Credit: DDP
Investigative genetic genealogists with the DNA Doe Project are seeking the public’s help to identify a man found in a tobacco barn off Kentucky State Highway 22 about 7.5 miles west of Dry Ridge near Williamstown, Kentucky in 1989. The victim was shot twice in the back of his head and he was stripped of all of his clothing. His hands were severed from his arms.
Forensic scientists determined he was Caucasian, 25-35 years old, 6′ 5″ tall, and weighed approximately 220 pounds. He wore his medium brown hair in a crew cut with short sideburns, and had died approximately two weeks prior to being found. The case is being treated as a homicide, and the Kentucky State Police requests anyone with information on the name of this individual to contact the agency immediately, which will aid in obtaining justice for the victim and their family.
After exhausting all leads, investigators brought the case to the DNA Doe Project in 2020 to try a new type of DNA analysis. After uploading the John Doe’s profile to the databases at GEDmatch Pro and FamilyTreeDNA.com and analyzing the DNA relative matches, the volunteer expert investigators determined that he was most likely from Croatia, Serbia, or Romania. He or his ancestors may have lived near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Detroit, Michigan, and the states of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. John Doe may have been born abroad, or could be the child of immigrants.
“John Doe’s closest DNA match is an approximate third cousin with recent Croatian and Serbian ancestry,” said Missy Koski, team leader on the case. “We need more people who have ancestry from these countries and Eastern Europe to take DNA tests and upload those tests to GEDmatch.com and FamilyTreeDNA.com to help us build his family tree.”
The DNA Doe Project is hoping to connect with members of the public whose family tree includes the surnames Vignovich, Bogojevic, Nydich, Stanovich, Stoyadinovich, Ljubesavljevic, and/or Damovich. To contact the team, please email [email protected].
“Somewhere someone has been missing their son, brother or maybe even their father for over 35 years,” said Missy Koski, team leader on the case. “We want to give him his name back and return him to his family.”
Republished courtesy of DNA Doe Project