A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Kentucky State Police using DNA project to solve Northern Kentucky cold case from 1989


By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today

The Kentucky State Police are using the DNA Doe Project, an initiative that uses genetic genealogy to identify John and Jane Does, to identify the victim and solve a 30-year-old cold case in northern Kentucky.

The KSP and the DNA Doe Project are currently working on a case from 1989, in which human remains of a large male were found in a tobacco barn off KY State Highway 22 about 7.5 miles west of Dry Ridge near Williamstown. (Image from Kentucky Today)

The KSP and the DNA Doe Project are currently working on a case from 1989, in which human remains of a large male were found in a tobacco barn off KY State Highway 22 about 7.5 miles west of Dry Ridge near Williamstown, Ky. The victim was shot twice in the back of his head with a .22 caliber weapon, and he was stripped of his clothing. In addition, his hands were severed from his arms.

Forensic scientists have determined the victim to be a white male from 25 to 35 years of age, 6’5” tall and weighing approximately 220 pounds. He wore his medium brown hair in a crew cut with short sideburns. They say the victim died approximately two weeks prior to being found.

The KSP says volunteer investigative genetic genealogists with the DNA Doe Project have so far determined that the man likely has roots in Eastern Europe. He may also have ancestry from the Middle East and England. So far, the DNA matches are at the distant cousin level.

If you have any information about this case, please contact KSP Post 6 Dry Ridge at 859-428-1212 or call anonymously at 1-800-222-5555. You can also go to www.dnadoeproject.org to learn more about the DNA Doe Project.

This is not the first time Kentucky State Police have made use of the DNA Doe Project to solve a cold case. Recently, this technology was used to solve a 2001 cold case in Bowling Green to identify the remains of 45-year-old Dawn Clare Plonsky Wilkerson of Nashville.


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