FL FL - Collier Co., WhtMale UP1303, 21-35, burned body, mustache, May'80

Migmuu

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https://identifyus.org/en/cases/1303
http://www.doenetwork.org/hot/hotcase473.html
http://www.fluiddb.com/php/details10.php?case=105


NamUs and DoeNetwork give slightly different stats on this man. The stats in the title are from NamUs.
The condition of the body is listed as being ''charred/burned'' and DoeNetwork lists the COD as gunshot wounds.
I looked on several different sites but couldn't find a facial reconstruction or even a sketch. Sorry about that.

Demographics
  • 21 - 35 years old on NamUs, 21 - 30 on DoeNetwork
  • Race: White
  • Sex: Male
  • Height: Estimated to be 71 inches (5'11) on NamUs, 72 inches (6 ft) on DoeNetwork, FLUIDDB puts him at between 5'10 and 6'0.
  • Weight: 175 pounds, Estimated
  • Estimated postmortem interval: 1 day
Circumstances
  • Found on May 21st, 1980
  • Location: DeSoto Blvd, south of Alligator Alley
  • A man discovered the body while fishing at a canal on a dead-end road.
Physical description
  • Dark brown hair
  • Brown eyes
  • Has a mustache
  • No tattoos
  • From DoeNetwork: ''Missing two teeth from his upper jaw and one tooth from the lower jaw, all three teeth were back teeth, also on the upper left side of the jaw, one of the four front teeth was recessed behind the other front teeth.''
Clothing description
  • No clothing, but an eyeglass frame was found near the body

Dentals and fingerprints are available and entered, DNA is available but hasn't been submitted yet.
 
Richard Romano
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/r/romano_richard.html
Missing from Largo, Florida

  1. Age is within range (28 years old)
  2. Race is a match (White)
  3. Height is slightly out of range. If you go by the UID being 5'11 - 6'0, then Romano is just one or two inches off
  4. Hair is a match (dark brown)
  5. Eye color is a match (brown)
  6. Both Romano and the UID have a mustache
  7. Neither of them have tattoos
  8. Both were in Florida. Romano disappeared from Largo, which is 211 miles from Collier County (where the UID was found). However, he has drug trafficking connections to Miami, and that would make the distance about 90 miles. That's still far but not terribly far.

He was not reported missing until 1984 - four years after the fact. His brother was too scared to report it because of Romano's link to drug trafficking. That could explain why law enforcement missed the potential match to this UID.

No automatic rule-out could be made because Romano only has DNA and the UID only has dentals.

I'm thinking about calling this PM in tomorrow.
 
So this UID was technically found in Naples near Alligator Alley. I've driven to Miami from there and I think it took less than two hours, which seems more than reasonable to me for this MP. Good dumping ground for bodies, to put it bluntly. And the other stats match. Did you submit him?
 
So this UID was technically found in Naples near Alligator Alley. I've driven to Miami from there and I think it took less than two hours, which seems more than reasonable to me for this MP. Good dumping ground for bodies, to put it bluntly. And the other stats match. Did you submit him?

I'll be submitting him tomorrow morning
 
I've called the medical examiner's office four times over the past 5 hours and have yet to get a reply. They're probably busy right now. I just sent both the office and one of the investigators an e-mail, but I'll keep trying to get in contact with them over the phone.
 
Aaaand still nothing. They haven't replied to my emails and, every time I call, I just get sent to voicemail.

If I don't get a reply from the ME's office by Monday, I'll call whoever's in charge of Romano's case and see if I have more luck getting in contact with them.
 
I've been calling the ME's office almost every day for the past 2 weeks and have sent emails to three different addresses associated with the office and people in charge of the UID's case. Still no reply and I'm getting pretty frustrated about it.

I've put off contacting the detective in charge of Romano's MP case. I just didn't want to bug him in case the Collier County people started working on it, especially if it turned out that Romano and the UID aren't the same person. Meh, I guess it can't be helped.

EDIT: Just called him. A woman picked up and told me he's taking the day off for Veteran's Day, so I'll call him again tomorrow. I'm just glad I didn't get sent right to voicemail, lol.
 
In my one instance of contacting LE about a case, I had much better luck contacting the detective on the MP side than on the UID. My case was very recent, so it's hard to say if this is the norm though.
 
Yay! I got in contact with the detective handling Romano's case. He was very nice and I emailed him the information, links to the UID's DoeNetwork and NamUs pages, and a link to this thread. He emailed me back and said he will check into it.
 
Just got an email from the detective in charge of Romano's case.

Apparently he had been previously eliminated as a match to this UID. I just replied asking if the rule-out was a conclusive one; waiting for a reply. I'm gonna keep looking for potential matches, though.
 
WILLIAM HENNIG
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/hennig_william.html
https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/7530/0/
Missing from Daytona Beach, FL

  • Age (34) is within range
  • Race matches
  • Height (5'10) is within range
  • Weight (170) is only 5 pounds off the UID's weight
  • Hair color matches
  • Eye color matches
  • Has a moustache
  • No tattoos
  • Location. Although Hennig is listed as being missing from Daytona, he was going to Ft. Lauderdale for business purposes. It's only 122 miles from Ft. Lauderdale to where the UID was found
  • Some agencies list him as being missing since July 1980, but others put it at February 1980, which is only three months before the UID was found

He has no fingerprints, dentals or DNA in NamUs, so no automatic rule-out could be made.
 
"Second Body Found In Golden Gate Area," Naples Daily News, 22 May 1980, 3A.
Second Body Found In Golden Gate Area_.jpg
The charred body of a man has been found at the end of a deserted road deep in the Everglades, the Collier County Sheriff's Department said today. This was the second such find in the area in less than a week.

Investigator Harold Young said the man's hands had been tied, he had been shot at least three times, his body wrapped in a towel or sheet, a flammable liquid poured on it and the body set afire.

[...]

The body was found at the south end of DeSoto Boulevard south of Alligator Alley by a fisherman at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The body had been at the location about 48 hours and, Young said, he believes the man was shot elsewhere, carried to the site and burned.


"Burned and shot body discovered," News-Press [Fort Myers, FL], 23 May 1980, B1.
Burned and shot body discovered_.jpg
Collier County sheriff's officials are searching for clues that will lead to the identity of a murder victim who was shot three times and then set on fire. The body was found at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, in an [sic] remote area south of Desoto Boulevard by a man who was fishing in the area's canals.

Sheriff's officials believe the body is that of a white male, who was in his late 20s or early 30s. The victim was believe to be six feet or taller and weighed about 180 pounds, officials said. An autopsy revealed the murder victim was shot at least three times and that his hands were tied behind his back. A flammable liquid had been poured over the body and it was burned at the location were [sic] it was found, officials said. It is believed the body, which was burned beyond recognition, was at the location for at leat [sic] 48 hours before being discovered. Officials said they have no motive for the killing and may not have one until the body is identified.


"Third Man Is Found Murdered," Miami Herald, 24 May 1980, B1.
Third Man Is Found Murdered_.jpg
As with most of these types of killings, deputies believed this to be the leavings of an out-of-town drug deal gone awry. An investigation is continuing.
 

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