State Government considers exhuming Somerton Man for DNA test that could solve 70-year mystery
ATTORNEY-General Vickie Chapman has opened the door to exhume the Somerton Man and extract DNA that could finally solve the 70-year mystery of his identity.
The cold case:
- Cracking the Somerton Man code
- Bid to DNA test the Somerton Man fails
- The nurse who denied knowing the Somerton Man is identified
- Mystery lady friend could hold the key to Somerton Man's fate
- New twist in Somerton Man case as family comes forward
- Film promises to reveal new evidence
ATTORNEY-General Vickie Chapman has opened the door to exhume the Somerton Man and extract DNA that could finally solve the 70-year mystery of his identity.
In a statement, Ms Chapman said the State Government would consider requests to exhume the body of the man – once thought to be a Cold War spy because of his eastern European appearance and the discovery of what was thought to be a coded message.
However she said there was the proviso that the cost of retrieval be privately met.
The previous attorney-general, Labor’s John Rau, in 2011 rejected an exhumation request from University of Adelaide academic Derek Abbott.
Professor Abbott has a longstanding interest in the case and is married to a woman, Rachel Egan, he met during his research who is potentially the dead man’s granddaughter.
Mr Rau said at the time there was insufficient stakeholder support to warrant disinterment.
Prof Abbott said yesterday he was encouraged by the response because exhumation for DNA was the only way the man’s identity would be resolved.
He had no time frame for a new bid but said it was “always on the cards”.
“At the moment, I am exploring various different avenues,” Prof Abbott said.
He did not anticipate the money would be an impediment, even if it had to be crowd-sourced.
On Thursday, Adelaide documentary maker Wayne Groom will host a sellout premiere of Missing Pieces: The Curious Case of the Somerton Man, which draws the story together and interviews some of the original sources.
They include one of the men who found the body on December 1, 1948, propped against the seawall with a half-smoked cigarette on his lapel, and the sister of the late Jo Thomson, the Adelaide woman long suspected of having given birth to the Somerton Man’s son.
Ms Thomson’s sister says in the documentary Jo became pregnant before meeting her husband George, adding weight to the theory that Rachel, who is Jo Thomson’s granddaughter, was also the granddaughter of the mystery man.
“Friends said that she told them at George’s funeral that she was grateful to George for raising a child that wasn’t his own,” Mr Groom said.
“But I think the only way that can be proved is if there is an exhumation of the body and the DNA matches Rachel’s.”
Three senior SA detectives will attend the screening, including the Major Crime detective in charge of the Somerton Man cold-case file.
Mr Groom said he understood they were interested to see what the documentary said about the potential identity of the man who is buried at West Terrace Cemetery.
Mr Groom, who collaborated with Uni SA lecturer Carolyn Bilsborow, admitted they set out hoping to solve the mystery on their own.
“Everyone gets intrigued by that story when they read about it and we thought we could solve the case and for a time we thought we had,” Mr Groom said. “I think it’s pretty hopeless trying to get him identified through anyone who knew him at the time.”
He now thinks, like Prof Abbott, that a DNA match is the only way to discover who the man was.
While more than 200 people have come forward thinking they knew him, they all proved to be false leads.
“It seems pretty logical after all this to exhume him and extract his DNA,” Mr Groom said.
“And it would put to rest whether Rachel is the granddaughter or not.”