Technology using family members’ DNA helped unlock the identities of two local men found dead decades ago. Now investigators are looking for clues to solve the unrelated deaths from the 1980s.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced it had determined the identities of two John Doe cold cases:
- On April 4, 1981, the body of a man was discovered by hunters in the East Miller’s Cove area of Blount County. Investigators determined he was a white male, likely between the ages of 20 and 35. New tests determined he was William Thomas Green (known as Tommy Green), a dad and coach from the Fountain City neighborhood in Knoxville, according to the Blount County Sheriff’s Office. He was last seen by family members in Knoxville around 1977.
- On August 30, 1988, railway workers found a body at the Coster Rail Yard area of Knoxville. Experts knew he was a white male likely between the ages of 21 and 30 and that his death was a homicide, but they didn’t know his name. Investigators recently determined he was James Robert Benson from Knoxville. Benson was last seen in March 1988.
How did investigators do it? Persistence and taking advantage of technological advances.
At the time of the crimes, of course, local police used investigative methods available in the 1980s…