GA GA - College Park, BlkMale UP649, 35-50, related to slain FL girl, Dec'95

I've been thinking more along Carl's line...I was conflicted because usually when I've seen cases where they had the gender wrong it was because they guessed based on skeletal features and then the DNA told them otherwise. In this case the DNA seemed to say male. I don't know enough about DNA to know what to think....a degraded old sample to work with plus accidental contamination? It's possible.

I generally hate playing the maybe-they-were-wrong game - Maybe she was 6 inches taller or maybe she was 20 years younger, etc., etc. without some other compelling evidence to back up that assertion.

In this case, with the child being such a good fit to Tammy, and chronologically/geographically logical, and knowing Tammy disappeared WITH another MP and the related child was connected TO another UID, it seemed worth considering.
 
OkieGranny linked an article in the MP thread about the difficulties the family of Tammy Hollins are having in bringing Tammy's remains home to be buried.

FL FL - Diane (31) & Tammy (14 - deceased) Hollins, Daytona Beach, 11 June 1979 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community


The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Ormond family can’t afford to bring slain teen’s remains home
http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20140216/NEWS/140219461
The Daytona Beach News-Journal said:
The family must obtain a burial transit permit to transport Tammy’s remains across state lines lawfully, said David Wilson, funeral director at Thompson Funeral Home in Daytona Beach. Wilson had been working with the family last year in an effort to help them obtain Tammy’s bones. Clark and Robinson are also working with Daytona Beach police’s victim advocate office.

“We were told that it would cost us anywhere between $600 and $1,000 to bring the remains back to Florida and we can’t afford that,” Clark, who lives in Ormond Beach, said Friday. “All we want is to be able to bring Tammy back home.”

Clark and her siblings say they’re glad Tammy was found, but are still heartbroken that her mother — their younger sister Diane Hollins — is still missing.

There is also this bit of information I didn't catch when Tammy Hollins' recovery was first reported (bolding & bracketing by me):
Sylvania Telephone: Bones identified as female reported missing since 1979
http://www.sylvaniatelephone.com/news/bones-identified-female-reported-missing-1979
Sylvania Telephone said:
In the case file, after interviews collected by [Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Gerald Hill, a crime-scene specialist], an early 80s visit by Florida investigators came very close to where the body was, but one wrong turn threw off the rest of the directions and the body was not found then. There are no paper records of the alleged visit, and the memory is from word-of-mouth reports by officers working during that time period.
Because of this memory, however, Lima contacted Daytona Beach, where Diane and Tammy were reported missing, and asked them for information.

[snip]

How Tammy ended up dead and dropped off in Screven County is still a mystery, unfortunately. The most obvious suspect, Malek said, was Ben Ponder, a boyfriend of Diane’s and now deceased, who was from Screven County. Ponder died in Hope Springs [actually Hot Springs], Ark., in 2009, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Diane Hollins' deceased boyfriend has relatives who in 2009 were scattered around Georgia, including within 15-30 minutes' drive from the recovery location of the 1995 College Park, GA male UID. I'm still a little skeptical that the male UID has a meaningful biological connection to Tammy Hollins, but if so, there's that.
 
So... What happened to this case? It's been over two years since Tammy's remains were ID'd. Did this UID turn out to not be related to Tammy or something?
 
I can't believe this case is still insolved. I am toying with the idea of writing to the Fulton County Examiner and asking about the DNA. The grandparents/uncles/aunts are all findable, more should be possible with a little digging.
 
I received a full report from the Medical Examiner, but there is absolutely NO word about the matching DNA. So crazy.
I'll ask them again if they have any additional information on the DNA, but in the report it says "no specimen was forwarded" ...

As soon as I have time, I'll write up the most important details.
 
FINALLY, my laptop is working again, here are the details that I promised.

The skeletonized remains of this unidentified black male were discovered onWednesday, December 27, 1995, in a wooded area near the intersection of Godby Road and Old National Highway. The majority of the bones, including the skull, pelvis, and many vertebrae, were in a central location; however, multiple vertebrae, ribs, and the femora were scattered approximately 100 to 200 feet from the body.

Additionally, multiple articles of clothing, to be described in further detail below,were in the vicinity of the bony remains. Several empty cans of alcohol werein this region, but in the area immediately surrounding the majority of the bones were seven empty containers of "Sunny De’Lite" orange juice. No weapons or drug paraphernalia were found at the scene.

The remains were then brought to the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office for examination. The following items were associated with the remains:

1. A blue plastic comb (which was found in the vicinity of the skull).

2. A long-sleeved, synthetic, blue shirt with red, gray, green, and blue stripes. The shirt is size medium and displays the "Favorites" label. The left breast pocket of the shirt is empty, and the shirt is tattered.

3. A heavy, blue coat with gray lining is zipped and is inside-out. The coat exhibits no labels. The gray lining is shredded, and some buttons of the coat are rusted and broken. The right pocket is zipped, and the fly is absent. The left pocket is also zipped. The zippers of both of these pockets have rusted, and the pockets cannot be opened; however, they are palpably empty. The coat is tattered and torn.

4. Gray to dark brown knit pants. One of two overlapping buttons is buttoned at the waist. The zipper is up, but the zipper is broken, allowing the pants to gape open. The pockets of the pants are empty, and the pants are tattered and torn. The right leg of the pants is more torn than the left. The waist of the pants exhibits a faded illegible label of laundering instructions. No manufacturer’s label or sizes are on this garment.

The teeth:

An intact skull with accompanying mandible. Teeth numbers 6 through 10 and 23 through 29 are not recovered. The remainder of the dentition is natural and in an excellent state of repair. There are no cavities, fillings, crowns, caps, or other dental work. Teeth numbers 17 and 32 are remotely absent. Tooth number 1 appears impacted, and tooth number 16 erupts through the bone of the maxilla and abuts tooth number 15. A loose tooth recovered at the scene appears to be tooth number 11.​

While the skeleton (no soft tissue left) showed signs of animal activity, none of the bones displayed perforating defects, tool marks, or antemortem fractures.

Description of the remains:

The skull exhibits a wide nasal bridge, slight prognathism, large oval orbits, anddepression of the calvarium posterior to the coronal suture, all of which are Negroid features. The skull exhibits prominent supraorbital ridges and prominent mastoid processes. The sciatic notch is narrow, and the pubic rami form an acute angle. These features are consistent with the male gender. Measurements taken of the right radius, left femur, right tibia, and left humerus, when compared to anthropologic tables displaying the various bone lengths for black males, give an estimated height range of 67 to 69". The majority of the calvarial sutures are nonfused. The most prominent region of fused sutures are in the temporal regions, and even there it is only very slight. Additionally, there is only slight fusion within the bilateral lambdoid regions. This slight sutured fusion is consistent with an estimated age of 30 to 45 years.


The summary of findings is as follows:

Skeletonized remains of an adult black male:

A. No evidence of antemortem bony trauma.

B. Estimated height of 67 to 69".

C. Estimated age range of 30 to 45 years.

D. Natural dentition, with an impacted right upper third molar (tooth number 1), absent lower third molars (tooth numbers 17 and 32), and an erupted left upper third molar (tooth number 16). Approximately two-thirds to three-quarters of the skeleton recovered.


CAUSE OF DEATH: Undetermined.

MANNER OF DEATH: Undetermined.

OPINION: These unidentified remains are those of an adult black male, approximately 67 to 69" in height and approximately 30 to 45 years of age. There is no evidence of trauma to the recovered skeletal remains. The dentition is natural with no evidence of cavities, fillings, crowns, caps, or root canals.


What I found very confusing and want to follow up on: The report states that no specimens were sent to the GBI/Crime lab.
 
Yes, I was also positively surprised. Also, how fast and easy it was to get the report. I have written back to them now asking about the DNA testing.

What I am getting from the report, is, that it was most likely a homeless person.

Anyway, if they could provide us with the cM that the two share, a family tree should be doable.
 
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