CPL Robert Daniel Corriveau, 20, murdered 18 November 1968, Downingtown, PA
I first posted this case in 2010 in the Unidentified topic area of websleuths. At that time, it was the case of a John Doe, found in Downingtown, PA on November 18, 1968. In 2012, he was finally identified positively as Corporal Robert Daniel Corriveau, United States Marine Corps. He had been missing and declared a deserter by the Marine Corps for 44 years, but was given a burial with full military honors in October 2012.
Because he was identified, the Unidentified John Doe Case, and that of the Missing person case has been "resolved". But it is still an open and unsolved Murder case and that investigation continues. I have begun a thread for Corporal Corriveau in the "Cold Cases" section of Websleuths which discusses unsolved cases. What follows is the initial post in that thread.....
Here is a brief case summary:
Corporal Robert Daniel Corriveau, known as "Bobby Dan" to his friends and family, was from Lawrence, Mass. where he graduated from High School and entered the United States Marine Corps in 1965. This was during the Viet Nam War.
Upon graduation from USMC boot camp, and follow on training, Corporal Corriveau was shipped to Japan. From there, he was deployed to the northern province of South Vietnam near Dong Ha in Quang Tri Province in 1966.
Corporal Corriveau was wounded on three different occasions during heavy fighting between US forces and those of North Vietnam. The first two times, he was treated for his wounds and returned to combat duty. In 1967, he was wounded more seriously and was medevaced out of theater. He spent the rest of 1967 and much of 1968 in stateside Naval Hospitals recovering from his wounds.
By October of 1968, Corporal Corriveau was offered an early honorable discharge from the Marine Corps, due to his wounds and time served. He wanted to continue serving in the Marine Corps and turned down the offer. It soon became evident that he was suffering from what is today referred to as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and he was transferred to the US Naval Hospital Philadelphia for treatment.
On the weekend of 14-18 November 1968, Corporal Corriveau left the hospital on authorized liberty in the local Philadelphia area. Where, exactly, he went and what he did are not known. By Monday morning 18 November 1968 at 0745 (AM) he was not present for morning muster at the hospital. Because he was missing, he was declared to be UA (Unauthorized Absence) from the Marine Corps. At the end of 30 days, when he was still missing, he was declared a deserter. His records were forwarded to the National Personnel Records center in St. Louis, MO and his name was placed on a national listing of military deserters. He remained in this status until 2012.
On Monday morning, 18 November 1975, only a few hours after Corporal Corriveau was declared UA, his body was found near a highway interchange in Downingtown, PA - only 30 miles west of the Naval Hospital Philadelphia. He was dressed in civilian clothing and had been killed by a single stab wound to the heart from a sharpened round spike type weapon. No weapon was found in the vicinity and it appeared that his body had been transported to the place where found. There was no identification on the body and he was classified as a John Doe and eventually buried as an unknown person in a paupers grave with only a number to mark his resting place.
He remained an unknown for 44 years. About 2009, his photo was placed on a Pennsylvania State Police Website of unknown persons and unsolved cases. Because there was a tattoo of a USMC Bulldog on his right shoulder, it seemed likely that he was a Marine. Scars from wounds also pointed to such a likely possibility. The link below shows some of the history of that case when it was placed here on Websleuths. (note: the link is one which brings readers to this thread.)
A suggestion was made to Pennsylvania State Police case officers that they contact the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and request that they check with the Marine Corps Deserter Unit to see if there might be any USMC deserters on the books from that time frame. This was done and soon the case of missing Corporal Corriveau and the "Bulldog John Doe" were connected. Family members of Corporal Corriveau were contacted and DNA comparisons were made which resulted in positive identification.
Corporal Corriveau was laid to rest in the family cemetery in Lawrence, MA on 13 October 2012. He was given full military honors by a Marine Corps honor squad and Bugler. The Marine Corps League was also present.
The investigation into his death has continued. Investigators have located all personnel rosters - both Navy and Marine Corps - from the Naval Hospital Philadelphia. Although the Hospital itself was decomissioned and razed long ago, records still exist in the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. From those records, a number of Doctors, Nurses, Hospital Corpsmen, and Patients have been located and interviewed in an attempt to learn more.
Interest in the case has been generated through a number of personal appearances and talks by private investigators and Marines. All information obtained has been turned over to official Pennsylvania State Police case officers.
I first posted this case in 2010 in the Unidentified topic area of websleuths. At that time, it was the case of a John Doe, found in Downingtown, PA on November 18, 1968. In 2012, he was finally identified positively as Corporal Robert Daniel Corriveau, United States Marine Corps. He had been missing and declared a deserter by the Marine Corps for 44 years, but was given a burial with full military honors in October 2012.
Because he was identified, the Unidentified John Doe Case, and that of the Missing person case has been "resolved". But it is still an open and unsolved Murder case and that investigation continues. I have begun a thread for Corporal Corriveau in the "Cold Cases" section of Websleuths which discusses unsolved cases. What follows is the initial post in that thread.....
Here is a brief case summary:
Corporal Robert Daniel Corriveau, known as "Bobby Dan" to his friends and family, was from Lawrence, Mass. where he graduated from High School and entered the United States Marine Corps in 1965. This was during the Viet Nam War.
Upon graduation from USMC boot camp, and follow on training, Corporal Corriveau was shipped to Japan. From there, he was deployed to the northern province of South Vietnam near Dong Ha in Quang Tri Province in 1966.
Corporal Corriveau was wounded on three different occasions during heavy fighting between US forces and those of North Vietnam. The first two times, he was treated for his wounds and returned to combat duty. In 1967, he was wounded more seriously and was medevaced out of theater. He spent the rest of 1967 and much of 1968 in stateside Naval Hospitals recovering from his wounds.
By October of 1968, Corporal Corriveau was offered an early honorable discharge from the Marine Corps, due to his wounds and time served. He wanted to continue serving in the Marine Corps and turned down the offer. It soon became evident that he was suffering from what is today referred to as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and he was transferred to the US Naval Hospital Philadelphia for treatment.
On the weekend of 14-18 November 1968, Corporal Corriveau left the hospital on authorized liberty in the local Philadelphia area. Where, exactly, he went and what he did are not known. By Monday morning 18 November 1968 at 0745 (AM) he was not present for morning muster at the hospital. Because he was missing, he was declared to be UA (Unauthorized Absence) from the Marine Corps. At the end of 30 days, when he was still missing, he was declared a deserter. His records were forwarded to the National Personnel Records center in St. Louis, MO and his name was placed on a national listing of military deserters. He remained in this status until 2012.
On Monday morning, 18 November 1975, only a few hours after Corporal Corriveau was declared UA, his body was found near a highway interchange in Downingtown, PA - only 30 miles west of the Naval Hospital Philadelphia. He was dressed in civilian clothing and had been killed by a single stab wound to the heart from a sharpened round spike type weapon. No weapon was found in the vicinity and it appeared that his body had been transported to the place where found. There was no identification on the body and he was classified as a John Doe and eventually buried as an unknown person in a paupers grave with only a number to mark his resting place.
He remained an unknown for 44 years. About 2009, his photo was placed on a Pennsylvania State Police Website of unknown persons and unsolved cases. Because there was a tattoo of a USMC Bulldog on his right shoulder, it seemed likely that he was a Marine. Scars from wounds also pointed to such a likely possibility. The link below shows some of the history of that case when it was placed here on Websleuths. (note: the link is one which brings readers to this thread.)
A suggestion was made to Pennsylvania State Police case officers that they contact the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and request that they check with the Marine Corps Deserter Unit to see if there might be any USMC deserters on the books from that time frame. This was done and soon the case of missing Corporal Corriveau and the "Bulldog John Doe" were connected. Family members of Corporal Corriveau were contacted and DNA comparisons were made which resulted in positive identification.
Corporal Corriveau was laid to rest in the family cemetery in Lawrence, MA on 13 October 2012. He was given full military honors by a Marine Corps honor squad and Bugler. The Marine Corps League was also present.
The investigation into his death has continued. Investigators have located all personnel rosters - both Navy and Marine Corps - from the Naval Hospital Philadelphia. Although the Hospital itself was decomissioned and razed long ago, records still exist in the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. From those records, a number of Doctors, Nurses, Hospital Corpsmen, and Patients have been located and interviewed in an attempt to learn more.
Interest in the case has been generated through a number of personal appearances and talks by private investigators and Marines. All information obtained has been turned over to official Pennsylvania State Police case officers.
