New face to help identify headless man in 1997 Sydney murder mystery

The mystery identity of a beheaded man found dumped in a Sydney river 25 years ago is closer to being solved after police experts created a digital facial reconstruction. See the video.

Twenty five years after a headless body was found in a river southwest of Sydney police have ramped up efforts to find the man’s killers and finally end the mystery.

Unsolved Homicide Unit detectives have released state-of-the-art digital forensic facial reconstruction images to The Saturday Tele­graph, while the NSW Government is supporting their quest for answers, announcing a $500,000 reward for information that leads to his killers being caught.

The man’s torso was discovered submerged at 11.30am on February 21, 1997 by a couple who had stopped at a public rest area on the southern side of the Hume Hwy at Penrose.

The torso had been weighted down with concrete. The man’s head had been ­decapitated at the base of the neck, likely thanks to a blow from a long, bladed instrument such as a machete.

Fishermen later found the head in a shopping bag in mudflats in Sydney’s south, more than 150km from where the torso was discovered.

The man’s remains and other items were subjected to extensive examinations before a forensic sculptor from Melbourne University created a plaster recreation of his face, which was displayed as part of an appeal for information later that year.

A plaster recreation of the unidentified man’s face. Picture: NSW Police

Police create a digital reconstruction of a beheaded man in 1997. Picture: NSW Police

The final digital facial reconstruction of the murdered man. Picture: NSW Police

Frustrated detectives said at the time the “problem of identification has effectively blocked the hunt for his killers”.

They believed their mystery man was 35 to 45 years old, and had undergone extensive dental work. He also had a distinctive 3cm tattoo on his inside right upper arm, of a circle passing through a capital A. Investigators were told it might be the symbol of a Russian crime gang.

Due to the fact the man’s description did not match any missing persons report, and there was no fingerprint or DNA record, police concluded he may have been from overseas. However, checks with Interpol proved fruitless.

In 1999, an inquest found the man had died by strangulation by a person or persons unknown, on or about Thursday February 20, 1997.

Unsolved Homicide Unit detectives in their continued quest for answers turned to the NSW Police Facial Recognition Unit to create an ­updated reconstruction of the man’s face.

Homicide Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty, said advances in technology have enabled a new profile of the man’s face to be developed to a very high accuracy.

The tattoo on the man’s right arm. Picture: NSW Police

A side profile of the man’s face. Picture: NSW Police

Police divers at Peakhurst following the discovery of the man’s head in 1997.

The 1997 Daily Telegraph article trying to identify mystery man. Picture: NSW Police

“The technology used in this reconstruction is able to recreate the likeness of what the deceased man would’ve looked like at the time to an incredibly high standard,” Det Supt Doherty said.

“He was murdered in a particularly gruesome fashion and his naked body was left in a river on the side of a highway, his head decapitated.

“This brutal crime has remained a mystery for a significant period of time and anyone who can help solve it may receive $500,000 for their efforts, so please come forward.”

Deputy Premier and Police Minister Paul Toole said while this is a “particularly gruesome crime that occurred decades ago, police believe their questions can still be answered by someone in our community”.

“This investigation has involved some truly remarkable work by the NSW Police Facial Recognition Unit to help identify this man,” Mr Toole said.

“I’d encourage anyone with even the smallest piece of information to reach out to police.”