Identified! TN - Knoxville, Coster Rail Yd, WhtMale 21-30, UP1562, 'THE BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT' tshirt, 30 Aug 1988 *id'd March 2026 - James Robert Benson*

[ChatteringBirds]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Unidentified Person /
NamUs #UP1562
Male, White / Caucasian

Date Body Found: August 30, 1988
Location Found: Knoxville, Tennessee

ME/C Case Number: UT88-20F

Estimated Age Group: Adult
Estimated Age Range (Years): 21-30
Estimated Year of Death: 1988
Estimated PMI: 1 Months
Height::5' 6"(66 inches)
Estimated Weight: Cannot Estimate

Circumstances
Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: August 30, 1988
NamUs Case Created: April 11, 2008

Location Found: Knoxville, Tennessee
County: Knox County

Circumstances of Recovery
Found in the Coster Rail Yard area in Knoxville. Perimortem cut marks found on several skeletal elements. Body then buried under railroad tracks.

Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Near complete or complete skeleton

Physical Description
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Unknown

Distinctive Physical Features
No Information Entered

Clothing and Accessories
RED KNIT MATERIAL PULL 0VER TSHIRT W/L0G0 THE BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT, On the Body

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Three rule outs, none of which have linked NAMUS accounts
(The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) Wesley Fisher was added today, though.)

 

[ChatteringBirds]

View attachment 275293
Three rule outs, none of which have linked NAMUS accounts
(The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) Wesley Fisher was added today, though.)

Thanks so much. Okay, Wesley has been ruled-out. I created his thread here today so I'll make a post there.

 

[MadMcGoo]

I tried looking into “The Best Italian Restaurant” to see if that was a local place at the time. I don’t excel in searches like these...I keep coming up with a list of the best Italian restaurants in certain cities. It may not even be of any value as far as identifying him, but I thought it could narrow down a place of origin for the shirt.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I also wonder if the T-shirt is a clue (on the chance it was part of an employee uniform).

 

[Nancy Drew RN]

These are all kind of incidental comments, but if you look at the pdf at NamUs, Bill Bass was the examiner who responded at the scene. I was born in Knoxville, and if that were a local restaurant shirt, my first thought would be Naples, which closed last year after forty years in business. I've never known them to use that slogan, though.

Knoxville dining: Naples Italian Restaurant has closed
William M. Bass - Wikipedia

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Bumping thread up for the year.

 

[Caring1]

Altruda’s is known for the best Italian restaurant in Knoxville. They opened in January 1988. Still the same owners. Wonder if they have historic employee records and/or pictures of the shirts their employee’s wore at that time.

 

[Onfortuneswheel]

Looks like it was literally the name of the restaurant.

 

[Onfortuneswheel]

The shirt was four years old.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

The above article says mostly only transients frequent the area. Maybe there were two transients there one night, and one decided to murder the other? And our victim could thus be a transient who doesn't have ties to Tennessee.

 

[Beccalicious]

Bumping

 

[Beccalicious]

Bumping again

 

[Nancy Drew RN]

Unfortunately, it’s not clear to me if James Farmer was ever found, either.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

On the thread for MP35525 Michael Fischer, it's confirmed he has also been ruled-out. (He had sent a postcard to family from Knoxville in Sep. 1987, their last contact with him.)

 

[dotr]

Knoxville Homicide Victim Identified After More Than Three Decades

KNOXVILLE – A man whose remains were discovered in Knoxville in 1988 has now been identified through a partnership between the Knoxville Police Department, the Knox County Regional Forensic C…

tbinewsroom.com

James Benson born on September 11, 1965.

After 37 Years, Knoxville John Doe (1988) is Now Identified

Knoxville Police Department, Knox County Regional Forensic Center, and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Team with Othram to Identify a 1988 Homicide Victim

dnasolves.com

''In August 1988, the skeletal remains of an unidentified man were found in the Coster Rail Yard area in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Knoxville Police Department and Knox County Regional Forensic Center responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. The man's body had been buried under railroad tracks and his death was ruled a homicide. Investigators determined the remains belonged to a White adult man, likely between 21 to 30 years old. It was estimated that he was 5' 6" to 5' 11" tall. The man was found with a red knit pullover t-shirt with a logo and the words "The Best Italian Restaurant."

Investigators worked to identify the man and a traditional STR DNA profile was developed and entered into CODIS for comparison purposes, but no matches were returned. Despite a lengthy investigation, the man could not be identified and became known as Knoxville John Doe (1988). Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP1562.

''In 2023, investigators teamed with Othram to leverage identity inference, a process that enables investigators to identify individuals from DNA evidence, even when there is no known reference sample to initially compare against. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Cold Case and Unidentified Human Remains Initiative along with the Knox County Regional Forensic Center and Knoxville Police Department worked together to submit forensic evidence to Othram's laboratory headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.

At Othram, scientists worked to develop a DNA extract from the provided skeletal remains, and used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive SNP profile for the John Doe. This SNP profile powered a forensic search led by Othram's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team, resulting in new investigative leads about the man's identity.

A follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the man. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified man. This investigation led to the man's positive identification as James Benson born on September 11, 1965. Benson was last seen near the end of March 1988 when he was 22 years old.

An investigation into what happened to James Benson is ongoing. Anyone with information about Benson or what happened to him is asked to contact the Knoxville Police Department Homicide Unit at 865-215-7275.''

 

[dotr]

Mar 9, 2026
A man whose remains were found in 1988 has been identified through a partnership between the Knoxville Police Department, the Knox County Regional Forensic Center, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Unidentified Human Remains Initiative.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I'm glad he has been identified. But it is tragic. He was very young, only 22-years-old.
Rest in peace, Mr. Benson.

 

[azure]

View attachment 651262

Knoxville Homicide Victim Identified After More Than Three Decades

KNOXVILLE – A man whose remains were discovered in Knoxville in 1988 has now been identified through a partnership between the Knoxville Police Department, the Knox County Regional Forensic C…

tbinewsroom.com

James Benson born on September 11, 1965.

After 37 Years, Knoxville John Doe (1988) is Now Identified

Knoxville Police Department, Knox County Regional Forensic Center, and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Team with Othram to Identify a 1988 Homicide Victim

dnasolves.com

''In August 1988, the skeletal remains of an unidentified man were found in the Coster Rail Yard area in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Knoxville Police Department and Knox County Regional Forensic Center responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. The man's body had been buried under railroad tracks and his death was ruled a homicide. Investigators determined the remains belonged to a White adult man, likely between 21 to 30 years old. It was estimated that he was 5' 6" to 5' 11" tall. The man was found with a red knit pullover t-shirt with a logo and the words "The Best Italian Restaurant."

Investigators worked to identify the man and a traditional STR DNA profile was developed and entered into CODIS for comparison purposes, but no matches were returned. Despite a lengthy investigation, the man could not be identified and became known as Knoxville John Doe (1988). Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP1562.

''In 2023, investigators teamed with Othram to leverage identity inference, a process that enables investigators to identify individuals from DNA evidence, even when there is no known reference sample to initially compare against. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Cold Case and Unidentified Human Remains Initiative along with the Knox County Regional Forensic Center and Knoxville Police Department worked together to submit forensic evidence to Othram's laboratory headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.

At Othram, scientists worked to develop a DNA extract from the provided skeletal remains, and used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive SNP profile for the John Doe. This SNP profile powered a forensic search led by Othram's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team, resulting in new investigative leads about the man's identity.

A follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the man. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified man. This investigation led to the man's positive identification as James Benson born on September 11, 1965. Benson was last seen near the end of March 1988 when he was 22 years old.

An investigation into what happened to James Benson is ongoing. Anyone with information about Benson or what happened to him is asked to contact the Knoxville Police Department Homicide Unit at 865-215-7275.''

What a haunting photograph. RIP, Mr. Benson.

 

[Warwick1991]

Very sad. It sounds like a missing person report was never filed. He was local - didn't someone miss him? When there is no missing person report filed, this is an indicator of family involvement in some cases. There are other possibilities - he could have been an orphan or a foster child, with no immediate family. There's also the possibility that a missing person report was rejected on account of the fact that James was an adult. I hope his murder can be solved.

I checked My Heritage, and there's nothing about him there.