A forensic discovery helped a family to bury a World War I veteran almost a century after his disappearance.
On Christmas Day 2017, a human skull was discovered by a diver on a remote beach near Wilsons Prom, on the south coast of Gippsland, Victoria.
Below the water, the police soon found an almost intact skeleton.
But, despite a coroner’s inquiry, the remains, which came to be known as the “Sandy Point skeleton”, could not be identified – except that they belonged to a Caucasian man aged 21 to 37.
This year, the inquiry was reopened after a forensic investigator at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM), Dr. Dadna Hartman, sought to use a “new and emerging forensic tool.”
“At the time when the infamous Golden State Killer case hit the news for the use of investigative forensic genetic genealogy (IGG) to identify the suspect, the lesser-known case of the Buckskin Girl was also solved using the same method,” she wrote in an article published by Monash University.
“This was a true moment of enlightenment for me.
“How could we potentially use this… especially when we’ve exhausted all current investigative avenues?”
Dr. Hartman’s team was able to extract DNA from the remains, which was then sent to a Texas laboratory that produced a DNA profile.
Using two ancestry databases, the skeleton’s DNA profile was compared to existing records before a living member of the family, Kathryn Hogan, was contacted in Victoria.
Providing a DNA sample to the police, the skeleton was identified as being that of Mrs. Hogan’s great-uncle, Christopher Luke Moore, 29, who disappeared while swimming with his brother 95 years ago.
A 1929 coroner’s inquiry found that Mr. Moore had drowned just after 5 p.m. on December 30, 1928, in difficult conditions.
Witness Walter Clarke at the time said he saw Mr. Moore “in a big break” before “immediately disappearing” under the waves.
The Gippsland farmer and young father enlisted at 18 and served as a gunner in the 10th Field Artillery Brigade between 1917 and 1919.
Hartman described Mr. Moore’s identification as an “important occasion” for all who have worked tirelessly since 2017 to give a name to the Sandy Point skeleton.
“While this was an extraordinary case of a man identified about 95 years after drowning, each case of unidentified human remains deserves for all avenues to be explored to help them be identified,” she wrote.
“The IGG method will now open up investigation paths for many of them – and that’s why I love the work I do.”
She said this was possibly the first time the technology has been used to link unidentified human remains in a coroner’s inquiry.
Hogan, his great-niece, told ABC Radio Melbourne that she was approached by a detective this year to get a sample for a “historical” case.
“I was surprised,” she said.
“We didn’t know the full story… they solved a family mystery for us.”
Delivered an updated discovery that the skeleton was indeed from Christopher Moore, State Judge John Cain said this was the “first time” that forensic genetic genealogy was used to assist in a coronial discovery in Victoria.
“Mr. Moore’s identity could only be determined because of the highly qualified VIFM team’s work,” he said.
“Its extensive experience in DNA matching and use of forensic genetic genealogy is excellent.”
A forensic discovery helped a family to bury a World War I veteran almost a century after his disappearance.
On Christmas Day 2017, a human skull was discovered by a diver on a remote beach near Wilsons Prom, on the south coast of Gippsland, Victoria.
Below the water, the police soon found an almost intact skeleton.
But, despite a coroner’s inquiry, the remains, which came to be known as the “Sandy Point skeleton”, could not be identified – except that they belonged to a Caucasian man aged 21 to 37.
This year, the inquiry was reopened after a forensic investigator at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM), Dr. Dadna Hartman, sought to use a “new and emerging forensic tool.”
“At the time when the infamous Golden State Killer case hit the news for the use of investigative forensic genetic genealogy (IGG) to identify the suspect, the lesser-known case of the Buckskin Girl was also solved using the same method,” she wrote in an article published by Monash University.
“This was a true moment of enlightenment for me.
“How could we potentially use this… especially when we’ve exhausted all current investigative avenues?”
Dr. Hartman’s team was able to extract DNA from the remains, which was then sent to a Texas laboratory that produced a DNA profile.
Using two ancestry databases, the skeleton’s DNA profile was compared to existing records before a living member of the family, Kathryn Hogan, was contacted in Victoria.
Providing a DNA sample to the police, the skeleton was identified as being that of Mrs. Hogan’s great-uncle, Christopher Luke Moore, 29, who disappeared while swimming with his brother 95 years ago.
A 1929 coroner’s inquiry found that Mr. Moore had drowned just after 5 p.m. on December 30, 1928, in difficult conditions.
Witness Walter Clarke at the time said he saw Mr. Moore “in a big break” before “immediately disappearing” under the waves.
The Gippsland farmer and young father enlisted at 18 and served as a gunner in the 10th Field Artillery Brigade between 1917 and 1919.
Hartman described Mr. Moore’s identification as an “important occasion” for all who have worked tirelessly since 2017 to give a name to the Sandy Point skeleton.
“While this was an extraordinary case of a man identified about 95 years after drowning, each case of unidentified human remains deserves for all avenues to be explored to help them be identified,” she wrote.
“The IGG method will now open up investigation paths for many of them – and that’s why I love the work I do.”
She said this was possibly the first time the technology has been used to link unidentified human remains in a coroner’s inquiry.
Hogan, his great-niece, told ABC Radio Melbourne that she was approached by a detective this year to get a sample for a “historical” case.
“I was surprised,” she said.
“We didn’t know the full story… they solved a family mystery for us.”
Delivered an updated discovery that the skeleton was indeed from Christopher Moore, State Judge John Cain said this was the “first time” that forensic genetic genealogy was used to assist in a coronial discovery in Victoria.
“Mr. Moore’s identity could only be determined because of the highly qualified VIFM team’s work,” he said.
“Its extensive experience in DNA matching and use of forensic genetic genealogy is excellent.”
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