Identified! IN - Henry County, Male UP, 17-24, Found Behind Gas Station, Oct'03 - Daniel Diaz

[JasonFutchLakeCityFL]

Jason said that there was a questionable action done by one of the detectives a week after this incident. What was it?

The questionable action was that literally a week after the body of this John Doe was found, Detective Frank Hittel was charged with assault when he punched a parapalegic in the face at a nightclub near Indianapolis. The man that was hit suffered facial fractures and a broken tooth.

 

[JasonFutchLakeCityFL]

So read this entire thread and something smells off about all of this. Just my opinion but I feel LE is saying this is gang related because they won't be questioned for not doing much on this case.
The PM even states he has no gang related tattoos or any tattoos for that matter. He actually looks like a clean cut kid.
After reading all of this my thoughts were, he was possibly on a road trip and was not local (hence why he has not been identified) I have no theories as to where he was coming from or going, without more information on the car he was driving or what he bought. One thought I had was maybe he needed to stop and relieve himself and saw something he wasn't supposed to and lost his life for it, the murderer then stole his car.
Is there any way of searching for abandoned cars for say a 100 mile radius in the six months after the death of this UID?

I’m sure there is. I’ve never thought of this John Doe to be involved in any gang activity, especially considering there are no identifying features to indicate this like tattoos. It’s a very fishy case indeed. Sometimes I wonder if this was some kind of inside job perhaps.

 

[R. Towle]

I’m sure there is. I’ve never thought of this John Doe to be involved in any gang activity, especially considering there are no identifying features to indicate this like tattoos. It’s a very fishy case indeed. Sometimes I wonder if this was some kind of inside job perhaps.

I really didn't want to say it for fear of being labelled a conspiracy nut but it would not surprise me one bit if those officers were involved in his death or are covering up for someone else.
Is there a huge problem with violent Hispanic gangs in that part of the country to lay credence to the gang land slaying theory?

 

[Grungster]

They surrendered their weapons to insure that they were not involved in the murder. Just because they did that, doesn't mean that they weren't involved

 

[JasonFutchLakeCityFL]

They surrendered their weapons to insure that they were not involved in the murder. Just because they did that, doesn't mean that they weren't involved

Exactly!

 

[JasonFutchLakeCityFL]

I spoke to a friend of mine who has connections with the Henry County Sheriffs Office. Apparently the reason the Walmart connection was made was because when he was found, a receipt was found in his pocket that was from the Walmart in Ohio. Wanna know what the receipt was for??? A pregnancy test! My question is....could this have been a domestic situation?

 

[victoriarobinson642]

I spoke to a friend of mine who has connections with the Henry County Sheriffs Office. Apparently the reason the Walmart connection was made was because when he was found, a receipt was found in his pocket that was from the Walmart in Ohio. Wanna know what the receipt was for??? A pregnancy test! My question is....could this have been a domestic situation?

How odd! Maybe a parent (his or hers) got angry with him about that, based on his age range?

 

[Grungster]

Bizarre..But I still think that the two cops probably know what happened.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

I spoke to a friend of mine who has connections with the Henry County Sheriffs Office. Apparently the reason the Walmart connection was made was because when he was found, a receipt was found in his pocket that was from the Walmart in Ohio. Wanna know what the receipt was for??? A pregnancy test! My question is....could this have been a domestic situation?

Thank you so much for finding out this info!! It was one of my burning questions. Now I only have more questions...It doesn't really help pinpoint his origin, because he could have gone out of his way to find a less-local store for that purchase. I was thinking before people tend to shop at the Walmart closest to them unless they're on a road trip and it's a stop along the way somewhere. This doesn't seem like a road trip purchase, but it is something you might not want anyone around you to know. Every time I go to Walmart, I run into someone I know. If it was the same for him and he wanted to keep this a secret, Ohio could be a red herring.

 

[oldmaid]

I saw this young man’s profile on my Facebook timeline yesterday. I believe it was the HelpIDMe page. His Namus profile was there yesterday and I put him on my tracking list but today when I click on it it’s gone. All the other cases I’m tracking are active. Could he have been identified? I hope so!!

edit: I’m not able to look up missing or unclaimed persons so I think the website is having problems, unfortunately.

 

[hoseycow]

I saw this young man’s profile on my Facebook timeline yesterday. I believe it was the HelpIDMe page. His Namus profile was there yesterday and I put him on my tracking list but today when I click on it it’s gone. All the other cases I’m tracking are active. Could he have been identified? I hope so!!

edit: I’m not able to look up missing or unclaimed persons so I think the website is having problems, unfortunately.

NAMUS's website seems to be prone to "upgrades" which are usually never helpful. Henry County JD is still there. I wish DNA Doe Project would take this case.

 

[Grungster]

I just read on Facebook that there was an old rumor that a family in Anderson (Ohio or Indiana, possibly Indiana) came forward saying that the decedent was a family member. I don't know much more than that.

 

[Lushlips13]

Any updates?? I know we are all weirdos here (lol) but have a idea who this may be and why such a good looking kid wasnt identified. Does anyone know how we could get in touch with a missing person's siblings or parent?

 

[UnlicensedPI]

Any updates?? I know we are all weirdos here (lol) but have a idea who this may be and why such a good looking kid wasnt identified. Does anyone know how we could get in touch with a missing person's siblings or parent?

I would generally advise against contacting the family of a missing person. Instead, you can contact:

The Regional Program Specialist contact for this case is Allison O'Neal

• (817) 372-4169
• [email protected]

Henry County Coroner's Office
Stacey Guffey, Coroner
(765) 465-0908

Henry County Sheriff's Office
(765) 529-4901

If the family of the missing person has made themselves readily available (lots of media exposure, Facebook pages for the missing, etc.) they'll sometimes give the public ways to contact them.

Are you comfortable sharing your theory on who you think this is?

 

[Lushlips13]

Thank you. I know some families make themselves available and do not. I think this may be a runaway I think he got in some trouble & disappeared but I think the family may have known his whereabouts for sometime. I think its possible the police had something to do with it maybe not but seems awfully suspicious & coincidental. As for my theory...

Bobby Smith?? Robert William Smith from East Chicago Indiana.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

Thank you. I know some families make themselves available and do not. I think this may be a runaway I think he got in some trouble & disappeared but I think the family may have known his whereabouts for sometime. I think its possible the police had something to do with it maybe not but seems awfully suspicious & coincidental. As for my theory...

Bobby Smith?? Robert William Smith from East Chicago Indiana.

Robert Smith had some distinctive identifiers -- a scar on his arm from stitches, a scar on his right eyebrow, a left ear piercing. No scar is mentioned for this UID. Zooming into his postmortem photos, I don't see a scar on his eyebrow or a mark from a previous ear piercing.

Physically, I don't see a resemblance either. This UID has much fuller lips than RWS and I think they have different face shapes and hair lines. There are also some marks on this UID's teeth from an at-home removal of braces, which are not mentioned for RWS. I don't think he would have gotten braces after running away. This UID also had a car, which is not mentioned for RWS.

Can anyone access the NY Times article about RWS?

 

[Grungster]

Very good questions posed here. I'm not sure of the complete details on this case other than what has been made available through media and NamUs. I'm certain this could have been a drug-related crime or something to do with gang-violence. Based on what I've read, he has to be from Ohio or somewhere close; especially if he was seen in Reynoldsburg, OH. I don't think they ever found the red car he was driving.

If he used a debit or credit card to make that transaction in Reynoldsburg, there has to be some kind of a footprint, especially considering the fact that most surveillance videos are timestamped. If he used cash, then there is no footprint and no chance of identifying him that way or depending how well the CTV monitors recorded video quality, no chance of knowing what he bought. But I believe he was seen there about a few days before his death.

I am trying to see if I can obtain records of this case from the PD in that area; however the unfortunate thing is that most PDs have non-disclosure agreements; which mean no one in the public can have access to the files until they close the case.

In any case, I hope to get to the bottom of this case soon.

Obviously, someone took his driver's license, but why did his killer(s) leave the receipt on him? Why did he keep a receipt with him for two days if he had no wallet? Everything about this case is so strange...

 

[Grungster]

Also, I think investigators should send this guy's fingerprints to Ohio BMV. If he is from Ohio and drove a vehicle in that state, one must assume he had a driver's license registered and I think that most motor vehicle department's sustain fingerprints of people who have driver's license's there.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

Also, I think investigators should send this guy's fingerprints to Ohio BMV. If he is from Ohio and drove a vehicle in that state, one must assume he had a driver's license registered and I think that most motor vehicle department's sustain fingerprints of people who have driver's license's there.

I don't believe fingerprinting is required for a driver's license in Ohio.

 

[JasonFutchLakeCityFL]

I don't believe fingerprinting is required for a driver's license in Ohio.

Yeah, most states do not require a license. I lived in Florida, Oregon, Washington and Utah...never had to get fingerprinted lol.