Lorelei Heath

Mr. Ippolito

Current Event 8

11.14.19

Bineth, Jessica. “Somerton Man: One of Australia's Most Baffling Cold Cases Could Be a Step Closer to Being Solved.” Somerton Man: One of Australia's Most Baffling Cold Cases Could Be a Step Closer to Being Solved - RN - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 2 Jan. 2018, 3:20,mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-14/somerton-man-cold-case-could-be-one-step-closer-to-solved/9245512.

When a John Doe appeared on a Beach in Adelaide, Australia on December 1st, 1948 with no belongings and no identification it becomes a mystery. To crack the case of the “Somerton Man”, detectives had to eliminate some possible reasons which lead to his death. Since they found no outward injuries, they believed it was a suicide. Later in the investigation, during the autopsy, they thought it was an unnatural death because they discovered internal bleeding, but no poison. Since there were no signs of poison, homicide was canceled out. A curious and devoted, Dereck Abbott, is trying to solve the case. Analyzing the Somerton Man’s file, Derek read that the police found one thing on him. It was a rolled-up piece of paper with the words, “Taman Shud”, which translates to “the end” or “finished”. This also led the police to rule it as a suicide. Which is what they did back in 1948. The book from the piece of paper, which was thrown into a business man’s car, was finally found. The back of the book contained code and a phone number. The police tracked the number to a nurse, Jo Thompson. The nurse had claimed she did not know the man, but when she saw the plaster of his body, she made a face as if she were to faint. Derek tried to track down the nurse from 1948 but she died of old age. Derek then found, who he thought, was the Somerton Man’s daughter, Rachel. They spent time together constantly and they lived happily ever after. 

Derek tried twice to have the Somerton Man’s body dug up and exhumed, but was denied the right to. He petitioned for this, to see if Rachal and her possible father did have the same DNA and to clarify his identity. After looking at the plaster he found DNA fragments that still had a way to compare them to Rachel’s. Derek had the DNA tested but the process would take a year to be correct. While he waited, he still petitioned to exhume the Somerton Man’s body. 

The story of the Somerton Man is one to remember. The article, I thought, wrote it very well and gave great, detailed information. The only thing I would correct was the lack of information about the forensic science they used to compare the DNA fragments, along with how exhuming a body works. Overall, the story was captivating and enjoyable, and I highly recommend reading it.