GA GA - Savannah, BlkMale, 25-30, UP17577, found hogtied and gagged, wrapped in bedsheet, nickname "Rooster," Sep'88

[lightofmine99]

Savannah John Doe (1988)
a.k.a "Rooster John Doe"
UP17577 (NU)

Approximate location of where the John Doe was found.​

Circumstances
Approximately 27 year old black male found wrapped in a red cover/bedspread in a wooded area approximately 117 feet from the intersection of Dixon and Eurell Streets* in Savannah GA. Nickname: Rooster. (per NamUs).

* NamUs and Doe Network (which has the same circumstances) say "Eurell Street" but unless the street name changed slightly, I believe this is a typo as current maps indicate the street is spelled "EWELL."

Spoiler: INFORMATION

Case Numbers:

• Doe Network: 3906UMGA
• NamUs: UP17577
• ME/C: 880903549

Overview:

• Location: Savannah, Georgia. (Chatham Co.)
• Date Body Found: September 7, 1988.
• NamUs Created: March 13, 2018.
• Tribal Land: NO.
• PMI: 2 weeks (1988)
• State of Remains:Not recognizable - decomposing/putrefaction.
  • All parts recovered.
• Cause of Death: UNKNOWN

Physical:

• Sex: Male
• Race/Ethnicity: Black
• Age: 25-30 (adult, pre-30s).
• Height: 6'0" (72 inches), est.
• Weight: 170 lbs, est.
• Hair: BLACK
• Eye: UNKNOWN

Identifiers:

• Dentals: UNKNOWN
• DNA: UNKNOWN
• Prints: UNKNOWN
• Marks / Features: N/A

Personal Affects:

• Clothing:
  • Blue Jockey Shorts *
  • Blue Jockey Shorts (in mouth)
    • * It is not stated if the shorts were the brand "Jockey" or just that style.
• Jewelry: NONE
• Add'l Items:
  • beige phone cord (wrapped around neck)
  • brown extension cord (wrapped around hands and legs, hogtie)
  • navy blue cloth around the left ankle
  • red bedspread or “cover” (wrapped around body)

Links:
Doe Network: 3906UMGA (ARCHIVE)
NamUs: UP17577 (ARCHIVE)

 

[lightofmine99]

There are 0 exclusions on NamUs as of August 15, 2024.

Not sure why the cause of death is listed as "unknown" when it is apparent that Rooster John Doe most likely died of strangulation or asphyxiation and that the manner of death was more than likely homicide.

 

[dotr]

Maybe i missed it, but wondering how they knew his nick name was Rooster?
Could this be a hate attack for one reason or another.......
? imo, speculation.

 

[lightofmine99]

Maybe I missed it, but wondering how they knew his nick name was Rooster?

I couldn't find anything on why, either. Of course it is common for Does to have nicknames but they are usually related to where they were found or items found with them.

Maybe the reason why he was nicknamed "Rooster" was not written down and has been lost with time. It's weird they would include his nickname in NamUs but not state the origin (if they know it). Someone who worked at the department at the time might remember why.

Could this be a hate attack for one reason or another.......

I don't get that feeling. My first impression is that this was more personal, or perhaps serial-related. MOO.

 

[lightofmine99]

I don't have a subscription to Ancestry's newspaper website any more but I'm curious if any articles related to him are archived there. Maybe we could learn the origin of his nickname that way. MOO.

 

[fsngruv]

I was able to find a PDF about a Savannah crime study through the years, after scouring the document I did come across what I believe to be a mention of this crime. I have (attempted to) provide the PDF and a screen shot of what I believe to be the same case. It's on page 72 of the og publication or page 90 in my page viewer.

Eta: the PDF is called Practice Savannah Homicide in Word. And the text states...

"The victim was found approximately one week after he had been shot and
killed. He was lying in the woods, wrapped and bound in a red bedspread.
His legs and hands had been tied with an extension cord. Jockey shorts were
stuffed in his mouth. In an incident that happened two months earlier,
three black males were angry over a bad drug deal. They bound another black
male and placed him in a bathtub. They said they would kill him in the
morning. He escaped. This may have been the way this victim was killed"