![]() If the man’s identity can be determined, Renner said this would “open a lot of new investigative angles.” “We look forward to helping advance this case.” “We are grateful to the Porchlight Project for the opportunity to help to discover new leads out of the evidence from this terrible crime,” said David Mittleman, Othram’s CEO. This was the same method used in the Blatnik case. Gilson’s office took DNA from the man’s remains and sent it to Othram, a DNA laboratory in Woodlands, Texas, which will enter the sample into genealogical databases to search for a match. Gilson said solving this case would be particularly satisfying because the original investigation was done by former Cuyahoga County Coroner Charles Hirsch, who taught him forensic pathology. “We are very eager to partner with the Porchlight Project on this case and hope that our effort will be successful.” “We never give up hope that we may provide closure to families and bring criminals to justice even years after a death has occurred,” Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Thomas Gilson said a news release. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office and Cleveland police tried to determine the man’s identity but were unsuccessful. Investigators think the man may have had Crouzon syndrome, which would have made his eyes appear to be bulging. He had a gold tooth and a tattoo with “Sally” on the inside of his left forearm, according to medical examiner records. He wore a Waltham wristwatch and a gray metal ring with a blue stone. ![]() He was a young Black man, between 25 and 35 years old and about 6 foot 1 inches tall. The remains had been placed in a 55-gallon drum and covered in a caustic fluid, a substance that destroys organic tissue, according to police records. He alerted his stepfather, who called police, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUS). He rolled the barrel from one vacant lot to another and, when he lifted the lid, found the remains. 29, 1969, by a young boy who was looking for a place to throw away trash and saw the barrel in the 3000 Block of East 82nd Street in Cleveland. The man’s body was found on the morning of Aug. “This just seemed like the most viable mystery and the most interesting,” he said. Renner said he got interested in the Cleveland case when looking over a list of “John Does” from the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office. ![]() More: New DNA tools lead to arrest in 1987 murder case He is expected to go on trial in October in Summit County Common Pleas Court. James Zastawnik, 68, of Cleveland was tied to Blatnik’s case through DNA genetic testing and arrested last May. The group assisted with a new investigation into the 1987 murder of 17-year-old Barbara Blatnik that led to an arrest last year. The Porchlight Project, a nonprofit agency started in 2019, aims to boost awareness of unsolved cases and raise money for DNA research. “We’re excited to provide the means to finally give a name to this man so that we can learn how he came to be here - and who may have wanted him dead.” “This is a piece of Cleveland history that remains untold,” said James Renner, the Akron author who heads the Porchlight Project. The Porchlight Project, an Akron group that tries to shine new light on cold cases, has taken on this case as its next mystery. His body was dismembered and stuffed in a barrel.Ĭleveland investigators weren’t able to determine the identity of this young Black man whose life met such a gruesome end in August 1969, though they thought his death might have been tied to the Black Panthers or Black nationalist movement. He was shot nine times in the chest and arms and beaten in the head. ![]()
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