NC NC - Raleigh, WhtMale 55-65, UP2788, Holiday Inn, name poss starts w/ "Ca", dentures, glasses Dec'94

[Susikatze]

It appears he just got identified. Ive seen NamUs profiles being removed sometimes years after someone was IDd. Also LE announcements can take a long time after ID, especially in suicide cases with no foul play. From the living photo and the PM it is quite obvious it is the same man. Very often the family announces the successful ID here before the official confirmation.
James, so sorry for your loss and that is a beautiful tribute to your father. I am glad you have closure after such a long time missing your dad.

 

[Susikatze]

He's a grieving son. What do you mean he needs to "provide evidence"? That's the last thing he needs to hear right now.

Yes and the PM and the living photo James presented are obviously the same man. Very distinctive features.
Enough evidence imho.
I guess official announcement takes a while (as usual).

jmoo

 

[fred&edna]

i suppose edward was never reported missing from new kent county... and i assume that 'new kent county'' is located in virginia.

 

[iulia]

His NamUs page was removed last Tuesday.

 

[sunnynz]

Have reported the thread asking for it to be updated to ID'd. I'm sorry for the family's loss.

 

[Otterly]

Doe Network updated this case as identified today: "1951UMNC discovered on December 10, 1994 in Raleigh, NC has been identified per NamUs. No further information is available."

 

[The4TierBridge]

Confirmed by Othram to be Edward Sidney Broughton: After 30 Years, Raleigh John Doe (1994) is Now Identified

 

[dotr]

After 30 Years, Raleigh John Doe (1994) is Now Identified

Raleigh Police Department Leverages Othram's Forensic Sequencing Platform to Identify a 1994 John Doe

dnasolves.com

''Investigators determined that the man was White, between 55 and 65 years old, weighed 223 pounds, and stood 5'11". Investigators determined that the man died about 18 hours before being found. Despite a lengthy investigation, the man could not be identified and became known as Raleigh John Doe (1994). Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP2788.

In April 2025, the Raleigh Police Department submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas where scientists determined that advanced DNA testing could help identify the man. Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the provided evidence and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the man. This profile was returned to law enforcement who executed a forensic genetic genealogy search to develop new leads in the case.

Using these leads, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the man. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified man using KinSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing. This investigation led to the positive identification of the man, who is now known to be Edward Sidney Broughton, born May 2, 1937. He was 57 years old when he died.''

 

[summergirl1]

It's interesting that unlike other hotel suicide cases, this case didn't have the exact manner of death released, in fact the local authorities didn't even identify the cause of death as suicide before the Doe was identified. Different agencies and investigators do things differently, I guess. Even before I read that his cause of death was suicide, I of course had figured out that was likely the case, as the details fit many of the other hotel suicide cases I have read about.

 

[The4TierBridge]

It's interesting that unlike other hotel suicide cases, this case didn't have the exact manner of death released, in fact the local authorities didn't even identify the cause of death as suicide before the Doe was identified. Different agencies and investigators do things differently, I guess. Even before I read that his cause of death was suicide, I of course had figured out that was likely the case, as the details fit many of the other hotel suicide cases I have read about.

This is not actually true. The exact details are discussed in this article from WRAL published in 2008 (I can’t find the original version online, but it was republished by the Doe Network at some point and that link is still active) The Nameless Dead: Doe cases in NC

The exact quote referencing him is “In December 1994, a man checked into a hotel in downtown Raleigh under the name Brian Stillwell. He paid for two nights and staff doesn't remember seeing him after that. He never checked out, and when police went to his room they found the door taped shut, along with all of the electrical outlets, the sliding glass door and the windows. The bathroom door was taped shut too, and when John Lynch, then a detective with the Raleigh Police Department, went inside, he found the man in the bathtub with a black plastic bag taped around his head. A pillow was under his feet and a propane tank, with a hose leading up inside the bag, was on the bathroom floor.

They found a wallet in the room, and it had been emptied of any identification. He probably wasn’t local, Mr. Lynch said, and like Investigator Horne, he has devoted countless hours to imagining where he came from, why he did it, and who he left behind. Like Horne, he is reluctant to share his theories. Until the man is identified, those stories are private.”

 

[summergirl1]

The details just weren't put into the Doe Network/ NamUs..

 

[summergirl1]

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/290742080/edward-sidney-broughton?fbclid=IwY2xjawOrtU5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA80MDk5NjI2MjMwODU2MDkAAR43px29hAkUf5ElYv32try2AlKlcNAFBBJLImMpaK49tb080nwxc6IiRQWsbQ_aem_57THConKuf3m1EACEbe1Tw