Credit: St. Petersburg Police Department
Forty-six years after he was killed, a St. Petersburg Police detective has identified a John Doe victim as 29-year-old Johnny Bradshaw of Tennessee.
In April 1980, Bradshaw and Jack Roy Davis were in St. Petersburg and staying at the Siesta Motel on 34th street, when they were shot in the head.
Detectives quickly identified and searched for suspects Kyle Watson and his girlfriend, David Ann Thomas. Before they could be arrested, Thomas shot and killed Watson when they returned to Knoxville. Police eventually caught up with Thomas for being an accessory after the fact for driving the getaway car in the St. Petersburg double murder, and she served time in prison. She has since died.
At the time of the crime, Davis was immediately identified as a victim, but Bradshaw's identity remained a mystery. Detectives circulated an artist's rendering of him as well as a photo of the Italian horn pendant he wore.
Detectives exhumed Bradshaw's body in 2010 in an attempt to identify him, but were unsuccessful. In 2023, Cold Case Detective Wallace Pavelski sent new bone samples to Othram, and they were able to extract a full DNA profile. Genealogy research over the next few years led Pavelski to contact family members in Texas and California. Bradshaw still has two living sisters who have been searching for him since 1980.
This marks the final unidentified individual on St. Petersburg Police Department's John/Jane Doe cold case list. Through years of relentless dedication and the use of advanced forensic technology, our detectives have worked tirelessly to restore names, identities, and dignity, bringing long-overdue answers and closure to victims' families.
Republished courtesy of St. Petersburg Department