The cause of death was heart failure, caused by poison, Bennett suspected. March 18, 2022; THE DNA TIES THAT BIND. That's how he was on 1 December 1948, when two men found him slumped . Some inconsistencies with regard to the Somerton Mans personaleffects. Bookmark. Now, get this: In June 1945 three years before the death of the Somerton Man a 34-year-old Singaporean named George Marshall was found dead in Ashton Park, in Sydney, with an open copy of the Rubaiyat on his chest. A post-autopsy restoration of the mystery man done by forensic video consultant Dan Voshart. According to the pathologist, John Burton Cleland, the time of death was estimated at around 2 am, on December 1, 1948. . As for the "Tamam Shud" poem, Webb liked poetry and even wrote his own, according to Abbott. Kate Thomson, the daughter of Jessica and Prosper Thomson, said that her mother was the woman interviewed by the police and that her mother had told her she had lied to them. The man died on the beach with his feet crossed, with no signs of struggle or distress to mark his end. Furthermore, the facial appearance of Carl Webb does not match the face of the police photograph taken of the Somerton Man shortly after his autopsy, which also casts doubt on the claim. Thomson denied ever knowing the Somerton Man. August 12, 2011. Called the Somerton man after the beach where he was found in December 1948, . In 2011, students from Australias University of Adelaide found that the letters matched patterns of the first letters of words in typical English sentences. If for some reason after buying his ticket he missed his train, he might ask someone how to get to the seaside and be told that St. Leonards bus stop was opposite the station. Although the last character in this line of text looks like an "L", it is fairly clear on closer inspection of the image that this is formed from an 'I' and the extension of the line used to delete or underline that line of text. A closer look at the Somerton Mans NINE medicalconditions. The pair analyzed DNA evidence from hairs caught in a plaster cast made of the mans face. The man's last meal was a pasty (pastry wrapping meat and potatoes) eaten three to four hours before death. Kate Thomson suggested that her mother and the "Somerton Man" may both have been spies, noting that Jessica Thomson taught English to migrants, was interested in communism, and could speak Russian, although she would not disclose to her daughter where she had learned it, or why. Graphs showing that the Somerton Man had high levels of arsenic, lead, and strontium-88, based on isotope tests of his hair. Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. The Post Mortem and Autopsy report. The condition can develop due to several underlying medical conditions, ranging from blood disorders to liver disease. Feltus believed Thomson knew the Somerton man's identity. Has Rachel Egan's DNA finally ended Derek Abbott's involvement in the Somerton Man Mystery? "All this time we've been publishing the autopsy photo, and it's hard to tell what something looks like from that", Abbott said. The 'Somerton Man', as he's come to be known, was discovered in . More links to the Somerton Mans DNA could emerge any day, further pinning down his family origins. ByronDeveson. Phys.org is a part of Science X network. Bilsborow says the theory that Somerton man was a Russian spy emerged in the 1970s at the time of the cold war, particularly . A new DNA analysis links the Somerton Man to Thomas Jefferson and Native Americans. (6) He had congestion in the 2nd half of the duodenum. I try to keep an open mind on who he was, Derek Abbott, a biomedical engineer at the university who has studied the mystery for seven years and who led the student team, told BuzzFeed News. A fictionalised account of the Somerton Mancase. "Splenomegaly is a rare but potentially life threatening occurrence that can lead to splenic rupture.. There is no record of the station's bathroom facilities being unavailable on the day he arrived. DNA, Abbott said, is a key to solving the mystery. Police believed that whoever removed the clothing tags either overlooked these three items or purposely left the "Keane" tags on the clothes, knowing Keane was not the dead man's name. The Body on Somerton Beach. I dont know about Jessies sisters. At least two sites relatively close to Adelaide were of interest to spies: the Radium Hill uranium mine and the Woomera Test Range, an Anglo-Australian military research facility. Uncovering the isotope information involves first burning a 1-cm length of hair with an excimer laser beam and then analyzing the isotopes in the burned hair using a technique called laser ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), which was carried out by Dr. James Chappell at the University of Adelaide. . Permission has been granted for the body of an unknown male at the centre of a decades old mystery to finally be exhumed. The body was then embalmed on December 10, 1948, after the police were unable to get a positive identification. In 2004, retired detective Gerry Feltus suggested in a Sunday Mail article that the final line "ITTMTSAMSTGAB" could stand for the initials of "It's Time To Move To South Australia Moseley Street" (the former nurse lived in Moseley Street which is the main road through Glenelg). Based on this diagnosis, police treated the death as suspicious, and began to investigate. Oddly enough, research has shown that DELCs are correlated with an increased risk of ischemic heart attack. The media have suggested that Robin Thomson, who was 16 months old in 1948 and died in 2009, may have been a child of either Alf Boxall or the Somerton Man and passed off as Prosper Thomson's son. People have said that possibly Derek married me for my DNA. June 1949: Inquest into the man's mysterious death is launched. You know how I answer the question, Was he a spy? I get a coin, and I flip it up in the air.Feltus. The Thomson family bloodline courtesy of ByronDeveson. Australia's most enduring mysteries - the identity of the "Somerton Man" - is finally solved. An autopsy failed to find a cause of death, and noted that the man was in his forties with a fit physique. All of those things, Abbott thought, pointed to Robin as the son of the Somerton Man. The mystery man's body was found slumped against a sea wall at Somerton Beach, south of Adelaide in 1948. In clotting disorders, a clot may block the portal vein or a hepatic vein, slowing or blocking blood flow., https://www.msdmanuals.com/en-au/home/liver-and-gallbladder-disorders/blood-vessel-disorders-of-the-liver/overview-of-blood-vessel-disorders-of-the-liver. Administration of the State Records Act 1997 Annual Report 2020-21; Administration of the State Records Act 1997 2021-22 Annual Report; . The coroner suspected that the man had been poisoned or killed himself, but couldnt find any evidence for this theory. Intestinal obstruction is a blockage that keeps food or liquid from passing through the small intestine or large intestine (colon). 13 The Somerton Mans mtDNA haplogroup.. 12 The South Australian Telephone Directory Nov 47 .. Gordon Cramer and Pete Davidson PLEASE NOTE!! The Bloodstained Shirt .. Part 2 | The Somerton Man, Carl Charles Webb looks like Richard Charles Webb and the Somerton Man looks like Russell RichardWebb, The Webb Brothers. The scientist, Colleen Fitzpatrick, will present these results next week at the International Symposium on Human Identification in Minneapolis. He disappeared and she appeared in court, saying that he had disappeared and she wanted to divorce. 9 The Somerton Man and what may have ailed him. The dead man reclined against a beach wall that morning in a suit and tie, with an unlit cigarette resting on his collar, as if . For now, Abbott and other investigators have access only to DNA from the man's hair samples, which are preserved in a museum. (4) He had congestion (clogging) of the pharynx. Dead, and in a jacket and tie. Kidney dysfunction is associated with adverse outcomes in heart failure patients. Pure speculation but, perhaps he had been staying at a certain Moseley St address for a while? To part quote Derek Abbott Theres two things that bugme.. March 2009: University of Adelaide Professor Derek Abbott begins . The Scene At The Taman Shud Case: Neil Day was riding his horse down Somerton beach in Adelaide (Australia) on December 1, 1948. 25 The part fingerprinter Patrick James Durham wasnt asked to play in the Somerton Mancase. Over the coming days, we'll consult with colleagues at Forensic Science SA and make a determination as to how we proceed from a forensic perspective. The paper's other side was blank. Flames issuing from premises at Walford Cross. There have been many arguments against H. C. Reynolds being the Somerton Man by people close to the case, but a professor who examined the photo finds the theory . "Ideally, we'd like to identify a source of good quality DNA and then generate a DNA profile from it. First one was in 2011, when an Adelaide woman believed she identified the Somerton Man as a British sailor named H. C. Reynolds. Updated. Processing the results could reportedly take up to a year. On May 19, 2021, the exhumation of the remains began around sunrise and continued for about 12 hours. All identification marks on the clothes had been removed, but police found the name "T. Keane" on a tie, "Keane" on a laundry bag, and "Kean" (without the last e) on a singlet, along with three dry-cleaning marks; 1171/7, 4393/7 and 3053/7. We will never know unless we try. According to Abbott, Webb was born on November 16, 1905 in Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne. June 3, 2015 report. Putting Charlie and Roy into heightperspective. By early February 1949, there had been eight different "positive" identifications of the body, including two Darwin men who thought the body was of a friend of theirs and others who thought it was a missing station worker, a worker on a steamship, or a Swedish man. In addition, it's clear from the photos that the Somerton Man had an autopsy because of the ridge on his forehead, which is where his skull cap was sawn off. The results suggest that Robin had ancestral ties to the US along his paternal line. Strangely, all the labels on his clothes had been removed, and he had no hat or wallet. Never mind Romeo, wherefore art thouCharlie? Sixty-three years later, the . Congestive hepatopathy is suspected in patients who have right-sided heart failure, jaundice, and tender hepatomegaly., https://www.msdmanuals.com/en-au/professional/hepatic-and-biliary-disorders/vascular-disorders-of-the-liver/congestive-hepatopathy. Carl "Charles" Webb was born in Footscray, Melbourne, Victoria, on November 16, 1905. Cue the dirge for the loss of the autopsy report. 30 The Somerton Mans missing teeth: why theymatter. He added that this evidence fitted in with the theory that the body might have been brought to Somerton beach after the man's death, accounting for the lack of evidence of vomiting and convulsions, which are the two main physiological reactions to poison. There are so many weird twists and turns in this case so many unlikely things keep happening. Are these medical conditions something that its likely he lived with for some time or was there rapid onset as a result of something, like a poison? By March 2022, Abbott said he had already established Webb's name through years of work with Fitzpatrick to build a complex family tree of around 4,000 names that led to Webb, whose date of death had not been recorded. 32 WHAT ALF BOXALL SAID ABOUT JESSICA IN 1978 .. even today, I dont know what the girls surnamewas.. Science X Daily and the Weekly Email Newsletter are free features that allow you to receive your favorite sci-tech news updates in your email inbox, Phys.org 2003 - 2023 powered by Science X Network. In March 2009 a University of Adelaide team led by Professor Derek Abbott began an attempt to solve the case by cracking the code and proposing to exhume the body to test for DNA. (Strange asphyxiation cases litter the forensic science literature, such as the 2010 report of a man who died after falling asleep inside three truck tires or the 2006 case of a man strangled by automatically closing supermarket doors.). The Somerton Man Survey .. Who is theHighest? Derek, Nick, Gordon and a couple of realCharlies. A telephone number was also found in the back of the book, belonging to a nurse named Jessica Ellen "Jo" Thomson (19212007), born Jessie Harkness in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville, who lived in Moseley Street, Glenelg, about 1300 ft (400 meters) north of the location where the body was found. The identification of the Somerton Man will ultimately be determined by thecoroner., My concern is that we may never be able to categorically say that we know this persons identity.. He was sullen, rude, wrote his own poetry and may have had mentalissues.. Following a public appeal by police, the copy of the Rubaiyat from which the page had been torn was located. It just kind of happened.. She had a son, Robin, born in 1946, who had two distinctive facial features an oddly shaped ear, and two missing incisors that left his canine teeth parked right next to his two front teeth that Abbott learned were shared by the Somerton Man. SA Police would work with Forensic Science SA scientific staff and the Adelaide Cemeteries Authority to carry out the exhumation and reinterment of the man's body. The scientists believe that he went to Adelaide to see Jo Thomson, then died by happenstance on the beach wall, perhaps by positional asphyxia, where someone passes out in a position that cuts off their breathing. Police questioned a woman seen leaving the cemetery but she claimed she knew nothing of the man. Note: Another couple who saw him from 7.30-8 pm, said that they did not see him move during the half an hour in which he was in view, although they believed his position had changed on the beach. Another Researcher Claims Abbott Identified The Wrong Man. It's an enduring mystery here in South Australia. Hicks stated that if death had occurred seven hours after the man was last seen to move, it would imply a massive dose that could still have been undetectable. 20 Why Dr Colleen Fitzpatrick chose her words verycarefully. The Somerton Man was thought to have fathered a child with a nurse called Jo Jestyn Thomson, Rachel Egan's grandmother. The scrap came from the last words of the last page of The Rubiyt of Omar Khayyam, an 11th-century poetry book about lifes transience. We have a problem with the whereabouts of a Mr. John Freeman chemist of 24a Jetty RoadGlenelg. Reporter Stuart Littlemore investigated the case, including interviewing Boxall, who could add no new information. She said that she had received a letter from Boxall and had replied, telling him that she was now married. The same poison that Cleland thought was responsible for the death of the Somerton Man. Her real name was considered important as the possibility exists that it may be the decryption key for the purported code. February 23, 2022; A closer look at the Somerton Man's NINE medical conditions. They believed he had showered and shaved at the adjacent City Baths (there was no Baths ticket on his body) before returning to the train station to purchase a ticket for the 10.50 am train to Henley Beach, which, for whatever reason, he missed. Has Rachel Egans DNA finally ended Derek Abbotts involvement in the Somerton ManMystery? (Phys.org)This is the second part of a two-part story about the forensic investigation of the Somerton Man. "Francis" had not considered that the book might be connected to the case until he had seen an article in the previous day's newspaper. Several of Robin's distant cousins currently live in the US, with the closest matches having roots in the Virginia area. He appeared to be drunk . Conversations with relatives, along with compelling anatomical similarities as described more below, suggest that Robin's father may have been the Somerton Man. But the attorney general of South Australia has twice denied Abbotts request for exhumation, arguing that the mystery probably wasnt a criminal case, but merely a matter of curiosity. He was also after my DNA. Former South Australian Police detective Gerry Feltus (who dealt with the matter as a cold case), reports that the book was found "just after that man was found on the beach at Somerton". Of course, this is only true if Rachel is indeed the Somerton Mans granddaughter. Although not as high-tech as the previous methods, a close analysis of the post-autopsy photographs and dental records reveals a surprising amount of informationfrom a mole near his lip to pronounced nasal archesthat may contribute to uncovering the Somerton Man's identity. Harking back to the Coroners speculation, in that if it was found that TSM didnt die where he was found and had been carried to the beach, cue Detective ODohertys credible witness, then everything would need reconsidering, which would include his alleged 30th November arrival in Adelaide etc etc so, perhaps he was in town and unwell for quite some time before dying. That puts Mr. Xs ancestry, with some authority, in America., Map shows Robin Thomson's genetic ancestry, with each colored marker a different genetic "cousin.". The Somerton Mans suitcase and its forgottenfingerprints. Somerton Man's body to be exhumed in South Australia more than 70 years after he was found on a beach. While a date for the exhumation had not yet been determined as of April 2021, Forensic Science SA director Linzi Wilson-Wilde said it would likely be in the "short term", and that the remains would be transferred to a laboratory for analysis, "It's going to be extremely challenging in a technical sense the remains have been buried for over 70 years and, in addition, the body was embalmed which adds further complications. (Supplied) The suitcase. The fulltranscript. The black area at the top of the root, called post-mortem banding, is what you expect to see when a hair is taken from a dead person. ", Professor Derek Abbott said he was excited by the development, "I knew it would happen one day. He was named Carl Charles Webb, a 43-year-old electrical engineer and instrument maker from Melbourne in Australia by Derek Abbott, from the University of Adelaide, using DNA sequencing and genealogy. 21 The only items not photographed were the mostimportant. As a result, blood cells may break and leak blood into the brain tissues, forminga hemorrhage. This is especially the case if its caused by a bacterial infection. This will yield his actual identity, provided he himself didn't result from a non-paternity event (NPE). Phys.org is a leading web-based science, research and technology news service which covers a full range of topics. Some of TSMs medical conditions appear (to the laymans eye) to be interrelated, but there is little doubt he needed medical assistance. When Miss Thomson was interviewed by police, she said that she did not know the dead man or why he would have her phone number and choose to visit her suburb on the night of his death. It may not be a coincidence, then, that photographs of his putative son Robin show that Robin also had a very large cymba. Abbott believes the Somerton Man's son is Robin Thomson, an American, who went on to perform with the Australian Ballet and Royal New Zealand Ballet before he died in 2009. This is the type of DNA that's used to identify somebody's genealogy. Detective Superintendent Des Bray said, "Everything has gone smoothly and we're happy that we've recovered the complete remains of the Somerton Man, He's now been formally delivered in our care to take to the Forensic Science center. If the book was found one or two weeks before, it suggests that the man had visited previously or had been in Adelaide for a longer period. Why was the Tamam Shud slip hidden so carefully when the book was dumped for anyone tofind? They found that he and his mother belonged to haplogroup H4a1a1a, which is possessed by only 1% of Europeans. More information: The condition of his organs doesnt square with his apparent physical fitness, ability to travel and generally get around. Fitzpatrick said, "The last known record we have of him is in April 1947 when he left Dorothy. Hello Byron, Ive been enjoying your insights. Cowan, Hicks andCleland. (Top right) A map of Robins cousins in the 3rd-5th cousin range in the USA, found on a genealogical database. Whats this? 16 RACHEL EGANS DNA LINKED TO PROSPERTHOMSON.. 15 In 2002 I had a lengthy conversation with Jessica Harkness., 14 The seventy-year old secret of the Somertoncode. Now, after nearly seven decades, DNA has turned up some answers and more questions. This is how I met my wife, he said, with a somewhat bemused air. People think this missing evidence is further proof that our unknown man was a Cold War spy. The 11.15 would be the next bus. A stroke can damage the brain and central nervous system. The dead man on the beach was dressed in a white shirt, a red, white and blue tie, brown trousers, socks and shoes, a brown knitted pullover and a fashionable grey and brown double-breasted jacket of "American" tailoring. 1 December 1948. Per a 1949 inquest report, a doctor who examined the Somerton Man's remains placed his time of death around 2 a.m. Gordon Cramer. Causes of intestinal obstruction may include fibrous bands of tissue (adhesions) in the abdomen that form after surgery; hernias; colon cancer; certain medications; or strictures from an inflamed intestine caused by certain conditions, such as Crohns disease or diverticulitis., Without treatment, the blocked parts of the intestine can die, leading to serious problems. Change). This feature occurs in only 1% of the population. Its one of those crazy things, he said. The back of the book had faint indentations representing five lines of text, in capital letters. Detective Sergeant Lionel Leane, who led the initial investigation, often protected the privacy of witnesses in public statements by using pseudonyms. March 26, 2022; The Somerton Man's suitcase and its forgotten fingerprints March 22, 2022; The Somerton Man Case .. an uncommon timeline. You will read the results and there differences apparent between these results and those from the Somerton Man's . The group of Associate Professor Jeremy Austin, at the university's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD), found that the Somerton Man's mother belongs to the DNA haplogroup H. About 40% of Europeans belong to this group, so it's not particularly surprising, given the Somerton Man clearly appears Caucasian. The pathologist concluded, "I am quite convinced the death could not have been natural the poison I suggested was a barbiturate or a soluble hypnotic". By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy The next time I have a check up with the local quack thats what Im going to ask him. 164 cm (5 ft 4. Was Prosper strong enough to carry a man weighing about 78kgs? Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a symptom of a disorder in your digestive tract. The man had no further information, but the book supplied yet more baffling clues. Would that we had estimates of volume loss. I should add that if SM and Jessica both had connective tissue disease then this suggests they were related. Mystery of the Somerton Man; Royalty, Military and Women Royalty, Military and Women Menu. The burial of the Somerton Mans body occurred on June 14, 1949, in Adelaide's West Terrace Cemetery. The Dome, and why nicknames are not forNick. ", Dr. Linzi Wilson-Wilde oversaw the DNA analysis, which was carried out at Forensic Science SA and hoped are that there will be enough DNA to allow researchers to compare the Somerton Man's profile with potential relatives. Abbott wrote a letter to Roma, asking if she knew anyone who resembled the Somerton Man. There has been some speculation among internet sleuths that the Somerton Man may have been poisoned by a jilted lover. Thomson told police that, after the war ended, she had moved to Melbourne and married. Mike Dash. On December 1, 1948, a man was found dead on Somerton Beach in Adelaide, Australia. Why There? The Australian police consulted FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, but the agency couldnt find a fingerprint match of the man. Today, they have three children, all of whom may carry some of the genes of the Somerton Man. The postmortem showed no lesions likely to cause natural death such as coronary disease or cerebral hemorrhage. In news media, books, and other discussions of the case, Thomson was frequently referred to by various pseudonyms, including the nickname "Jestyn" and names such as "Teresa Johnson ne Powell". Taken together with the fact that the Somerton Man was wearing a jacket and tie of US origin, the evidence makes a compelling case that the Somerton Man was an American. All you need to know about barbiturates and who used it to commitsuicide. Boxall was now working in the maintenance section at the Randwick Bus Depot, where he had worked before the war and was unaware of any link between the dead man and himself in the front of the copy of the Rubaiyat that was given to Boxall.
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