Australia New South Wales, Penrose John Doe, WhtMale, age 30-40, decapitated, tattoo 'A', 21 Feb 1997

[imstilla.grandma]

A $500,000 reward for information has been announced as detectives try and crack the brutal cold case killing of a man whose headless, naked body was found in a river.

Twenty-five years on and his identity still remains a mystery.

In February 1997 a man and woman stopped at a public rest area on the southern side of the Hume Highway at Penrose, near Marulan, when they noticed a naked body in the river.

A digital forensic facial reconstruction has been created to help identify the man. Picture: NSWPF

Local police then recovered the body of a man who had been decapitated at the base of the neck, prompting a homicide investigation.

Police were told about a month later local fisherman had found a shopping bag, in Salt Pan Creek at Padstow, which contained a human head.

It was later confirmed to match the remains found at Penrose.

Forensics at Melbourne University created a plaster recreation of the man’s face, which was displayed as part of a public appeal for information.

Two years later the coroner found the man had died by strangulation.

But despite extensive inquiries, involving fingerprint and DNA analysis, the brutal case remains a mystery.

Police believe this distinct tattoo could help solve the mystery. Picture: NSWPF

“We have also issued a photo of a distinct letter ‘A’ style tattoo found on the man’s upper-right arm in the hope someone may recognise him,” he said.

“He was murdered in a particularly gruesome fashion and his naked body was left in a river on the side of a highway, his head decapitated.”
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/b...d/news-story/0108b913209151d9c3733e476e2746a2

 

[dotr]

NSW Crime: $500k reward on offer for information about 1997 murder (9news.com.au)
Apr 16, 2022 rbbm.
''In 1999, an inquest by the NSW Coroner found the man had been strangled to death by a person or multiple people around February 20, 1997.
Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said the murder appeared to be conducted in an execution style.
"It appears to be such a gruesome murder to go to the efforts of murdering someone in that fashion, weighing the body down then cutting the head off, it appears to be," he said.
Fingerprint and DNA analysis have failed to identify the man.
Detective Superintendent Doherty added the man may not have grown up in Australia according to dental analysis, and he would have been 180cm tall, weighed 86 kilograms and was between 30 and 40 years old.''

"We have also issued a photo of a distinct letter 'A' style tattoo found on the man's upper-right arm in the hope someone may recognise him," Detective Superintendent Doherty said.''

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Police offer 'unusual' reward for information about decapitated man found off Sydney highway

I was wondering if the title should be changed to 1997.

 

[dotr]

Police offer 'unusual' reward for information about decapitated man found off Sydney highway

I was wondering if the title should be changed to 1997.

From link..rbbm yes^ 1997.
"We have also issued a photo of a distinct letter 'A' style tattoo found on the man’s upper-right arm in the hope someone may recognise him."

Police have investigated many theories about the meaning of the tattoo, including whether it was a gang, defence force or sporting related, but have found no matches.

Detective Superintendent Doherty said it was "unusual" for a large reward to be offered just to identify a victim but police had exhausted all leads.

"This is a fair incentive to tell us who this person is."

 

[JSolt1210]

I couldn't find this decedent on here, so I decided to create a thread for him.

STATS:
Sex: White Male
Location: Penrose, New South Wales, Australia
Age: 30-40 years old
Height: 180cm or 5' 11"
Weight: 86kg or 190 lbs.
PMI: within a day
Cause of death: strangulation

From 9News.com:

Link has a digital reconstruction of the man's face, and a post-mortem closeup of a tattoo on his upper arm.

$500k reward on offer for information about 1997 murder​

By Savannah Meacham • Associate Producer
7:21pm Apr 16, 2022

A $500,000 reward has been offered for information about a 25-year-old murder of an unknown man who was found beheaded in the New South Wales southern highlands.

In 1997, a man and a woman stopped at a public rest stop on the Hume Highway at Penrose, near Marulan, where they noticed a body submerged at the edge of the river.

Police found a man who had been decapitated.

A couple of weeks later police were told four fishermen found a shopping bag with a human head in it in Salt Pan Creek, Padstow, a month earlier.

Police retrieved the head and it was confirmed as a match of the remains in Penrose.

The man's remains and other items were forensically examined by a forensic sculptor to create a plaster recreation of the man's face.

It was displayed as part of a public appeal for information later in 1997.

Despite extensive efforts, the man has never been identified.

In 1999, an inquest by the NSW Coroner found the man had been strangled to death by a person or multiple people around February 20, 1997.

Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said the murder appeared to be conducted in an execution style.

"It appears to be such a gruesome murder to go to the efforts of murdering someone in that fashion, weighing the body down then cutting the head off, it appears to be," he said.

Fingerprint and DNA analysis have failed to identify the man.

Detective Superintendent Doherty added the man may not have grown up in Australia according to dental analysis, and he would have been 180cm tall, weighed 86 kilograms and was between 30 and 40 years old.

Police have now created a new reconstruction of the man's face to appeal to the public for his identity.

The $500,000 reward for information is hoped to lead to the man's identity or those responsible for his murder.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Police Paul Toole said the modern technology that police use today may help to solve the murder.

"While this is a particularly gruesome crime that occurred decades ago, police believe their questions can still be answered by someone in our community," Mr Toole said.

"I'd encourage anyone with even the smallest piece of information to reach out to police."

Detective Superintendent Doherty said the man had a distinct tattoo that may help to identify him.

"We have also issued a photo of a distinct letter 'A' style tattoo found on the man's upper-right arm in the hope someone may recognise him," Detective Superintendent Doherty said.

"He was murdered in a particularly gruesome fashion and his naked body was left in a river on the side of a highway, his head decapitated."

"This person has remained an enigma for 25 years we need to give this man a name and an identity and find who is responsible for this gruesome murder."

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Another MSM link with the same digital reconstruction, and post-mortem closeup of tattoo.

 

[Hochman]

Digital facial reconstruction and $500,000 reward may help solve Marulan murder mystery | Riotact

NSW Police hope an updated digital facial reconstruction and a hefty government reward will aid renewed efforts to identify the…

the-riotact.com

Reconstruction

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...ic-groupa-test-noscore&V21spcbehaviour=append (Subscriber-only)

Alternate reconstruction

 

[SLouTh]

I do remember this case happening back then…. Somebody must wonder what happened to him?? Hopefully this will help!

 

[JSolt1210]

I'm having trouble figuring out where exactly this man was found.

This article states that he was located "on the southern side of the Hume Highway at Penrose, near Marulan, where they noticed a naked body submerged in the Paddy's River."

But is it just me, or are those three locations equidistant from each other? Like from the screenshot below, I can see where Paddy's River and Penrose could be close (and this is south of Hume Highway), since the river flows in the direction of Penrose. But this is also away from Marulan.

Maybe this is why the article I quoted above doesn't name the river? is there anyone local that can shed some light on this?

 

[Melt71]

Local-ish here (about an hour away).

In 1997, a man and a woman stopped at a public rest stop on the Hume Highway at Penrose, near Marulan, where they noticed a body submerged at the edge of the river.

Police found a man who had been decapitated.

A couple of weeks later police were told four fishermen found a shopping bag with a human head in it in Salt Pan Creek, Padstow, a month earlier.

BODY LOCATION - Note the report doesn't seem to be referencing Penrose the village (which you have marked on the map), but one of the 'rest stops' on the Highway that could be named after the district. There are rudimentary stops with very basic toilets and cold water frequently along the Hume, they supplement the petrol stations and trucker food stops. Even though the Hume is heavily trafficked 24/7 (being the road between Melbourne and Sydney) these road stops are off the road, surrounded by bushland and poorly lit at night. If I was driving by myself I would never stop at one alone. They are mapped at Rest areas map (NSW) - Transport for NSW

What's confusing to me is the report that says the head was found at Salt Pan Creek in Padstow. Padstow is a suburb in SW Sydney and Salt Pan Creek is in the St George National Park that abuts the suburb.

It is about a 1.5 hour drive from the outskirts of Sydney to Marulan which is just past where the body was found and is a big gas stations/restaurant/truck stop that we frequently use when driving to Sydney. It's not difficult to access the Hume Highway from Padstow.

As the busiest road in this part of Australia I think there are far more bodies hidden in those national parks then we will ever know.

 

[Psalm4610]

A podcast has been made about this case:

A Body Of Mysteries Podcast

Podcast · Kilcoyne Studios · "Body of Mysteries" Podcast Join us in our mission to bring closure to families by identifying unidentified bodies and giving them their names back. By listening and contributing, you're helping to make a difference in the lives of those affected. Subscribe to...

open.spotify.com

It’s only 7 minutes. Hopefully this case is solved.

 

[Deleted member 83851]

Thank you for the podcast recommendation Psalm4610.