MUTILATED BODY MAY BE TEENAGER
But still no identification
By Joe Callahan
Reporter Staff Writer
A mutilated body found behind a dumpster north of Lake City may belong to a teenager who was killed about 6 hours before it was discovered 18 days ago.
Authorities still haven't identified the torso--which was missing the head, hands and legs--but a forensic anthropologist believes the remains belong to a white male in his upper teens.
"Though the Medical Examiner's Office said the age range was 15 to 25 years old, we have other information that leads us to believe he was in the low range of that estimate," said Columbia County Sheriff
Tom Tramel. Tramel was speaking on information supplied by forensic anthropologist
Dr. William Maples. "Dr. Maples believes the man was 17 or 18."
Tramel also said the man
could have been killed at the scene of the macabre discovery made June 5th, despite his office's initial suspicion that the man wasn't killed at the scene.
"He could have been killed
in a vehicle parked at the scene and then dumped," said Tramel, referring to an area by a dumpster behind the BP service station on US 441 at the Interstate 10 overpass.
Toxicology reports also reveal the man had no drugs or alcohol in the small amount of blood found inside the torso.
"There were traces of cold medication like Alka-Seltzer Plus," Tramel said.
"Medical officials also found a very small mole on the torso, located just above the naval and just below the rib cage."
Tramel said the torso belonged to a man who was between 5'8" and 6'0" with a weight of 180-200 pounds.
Two retired FBI agents arrived in Lake City Wednesday to help complete a profile of a possible suspect and the victim to be placed on computer at FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia.
Called Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP), the computer houses case information of nationwide unsolved brutal crimes for research to help find possible patterns of criminal conduct.
The officers, who work for the Marion County (Ocala, FL) Sheriff's Office under Sheriff Ken Ergle, retired from the FBI's behavior science unit.
They are top-notched agents who will help us narrow down the field of possible victims and suspects," Tramel said. "I really appreciate Sheriff Ken Ergle for his help."
Tramel said nationwide teletypes have been sent to all law enforcement agencies in hopes "that similar cases or crimes" can be discovered.
Despite all the vital parts of the body needed for identification are missing, it doesn't necessarily mean the killer didn't want the body identified, Tramel said.
"That could have been the furthest thing from his/her mind," Said Tramel.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has also been contacted to look into possible missing persons in South Georgia because of the close proximity of the death to the disposal.
"We feel if he wasn't killed at the scene, then he was killed within a six hours drive of Lake City," Tramel said. "That's why we decided to seek help from the GBI."
The body was found at 9:30AM by a woman as she walked her dog after her vehicle was towed to the station after breaking down on I-10. For hours after the discovery, investigators sifted through the dumpster for evidence.
After nearly three weeks of searching, the missing body parts still have not been located.
NOTE: Big possibilities, just in the article alone!