Identified! TN - Jefferson Co, Body in a Bag, Douglas Lake, Dandridge, Mar'19 - Earl Pizzoferrato

According to The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), his remains are unrecognizable, but they know that he's white. Also they estimate that he is an adult under the age range of 40 and at least 6ft tall.

Apparently his hands are MIA.

There seems to be a typo in the description of his hands being gone. It currently says: "The hand and hands were not located in the bag or on scene."

My speculation only on this, but I wonder if it was supposed to say "the head and hands"?!? :eek:

That would explain the large height range given (6' 0"-6' 8") and why they know he was white but described him as "unrecognizable". Hands often get eaten first by small wildlife, but if the head is missing too (my speculation only) that makes me think the murderer was trying to make identification harder.

I also think we should consider the belt might have been second hand and not his name. If the killer wanted to prevent identification of the body, why leave a belt with the person's name on it?

MOO.
 
True, although if it's second-hand then surely it can be traced to somebody. They may not have noticed he had anything engraved in his belt if they just threw him in a duffel bag with all of his clothing still intact.

also lol i kept trying to figure out "hand and hands," like they were implying he'd already lost one hand before this happened and then the other afterwards, but "head and hands" makes so much more sense. Would also explain why they don't have any artist sketches or facial reconstruction images of him. :>
 
Last edited:
IMO - someone (assuming UID had family/friends in the US) will recognize the combo of the belt and buckle...
I’ve seen belts like that at flea market booths. They are created by people who make custom leather items. They last forever so it could be very old. There’s a huge flea market in west Knoxville.
 
There seems to be a typo in the description of his hands being gone. It currently says: "The hand and hands were not located in the bag or on scene."

My speculation only on this, but I wonder if it was supposed to say "the head and hands"?!? :eek:

That would explain the large height range given (6' 0"-6' 8") and why they know he was white but described him as "unrecognizable". Hands often get eaten first by small wildlife, but if the head is missing too (my speculation only) that makes me think the murderer was trying to make identification harder.

I also think we should consider the belt might have been second hand and not his name. If the killer wanted to prevent identification of the body, why leave a belt with the person's name on it?

MOO.
If the perp didn’t know the victim and attacked from the front, they may not have realized the name was on the belt. It would be difficult to see in the dark or if it was dirty.
 
The lake is huge...
View attachment 173905

Google Maps

Not too far from Knoxville...
Lived south of Knoxville for 17 years. That lake is hugely popular with a lot of boating almost year round. Fishing, water skiing, tubing, boat parades, fireworks, etc. Plenty of opportunities to dispose of a body. At the north end of that area is where I-81 meets I-40 so it is possible he was transported from another state.
 
If the perp didn’t know the victim and attacked from the front, they may not have realized the name was on the belt. It would be difficult to see in the dark or if it was dirty.

Possibly. But if the perp didn't know the victim, why remove his hands (and possibly his head)?
Was he (assuming the perp is a man) just trying to fit him in the duffel bag? It seems like he would have noticed the belt while fitting the body into the duffel. This feels more like a personal crime to me due to the way the body was hidden. MOO.
 
Possibly. But if the perp didn't know the victim, why remove his hands (and possibly his head)?
Was he (assuming the perp is a man) just trying to fit him in the duffel bag? It seems like he would have noticed the belt while fitting the body into the duffel. This feels more like a personal crime to me due to the way the body was hidden. MOO.
I think the hands being removed is indicative of an older perp who still believes fingerprints are the predominate way to ID someone. They are not as aware of the DNA angle as maybe a younger perp. In placing the body, the belt would have been dirty, blood soaked or under the cover of darkness, it was overlooked. Or, for all we now, thats the perps calling card.
 
I think the hands being removed is indicative of an older perp who still believes fingerprints are the predominate way to ID someone. They are not as aware of the DNA angle as maybe a younger perp. In placing the body, the belt would have been dirty, blood soaked or under the cover of darkness, it was overlooked. Or, for all we now, thats the perps calling card.

I also wonder if the murderer knew his victim had been incarcerated and therefore had fingerprints in the system, making for an easier match?
 
I also wonder if the murderer knew his victim had been incarcerated and therefore had fingerprints in the system, making for an easier match?
That would be "old school" thinking... like @PayrollNerd was saying. We take DNA on those coming into the prisons and jails all of the time. It is a Federal law. So, anyone going to prison would know that there is no hiding an identity, unless the body is never found. Here is some info on the DNA collection laws from the NIJ:
DNA Sample Collection from Arrestees | National Institute of Justice

It is really hard to understand the thinking of someone that could do something like this in the first place. It could have just been done for the fun of it. But, who knows! Maybe, it was a woman or man that could not lift this subject and parts were cut off to make him/her easier to carry? Or easier to hide as the body is removed from some place that could have been public?
 
Last edited:
As someone pointed out earlier (cant remember who said it but if ur reading this, person, it was all u babe!!!) it is entirely possible that the hands were taken by wild life, but that would entail the deceased having been out in the open for however long it'd take for scavengers to eat his hands before being put into a duffel bag and dropped in a lake.

If that is what happened, then the body may have been left unattended for a certain amount of time. The remains may have been hidden in one location and then moved to the lake for extra-measure. I low-key doubt that wildlife took the head, that was probably done by a human. If he didn't have any DNA in any databases then logically it would be more difficult to ID the deceased with his head gone.

I wonder, if someone took the time to remove the head/hands but not the stamped belt then they may not have known him very well, not enough for the victim to be like "hey bro check out my cool belt, it has my name on it and a very unique buckle." Depending on where the stamp is located they may not have noticed it, and didn't think the victim was wearing anything particularly notable.

maybe they just didn't wanna do anymore with the body than they had to, may have been a little squeamish/nervous?:confused:
 
As someone pointed out earlier (cant remember who said it but if ur reading this, person, it was all u babe!!!) it is entirely possible that the hands were taken by wild life, but that would entail the deceased having been out in the open for however long it'd take for scavengers to eat his hands before being put into a duffel bag and dropped in a lake.

If that is what happened, then the body may have been left unattended for a certain amount of time. The remains may have been hidden in one location and then moved to the lake for extra-measure. I low-key doubt that wildlife took the head, that was probably done by a human. If he didn't have any DNA in any databases then logically it would be more difficult to ID the deceased with his head gone.

I wonder, if someone took the time to remove the head/hands but not the stamped belt then they may not have known him very well, not enough for the victim to be like "hey bro check out my cool belt, it has my name on it and a very unique buckle." Depending on where the stamp is located they may not have noticed it, and didn't think the victim was wearing anything particularly notable.

maybe they just didn't wanna do anymore with the body than they had to, may have been a little squeamish/nervous?:confused:

I think I was the one who mentioned the wildlife. I wasn't thinking the body had been moved, although that is another possibility. I was thinking that a zipper might have been open in the duffel or a small hole formed, allowing small animals in to carry off small parts. I don't mean to be disturbing but I have read in other cases that small rodents will eat the small pieces of a body first (as well as the soft tissues). But since both hands were gone, I think it's more likely this man was dismembered to fit in the duffel and the killer left out the hands (and possibly the head) on purpose to try to delay identification. MOO.

Removing the hands might be "old school" thinking, but it will take quite a bit of time to run DNA. The killer might be hoping that by the time they figure out who the victim is and start tracking down his last movements via credit card records, for example, any video would be erased. The killer might hope that witness memories will be too fuzzy by then to remember key details. The time it takes to ID a victim is also time a suspect could use to flee to another location or another country. I think someone would have to live under a rock to not be aware of DNA. But unfortunately we are long way from having the near instant DNA ID's that happens in police tv shows and movies. In real life it takes weeks, months, sometimes up to a year to get DNA results back-- and then the results might not have a match anywhere. Hopefully this perp made some major mistakes. Hopefully someone recognizes the victim's belt and/or t-shirt. MOO.
 
Just some speculation.....

1) If this UID was a transient, the name Gerald on the belt could mean absolutely nothing as it was probably purchased from a thrift shop or given to him at a shelter.
2) Being transient would account for why he has not been reported as a local missing person
3) Pehaps killed by a fellow transient/traveler for his belongings/money

I hope they learn who he is...his family deserves to know.
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
108
Guests online
796
Total visitors
904

Forum statistics

Threads
589,928
Messages
17,927,781
Members
228,003
Latest member
Knovah
Back
Top