(at)utk.edu
Agency Case Number: Unknown
Agency Name: Rutherford County Sheriff
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 615- 898-7770
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: Unknown
NCIC Case Number: U060018895
NamUs Case Number: 1585
Former Hot Case Number: 1149
Information Source(s)
NamUs
Daily News Journal
Admin Notes
Added: Prior to 2012; Last Updated: 1/23/18
#Post#: 9645--------------------------------------------------
Re: LA VERGNE JOHN DOE: WM, 31-45, found shot and partially
burned near Murfreesboro - 1 August 1978
DIR By: Akoya
Date: November 18, 2020, 12:30 pm
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HTML https://www.murfreesborovoice.com/article/667/do-you-know-la-vergnes-john-doe
Do you know La Vergne's John Doe?
JAN 22, 2018 AT 10:50 AM BY MICHELLE WILLARD
La Vergne John Doe
In 1978, a man was found, shot and burned, in La Vergne,
Tennessee. Nearly 40 years later, he is still unidentified.
"I look at this guy and think, when he was 5 years old, he
didn't think he would end up shot on a boat ramp and wrapped in
a garden hose," said Detective Steve Kohler, a cold case
detective with the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department.
Kohler is trying every trick in the book to uncover John Doe's
identity.
He said today's detectives have more resources at their disposal
to identify victims thanks to technological advances.
"Today we would examine everything for DNA, trace evidence, and
take accelerant samples," Kohler said. They also have the
National Crime Information Center and missing person databases
at their disposal.
Back in the 1970s they basically had fingerprints, the media and
their wits.
The Victim
HTML https://i.imgur.com/bsW7cdc.jpg
Called John Doe, the victim was a male between 30 and 40 years
old, standing 5'10" and weighing 150-165 pounds. He had brown
hair and about two-days beard growth. He had dentures, scars
from a vascular surgery and a distinctive mole around his
waistline but no other identifying marks.
Kohler said the victim's set of partial upper dentures were a
dead end because they were counterfeit, meaning there were no
identifying marks to track to a manufacturer.
"Apparently Murfreesboro was a hub for bootlegged dentures in
the 1970s," Kohler said.
The only clues to his identity were three scars around his
groin, likely from a vascular surgery, called a "Dacron graft."
The surgery was invented in the 1950s but still wasn't common in
the late '70s.
Little else is known.
The Crime
Around 6 a.m. Aug. 1, 1978, a groundskeeper at Poole Knobs
Campground in La Vergne, Tenn. saw what he thought was a pile of
burning garbage. On closer inspection, he discovered a partially
nude body of a man, wrapped in a burning blanket on the bank of
J. Percy Priest Lake.
The victim had been shot four times – twice in the face – and
left in this remote part of Rutherford County, according to news
reports at the time. The blanket had been doused in gasoline and
lit on fire.
"We're of the opinion that he was shot, probably somewhere else,
and dumped here," Rutherford County Sheriff Craig Snell said in
an interview the day after the discovery.
An article in the Tennessean from Aug. 2, 1978, said the body of
Charles Leroy Hill, 51, of Madison was found at the same
location two weeks before. Hill had been beaten and stabbed.
The Investigation
HTML https://i.imgur.com/QuQ3w6O.jpg
Because of changes in investigative techniques, there wasn't
much to go on, Kohler said.
The original case file only had five black and white photos of
the crime scene, notes from the original investigators, the
blanket that had covered the body, and Doe's underwear as
evidence.
Kohler explained it was common practice to only take a few
photos of the scene back then. While now, investigators can take
hundreds of photos of a single scene with digital cameras and
copious notes.
Doe's remains were then sent to Dr. William Bass, who was
director of the forensic anthropology department at the
University of Tennessee, Knoxville and founder of the University
of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility (a.k.a., The Body
Farm).
Bass had a sketch of the victim completed and he detached the
non-burned hand to have fingerprints collected.
In the past several years, a second sketch was done and a facial
reconstruction was completed at UT. Kohler has resubmitted the
fingerprints to NCIC and the Department of Defense with no luck.
He and other deputies spent hours scouring all the missing
person websites he could find to see if a match.
There wasn't one. There wasn't a clue to who Doe is.
There was no match for the fingerprints.
There was no way to track the dentures.
There was no way to test for DNA in the '70s.
Previous articles in the past 10 years have opened up leads but
they turned into dead ends.
Kohler even thought he had found the family at one point. DNA
didn't match the family though.
Despite the setbacks, the detective hasn't given up yet.
Kohler is working with a family history research website to see
if a relative can be found. If that doesn't work, the
investigation is back to square one.
Anyone with information about this case can call Detective
Kohler at 615-904-3046 or Rutherford County CrimeStoppers at
615-893-STOP.
Michelle Willard is a freelance journalist who fills her days
with social media marketing, politics, true crime, and taking
complaints. You can complain to her on Twitter @MichWillard or
by email michelle(at)murfreesborovoice.com. Or you can find more
Middle Tennessee Mysteries here.
Tags:
Middle Tennessee Mysteries
#Post#: 9646--------------------------------------------------
Re: LA VERGNE JOHN DOE: WM, 31-45, found shot and partially
burned near Murfreesboro - 1 August 1978
DIR By: Akoya
Date: November 18, 2020, 12:31 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
HTML https://www.wate.com/news/tennessee/victim-of-brutal-1978-murder-in-middle-tenn-remains-a-john-doe/amp/
Victim of brutal 1978 murder in Middle Tenn. remains a John Doe
Lauren Castle
RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) – Rutherford County detectives
continue tosearch for answers in a 38-year-old murder case.
The victim, a white man known only as John Doe, was found by
Rutherford County sheriff’s deputies on August 1, 1978.
Deputies were checking out a fire at the Poole Knobs Campground
when they made the gruesome discovery.
“Thought it was a pile of trash burning and, upon further
inspection, they realized it was a person, and they determined
this person was shot multiple times and set a fire,” said Det.
Steve Kohler.
The murder was brutal, and the crime scene photos are so bad we
can’t show them to you.
“We were never able to identify him or the people responsible
for killing him,” said Det. Kohler.
Sketches of the victim were created in the late 70s.
“I look at the sketches and I think, ‘Who is this guy? And where
is his family? And where did he come from?” said Det. Kohler.
Detectives have turned to modern day technology to help advance
the case. A forensic artist from University of
Tennessee-Knoxville provided a clay skull facial reconstruction.
A sketch artist with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation also
made a new rendering.
“We compared it to a sketch that they actually did back in 1978;
obviously they are nothing, nothing alike,” said the detective.
John Doe is now entered in a national data base of missing
adults.
“We have actually gone through and looked at every single
missing male in 1978, in the entire decade, and we can’t find
anyone that matches him.”
John Doe had scars on his chest, a sign of complicated heart
surgery. He also had upper dentures, but detectives can’t track
down where they came from.
“We did find out during the investigation that Murfreesboro was
a denture bootleg, a bootleg denture hub,” said Det. Kohler.
Cold case detectives followed several leads over the years,
including one man who thought John Doe may have been his brother
who worked in Gallatin.
Detectives also tracked down a lead in Missouri. They
interviewed siblings who had a history of heart and teeth
problems who they thought may have been related to John Doe.
“We waited for months and came back, no match,” said Det.
Kohler.
Detectives are determined to solve this case.
“My main focus is to find out who this guy is and give him a
proper burial and get him back to his family.”
John Doe was one of the first people to be taken to the body
farm in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he remains to this day.
His DNA profile is on file and is constantly checked for
matches.
If you anything about this cold case, or may have heard someone
talking about it, you can reach Det. Kohler directly at
615-904-3046.
#Post#: 9647--------------------------------------------------
Re: LA VERGNE JOHN DOE: WM, 31-45, found shot and partially
burned near Murfreesboro - 1 August 1978
DIR By: Akoya
Date: November 18, 2020, 12:39 pm
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HTML https://www.dnj.com/story/news/2016/07/22/detectives-stay-hot-trail-cold-cases/87393318/
Unsolved murders keep detectives up at night
Mary M. Reeves, mmreeves@dnj.com Published 10:58 a.m. CT July
22, 2016
The family of Gregg Hawkins faces a grim anniversary on Oct. 16.
It will have been one year to the day since the father of two
was gunned down at the Mona Creek Boat Ramp in Smyrna.
While Rutherford County detectives and TBI agents have continued
to work on the murder investigation, there have been no arrests.
On Oct. 16, the Hawkins case could become the newest cold case
for the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.
“It normally becomes a cold case after a year,” said Steve
Kohler, the newest cold case detective at the RCSO.
County, cities working on 25 cold cases
Sheriff's Department Explains the Urgent Need in Getting Leads
to the Gregg Hawkins Murder Case
Rutherford County, Murfreesboro, Smyrna and La Vergne all have
such files sitting on a detective’s desk, unsolved but
unforgotten.
Kohler works with Maj. Bill Sharp and Sgt. Dan Goodwin. He told
a recent Sheriff’s Citizens Academy class that there are more
than 250,000 unsolved murders in the United States.
“We will never give up,” Goodwin said.
Kohler watches the Hawkins case carefully, not to critique the
current investigation, but to prepare.
“We don’t interfere with a current investigation,” he said.
Studying it will help him pick up when the current detectives
are forced to leave off and investigate more recent crimes,
should the worst-case scenario arise and the murder go unsolved.
The cold case team, he said, has a weapon the hot case
detectives may not: Time.
“Time is the hot case’s enemy. Time is the cold case’s friend,”
Kohler said.
Over time, the detective explained, people remember things.
Divorces lead people who were protecting a suspect to speak out
at last. New technologies are developed, new information comes
to light.
Many times, Kohler said, an angry ex-wife or ex-girlfriend has
come forward with critical evidence.
John Doe from 1978
One of the oldest cases in the county involves a victim who has
never been identified. The "John Doe" was found shot and
partially burned in 1978 near the Poole Knobs campground.
Kohler has taken the case as a personal and professional
challenge. A few years ago, the team thought it had found the
victim’s name — and family — cross-referencing DNA and missing
persons reports, but a final DNA test failed to make the match.
It was heartbreaking for Kohler.
He said he knew the murderer might be dead by now anyway, but
that won’t keep him from finding a name for John Doe.
“Somewhere out there, he’s got a family, and they’ve spent 38
years wondering what happened to him.”
He and the other cold case team members don’t want anyone to
have to wonder like that.
16-year-old missing since 1999
Another family he is dedicated to helping is the Videons.
China Videon disappeared Oct. 19, 1999, when she was 16. Her
mother, Suzanne, last saw her daughter that evening at a beauty
salon at Jackson Heights Plaza.
Cold case files are never closed until they are solved, Goodwin
said. They do sometimes go “inactive” when all leads dry up, but
new leads reactivate the investigation, which is what happened
in the Videon case.
The three current suspects live in three states, which means
travel for the detectives, which means money is being spent.
“Yes, it costs money to work these cases,” said Kohler. “It’s
expensive — but what value do you put on life?”
Candlelight vigil set for girl missing 16 years
The Rutherford County Cold Case Task Force, headed by the
District Attorney’s Office, allows all of the law enforcement
agencies and DA to share resources and information, but the
sheriff’s office cold case team is the only department dedicated
to just that, and only Kohler works the cases full time, with
both Sharp and Goodwin working in other capacities as well.
Joining forces, teamwork and dedication have led to some success
for all of the agencies, including the case of Moses Jewell
Bess, convicted last year in the murder of his wife almost a
quarter of a century ago. New evidence came to light, new
charges were filed, and Bess is now behind bars.
Or when new testimony led to Christel Ann Perkins pleading
guilty last year to the 1979 shooting death of Jorja Walters.
The detectives want those same results for every cold case file
that sits on their desk in silent supplication.
They know they won’t solve every one of them — but that doesn’t
keep them from trying.
Reach Mary Reeves at 615-278-5109 or on Twitter @MaryReevesDNJ.
#Post#: 9648--------------------------------------------------
Re: LA VERGNE JOHN DOE: WM, 31-45, found shot and partially
burned near Murfreesboro - 1 August 1978
DIR By: Akoya
Date: November 18, 2020, 12:41 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
HTML https://i.imgur.com/cDuZptw.jpg
#Post#: 9649--------------------------------------------------
Re: LA VERGNE JOHN DOE: WM, 31-45, found shot and partially
burned near Murfreesboro - 1 August 1978
DIR By: Akoya
Date: November 18, 2020, 12:43 pm
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He had been partially burned and left near the Poole Knobs
campground.
Poole Knobs Campground
HTML https://i.imgur.com/IQr5eAy.jpg
HTML https://i.imgur.com/Q5pxzrv.jpg
#Post#: 9650--------------------------------------------------
Re: LA VERGNE JOHN DOE: WM, 31-45, found shot and partially
burned near Murfreesboro - 1 August 1978
DIR By: Akoya
Date: November 18, 2020, 12:48 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
HTML https://i.imgur.com/DcTsDUp.jpg
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