CA CA - Malibu John Doe, 20-30, UP15043, found with swiss francs in his pockets, Jan'86

[jellabiafro]

Hey there. I'm trying to figure out who the man found on the beach in Malibu in 86 was. Here is his unidentified/wikia description. Namus link is at the bottom of the post.



The decedent was found by residents of the local area. His fully-clothed body had appeared to come ashore after he had spent a relatively short period of time in the water, as it is believed that the victim died after the beginning of the new year. His cause of death is unlisted.

The victim is considered to have been generally facially recognizable upon discovery, although some aspects of his appearance were slightly altered as a result of postmortem changes.

There are several indications that the decedent had originated from Europe. The victim was found with a large quantity of Swiss currency, which was mixed in with American money. He was also found with several articles of clothing that appear to have originated from Spain and Portugal.

Characteristics

• Brown hair, about 20 cm (roughly eight inches) long
  
  
• Corneal clouding from decomposition prevented conclusive determination of his eye color.
  
  
• He had short fingernails and increased keratin in his right fifth toe.
  
  
• He was not circumcised.
  

Clothing and accessories

• Brown, velvet-like money pouch
  
  
• Black jacket with plaid lining and corduroy collar
  
  
• Black, long-sleeved, size Large Michael Jackson t-shirt (made in Portugal)
  
  
• A white short sleeve polo shirt with the logo "Heineken Beer" over the left chest. The label says "Especially made for Heinekens EL". (made in Portugal)
  
  
• Light blue jeans with the name "Larri" on waist buttons. The jeans also had a label reading, "Manager-Madrid-Larri".
  
  
• Blue Jockey underwear, size medium
  
  
• White socks with red-and-white trim at the top.
  
  
• White Adidas low-top tennis shoes in good condition (made in Taiwan).
  
  
• The decedent also had a broken yellow metal chain, which may have once belonged to a watch.
  

The possibility of JEAN PYTHON - links (disappeared in 85 (1 month ish prior)) have been ruled out. I also checked the Royal Xaver Schurtenberger file and I am almost sure that's not him.

I live in Switzerland and would like to help. I think publishing a robot-portrait of him in the swiss newspapers could help retrace who he was. It seems no article in the swiss press has been released about it in 86, I checked the numeric archives thoroughly.



NAMUS : BEWARE - POSTMORTEM PICS. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[MarziPanda]

It would be good if someone could do a recon. It's a little hard to get a good sense of what he looked like alive from the postmortem pictures. He almost looks like two different people in the front picture and from the side.

Swiss money, clothes from Spain and Portugal. I wonder if there might be criminal connections, since there are criminals with bank accounts in Switzerland. And the Swiss money he had on him is described as a 'large quantity', which is a little suspicious. Since he washed up on shore he was probably on a boat, but I didn't think Switzerland had many sailors - lack of a coastline and all that. I'd say he was mostly likely European but we should look at all of Europe too, not just Switzerland, Spain and Portugal. He's got thick eyebrows, that's quite distinctive.

It's tough to look for candidates when there are a lot of countries that lack a comprehensive missing persons database.

 

[jellabiafro]

He could have been on a cruise but it was New Year : weather on that day was pretty cold at night (50°F). He was definitely not dressed as a sailor ; also we only have lakes in Switzerland, no salty water of any kind, no sea, no ocean. About the spanish and portuguese items : they can have been purchased directly from Switzerland as we used to import a lot of spanish and portuguese products, he could also be orignally from there and had lived in Switzerland (Spanish portuguese italians are well established communities in our area)
My guess is that he went to some party in Malibu or Venice, got <mod edit to "drunk">, drowned and ended up on Malibu beach. The reasons of his death can be shady and involve foul play for it has not been ruled out by NAMUS.
The weird thing : having a lot of swiss francs and being able to travel to the US (which was extremely pricey) is an odd thing when you're only in your 30's. Especially when no one comes looking for you.. This makes it really odd. If the serial numbers found of the swiss notes follow each other it means they come from one only place, like a bank. If they're all mixed up it can also mean the same but also tell us a lot more about his activities (illlegal or simply had taken all of his savings with him?)
So many points to talk about with so few informations. And you're right. He definitely needs a reconstruction.

 

[jellabiafro]

Also I have a question : how does this recon process usually go ? Do the authorities usually provide it ? Are there professionnal forensic artists registered on websleuth that would do it ? I have no clue how much it costs or how it gets done, sorry for I'm not aware of sleuths-shenanigans, I'm kinda new to this.

 

[MarziPanda]

Also I have a question : how does this recon process usually go ? Do the authorities usually provide it ? Are there professionnal forensic artists registered on websleuth that would do it ? I have no clue how much it costs or how it gets done, sorry for I'm not aware of sleuths-shenanigans, I'm kinda new to this.

Usually, the authorities do it. Since this case is from 1986, if they were doing a recon, they'd probably have done one by now. Maybe they think it's not necessary because he has a clear postmortem, but it's hard from the pictures to get a clear idea of what he looked like alive.

There are a few websleuths members who do recons, but of course they're all very busy people.

 

[jellabiafro]

Usually, the authorities do it. Since this case is from 1986, if they were doing a recon, they'd probably have done one by now. Maybe they think it's not necessary because he has a clear postmortem, but it's hard from the pictures to get a clear idea of what he looked like alive.

There are a few websleuths members who do recons, but of course they're all very busy people.

Yeah I think the main reason a recon should be made is to make it available to a large public without shocking most of the people who can be sensitive to post mortem images. Also an "alive" version of him might help people recognize him more easily. I'm suprised the items he was wearing mentionned on Namus aren't available on pictures, as well as the mention of the amount of swiss cash he had with him

 

[victoriarobinson642]

I find the Heineken shirt especially interesting - was the text written in English?
Also, I can't find anything on Heineken EL. My best guess is that EL means 'English Language" or "European Line",

 

[jellabiafro]

I find the Heineken shirt especially interesting - was the text written in English?
Also, I can't find anything on Heineken EL. My best guess is that EL means 'English Language" or "European Line",

Yes, I have tried to look through it. Some might say it would mean "Executive leadership", could also be "Greece" (EL is the code for the country).

 

[andrea]

EL could be Europa League (soccer championship), Heineken is a sponsor. I am not sure if they were in 1986.

I do not find it strange that he had money with him, paying with cards was not so usual back in those days. Would be interesting how much they mean by "large quantity".

 

[jellabiafro]

EL could be Europa League (soccer championship), Heineken is a sponsor. I am not sure if they were in 1986.

I do not find it strange that he had money with him, paying with cards was not so usual back in those days. Would be interesting how much they mean by "large quantity".

Hey, I thought you were right and that could be a lead so I just checked and that's not gonna help us : Heineken and UEFA partnership started in 1994.

And yeah it's totally not strange that he had money with him. I have sent an e-mail to the person in charge of the case in the US and hope they will disclose more details regarding this amount of cash and other things on his NamUs file.

 

[jellabiafro]

I was discussing the case with some close friends and we came up with other leads on what might have happened to him and imagined another situation :

He checks in at a motel or hotel or stays at a place he doesn't trust enough to leave his cash at.

He keeps his pouch in the right front pocket of his jeans (that's where it was found according to the report). The reason he uses a flat/soft fabric to stuff all of his cash is he can easily hide it in his jeans.

An important point has been missed in our threads and "conversation" : He had a broken metal chain that "could have possibly belong to a watch". Not a bracelet. A chain (the ones used for old watches or maybe a pendant, anything worn as some kind of jewelery. It was broken and still on him, maybe because of the multiple layers of clothes and collars he had on. The ocean was mainly calm between the 31st and 1st of december (even the 2nd), no storm, no strong winds, no rain. He had his shoes on but the chain remained. Someone probably snatched it.

He probably was carrying a bag or fannypack where his passport was, amongst maybe a bit of cash he would have kept aside to pay for things (while he would hide the pouch in his pocket). Someone was maybe after his chain and bag, snatches the chain and pushes him. He's drunk falls from the pier, a pontoon or a boat, he drowns, his body gets washed out on the beach.

I don't know if you folks think it makes sense. That's no big thriller or drama, that'd imply simple mugging situation that ended real bad, in an area like LA that had pretty sulphurous areas especially back in the 80's.

 

[andrea]

It's unfortunate that there are not more pictures of clothing and items. I find it strange that with style of the clothing description, the man would have a pocket watch, it doesn't really fit.

 

[jellabiafro]

It's unfortunate that there are not more pictures of clothing and items. I find it strange that with style of the clothing description, the man would have a pocket watch, it doesn't really fit.

It could've been a simple pendant, doesn't have to be a watch...

 

[victoriarobinson642]

I've touched up John Doe a bit - the two photos of him look vastly different.

 

[jellabiafro]

Wow, thank you, this is awesome.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Some random thoughts about this case.

Can anyone suggest any significance to this: "right 5th toe showed increased keratin". Maybe related to playing some kind of a sport, some kind of injury, or maybe just poorly fitting shoes?

The shirt labels seem to suggest they were made in Portugal for an English speaking or international market unless these were translations from or by the investigators. The "Heinekens EL" is especially intriguing. The "s"with no apostrophe seems odd. Maybe it was a typo as "Heineken's" was being phased out of their logos around that time. I don't know if EL was being commonly used as initials for Greece before it was in the EU. Maybe EL is "Export Lager". Or maybe it is just the shirt size. I found a possibly similar polo shirt for sale at poshmark.com that might be suggesting this:

Lastly, I'm probably not the only person who thought of "Stay out of Malibu Lebowski" when they saw this case's location. Could this have been an uninvited party guest who imbibed too much of something at a local New Years party? I didn't see there was a mention of any tox testing in the autopsy report.

 

[Bit of hope]

Some random thoughts about this case.

Can anyone suggest any significance to this: "right 5th toe showed increased keratin". Maybe related to playing some kind of a sport, some kind of injury, or maybe just poorly fitting shoes?

Built up Keratin on your toenails could be some kind of identifier? But because it seems so common to me (nail fungus), not that big of deal. But maybe it also could refer to something as simple as missing nutrients in the diet. Other possibles are psoriasis. Healthfully

Toenail fungus causes keratin debris, or a buildup of keratin.
What Causes Toenail Fungus? How to Prevent Onychomycosis, or Crusty Yellow Nails | Men’s Health

 

[jellabiafro]

Some random thoughts about this case.

Can anyone suggest any significance to this: "right 5th toe showed increased keratin". Maybe related to playing some kind of a sport, some kind of injury, or maybe just poorly fitting shoes?

The shirt labels seem to suggest they were made in Portugal for an English speaking or international market unless these were translations from or by the investigators. The "Heinekens EL" is especially intriguing. The "s"with no apostrophe seems odd. Maybe it was a typo as "Heineken's" was being phased out of their logos around that time. I don't know if EL was being commonly used as initials for Greece before it was in the EU. Maybe EL is "Export Lager". Or maybe it is just the shirt size. I found a possibly similar polo shirt for sale at poshmark.com that might be suggesting this:

Lastly, I'm probably not the only person who thought of "Stay out of Malibu Lebowski" when they saw this case's location. Could this have been an uninvited party guest who imbibed too much of something at a local New Years party? I didn't see there was a mention of any tox testing in the autopsy report.

That's right, I haven't seen any toxicological results. The scenario you describe is very likely what must've happened. Also there's a possibility that he got mugged and/or thrown in the ocean. About the shirt, the "Export Lager" theory is probably the most accurate. Didn't think about it ! Thanx !

 

[coffeeandacig]

I know @victoriarobinson642 cleaned up the frontal view photo of this guy. I thought I'd render the side view PM photo, because as @victoriarobinson642 pointed out... he looks so different in it.

Hope it helps!

 

[canteloupe]

There was some shady stuff going on in Malibu during the last week of December 1985.

I've been trying to track down photos from NYE celebration or New Year's Day brunch at Geoffrey's, which had just opened in late 1984 or early 1985. Besides the yacht/private residence angle, it seems like one of the only places where you could have fallen into the ocean.

Such a strange outfit though, particularly the MJ long-sleeved tee and company polo, that I wonder if anyone checked outgoing exchange students or recently graduated alums at Pepperdine.

I do agree that a reconstruction would benefit this UID tremendously. I feel he'll end up looking quite like Robert Pattinson.