Identified! LA - Sorrento, WhtMale, 25-35, UP2077, homicide, earring made out of human incisor, 13 June 1991, id'd 2026 - Donald (Donnie) Leroy Spangler (37)

[citizen_sleuth]

NamUs #UP2077 / Doe Network 203UMLA

Demographics
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White / Caucasian
Estimated Age Group: Adult - Pre 40
Estimated Age Range (Years): 25-35
Estimated Year of Death: 1991
Estimated PMI: 4 Days
Height: 5'9" (69 inches), Measured
Weight: Cannot Estimate
Cause of Death: Homicide

Circumstances
Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: June 13, 1991
NamUs Case Created: June 11, 2008
ME/C QA Reviewed: June 12, 2008
Location Found: Sorrento, Louisiana
County: Ascension Parish
Circumstances of Recovery:
Inventory of Remains: Located in a ditch off LA. 3140.
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Decomposing/putrefaction

Physical Description
Hair Color: Brown
Head Hair Description: Brown with a long ponytail with rubber bands on each end of ponytail
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinctive Physical Features: 5-6 inch diagonal scar on the right side of abdomen.

Clothing and Accessories
- Pierced earring: small yellow-colored setting with a tooth (probable human incisor). (On the Body)
- Underwear

 

[Springrain]

I'm (unsurprisingly) highly curious about the human incisor earring...

 

[Susikatze]

I'm (unsurprisingly) highly curious about the human incisor earring...

That is a thing with some goth/metal/alternative style subcultures. There are plenty of sites on Etsy and others that sell tooth and bone jewelry, animal and human. Teeth are easy and legal to come by if you know a dentist or buy old dental office supplies.

 

[Puzzleworth]

That is a thing with some goth/metal/alternative style subcultures. There are plenty of sites on Etsy and others that sell tooth and bone jewelry, animal and human. Teeth are easy and legal to come by if you know a dentist or buy old dental office supplies.

Could it have been his own tooth, lost as a child? It doesn't appear to have roots.

 

[HopeRains]

One would certainly hope at this point if the evidence remains that it would be known if the tooth was human or not.

 

[The4TierBridge]

Identified by DNA as 37yo Donald Leroy Spangler.

(I normally would not post a source like this without a media/LE source for added verification, but this obituary was reposted on the Parabon Nanolabs website homepage).

Parabon NanoLabs: Engineering DNA for Next-Generation Nanotech, Analytics, and Forensics

parabon-nanolabs.com

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/valleystar/name/donald-spangler-obituary?id=60621221

 

[Melt71]

Seems the genetic genealogy here may also have been worked by DNA Investigative Solutions (they also worked the Vandy girl case). DNA Investigative Solutions

..."The dedicated and passionate team at DNA Investigative Solutions has partnered with Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office to conduct Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy, or FIGG,...."