NJ NJ - Old Bridge Twp, WhtMale 25-35, UP1496, bound & shot, designer clothes, gold chain, Dec'96

sillygilly · Feb 5, 2009

Here's a side by side for your viewing there is only a composite for 267 umnj. There is a difference in eye color, but, I think the pics are a good match.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/161dmmd.html
Michael Dean Andrews
Missing since January 8, 1993 from Baltimore, Maryland.
Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics

* Date Of Birth: April 16, 1974
* Age at Time of Disappearance: 18 years old
* Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'8"; 160 lbs
* Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Blonde hair; blue eyes. Light complexion. At the time of disappearance he had a small mustache and a crew cut.
* Marks, Scars: He has a mole on the top of his left leg.
* Clothing: Blue jeans and a green parka.
* Medical Conditions: Andrews has been diagnosed as mentally retarded and has numerous other mental/behavioral problems.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Andrews was last seen on January 8, 1993 at his home at 1901 Birch Street, Baltimore, Maryland.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/267umnj.html
267umnj
Unidentified White Male

* Located on December 9, 1996 in Old Bridge Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey.
* Cause of death was homicide

Vital Statistics

* Estimated age: 25 - 35 years old
* Approximate Height and Weight: 5'9" - 5'10"; 160-180 lbs.
* Distinguishing Characteristics: Sandy colored short hair; brown eyes. He was clean shaven and had no tattoos.
* Dentals: Dental charts, dental x-rays, fingerprints and body x-rays available for comparison.
* Clothing: He was wearing designer label clothing. A waist length black leather jacket with lambs wool collar; a multi colored sweater; green corduroy trousers and black laced dress shoes. He also wore a gold neck chain.

Case History
On Monday, December 9, 1996, the victim was discovered by hunters in a wooded area of Old Bridge Township, NJ, off Old Mill Road, west of Route 9. The victim had his hands bound behind him and had suffered several gunshot wounds to the head. There was no identification on the body.
Unidentified White Male

* The victim was discovered on June 21, 2000 in Winter Park, Orange County, Florida
* Estimated Date of Death: More than one year prior to discovery
* State of Remains: Partial Skeleton
HC 1060
Vital Statistics

* Estimated age: 23-60 years old
* Approximate Height and Weight: 5'0"- 6'0" (67" est), weight can not be estimated.
* Clothing: Belt, a pair of pants, shoes and socks, a green, white and red striped shirt.
* Personal Effects:Two holsters, and one small caliber gun. Coins, comb, keys, lighter, and a ball.
* Dentals: Available
* DNA: Pending.

Case History
The victim's bones were discovered in a wooded area behind an apartment complex at 7400 University Blvd.
The scene was searched and other remains were found partially buried. His hands were not recovered. The wooded area is just west of Goldenrod Road (south side of street),in Winter Park.

MsRyber · Feb 5, 2009

"Medical Conditions: Andrews has been diagnosed as mentally retarded and has numerous other mental/behavioral problems."

This jumps out at me.
The whole "designer dress", gold chain, different jacket, etc found on the JD.

Just seems a like hinky to me that he would be in New Jersey for any reason.
Or a "likely" target for such an elaborate, execution-style murder. Not that it is impossible, it just doesn't seem too probable.

Also "Two holsters, and one small caliber gun. Coins, comb, keys, lighter, and a ball.". I am not sure how Andrews would have got these. I suppose it would depend on the level of mental retardation and his functioning level.

I don't see the resemblance, perhaps someone else does.

sillygilly · Feb 5, 2009

Good points, maybe, with the holsters and expensive clothes and execution style he was mob related. I'll work on that angle and focus on the umnj
I considered your points, as well, just not sure of the degree of lack of capacity, thought he may have run away.
Thanks for your opinion!

jumpingbean79 · Dec 29, 2009

What about this as a possible match for Michael Andrews:

Namus ID 5207 or Doe file HC1778
https://identifyus.org/cases/5207?page=case_information
http://www.doenetwork.org/hot/hotcase1778.html

chaddylex · Dec 29, 2009

Jumpingbean,

I think that UID you listed as a possible match for Michael Andrews could also be a possible match for James Donald Kimball. http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/k/kimball_james.html

Bolingbrook where the UID was found and Oak Park where James Kimball was from are only 37 miles apart.

I hope you don't if I make a thread with the UID you found to a possible match of James Kimball also..He's not on the rule out list either.

I think it's worth a shot to see about both of them...someone is missing a loved one.

webrocket · Jun 18, 2012

I was going to start a thread for this UID but checked to see if there was one already. I remember reading about this in the newspaper after it happened and my initial reaction was how could a well dressed guy wind up dead in the woods in Old Bridge without anyone knowing who he was?

I never recall reading about his hands being bound and being shot execution style which is on the Doe Network profile. it would not appear to be robbery as he had a gold chain on him when he was murdered.

if there is any mob connection, my hunch would be the Russian mob in Brooklyn. per mapquest is it about a one hour drive from Brighton Beach, Brooklyn to Old Bridge, NJ.

madamx · Aug 27, 2018

Bumping

bears10 · Aug 27, 2018

sillygilly said:
Good points, maybe, with the holsters and expensive clothes and execution style he was mob related. I'll work on that angle and focus on the umnj
I considered your points, as well, just not sure of the degree of lack of capacity, thought he may have run away.
Thanks for your opinion!

I grew up very very local to old bridge and mob was my initial gut instinct. I know it’s cliche, but it wouldn’t be far fetched for the area. At all. JME.

Eta just realized this is a really old thread. And just FYI I didn’t get Russian mafia vibe due to the time period, but it certainly is possible considering the current presence in the area.

YaYa_521 · Jul 12, 2020

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
267UMNJ

Excluded
MP4655 Dean Bechtold 01/25/1995 Brown NE

ChatteringBirds · Jul 18, 2021

Bumping case up.

YaYa_521 · Nov 16, 2021

I can't find any information that would explain how or why Craig Nelson Jones would have ended up bound and shot to death in Old Bridge, NJ in Dec'96. According to his NamUs profile he was last known to be in Michigan in Mar'95. Along with the locations being nowhere near each other and the 21-month lapse in the timeline, JD's profile doesn't mention a scar on his abdomen and CNJ's profile doesn't mention the nose depression. However, their physical descriptions somewhat match. Also, when comparing their photos, I see a pretty decent resemblance. Most notably are the forehead, eyebrows, eye shape, mark on bridge of nose, face shape, chin, and cheeks. MOO Are these Craig's remains?

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

WARNING - GRAPHIC: *Comparison photos hidden behind spoiler.*
WARNING - GRAPHIC: https://ibb.co/pQVT4M1
WARNING - GRAPHIC: https://ibb.co/PQ1LyvB

Craig-Nelson-Jones3

Circumstances of Disappearance - Left Tennessee in March 1995 to attend college in Marquette, MI. He called his mother when he arrived and she never heard from him again. She continued to receive gifts in the mail from him purchased and shipped through websites but the last one arrived on Mother's Day 1995.

Craig - Age: 24 JD - 25-35 (DoeNetwork: 25-35)
Craig - Height 5' 8" (68 Inches) JD - 5' 9"(69 inches), Measured (DoeNetwork: 5'9" - 5'10")
Craig - Weight 165 lbs JD - 180 lbs, Estimated (Doe Network: 160-180 lbs.)
Craig - Hair Color Blond/Strawberry; dark blond JD - Sandy; Brown/Blond, short and straight. (Doe Network - Sandy brown, short and straight; face clean shaven.)
Craig - Eye Color Brown JD - Brown (Doe Network: Brown)
Craig - Scar/mark - linear scar on abdomen JD - Clean shaven. The bridge of the nose is depressed. (Doe Network: The bridge of the nose was depressed. OP: He was clean shaven and had no tattoos.)

YaYa_521 · Nov 16, 2021

@Nina Michigan Do you happen to have any information on Craig Nelson Jones?

Nina Michigan · Nov 16, 2021

YaYa_521 said:
@Nina Michigan Do you happen to have any information on Craig Nelson Jones?

I do not, but when I look at the doe and Jones picture the hairline is very different.

YaYa_521 · Nov 19, 2021

Nina Michigan said:
I do not, but when I look at the doe and Jones picture the hairline is very different.

TY!

YaYa_521 · Nov 24, 2021

Nina Michigan said:
I do not, but when I look at the doe and Jones picture the hairline is very different.

TY for replying. To follow up with you--I agree. The hairlines appear different, although it's a bit confusing to me b/c the hairlines in the two composites seem different as well.

So who knows? I spoke w/ Anne Delaney with NJSP regarding a couple of other cases so I mentioned Craig Jones as a potential match to JD. She couldn't find any identifiers that were readily available for Craig on his NamUs profile. She'll investigate further to see what she can find. She said she'll get back to me once she figures it out. I'll update if/when I hear from her. Thanks again!

ChatteringBirds · Jul 11, 2023

Moving case back up to the top.

I wonder if he was reported missing, perhaps not from NJ?

I wonder if there were identifiers available and Craig was ruled-out? Or if it wasn't possible to compare?

UID and Craig are still both in NamUs.

citizen_sleuth · Jul 12, 2023

Bart Calendar, "Dead man found off Route 9," Central Jersey Home News [New Brunswick, NJ], A1, A4.
[part 1] [part 2]

The bound body of a man shot four times in the back of the head was found yesterday morning in a wooded area off Route 9, police said.

[...]

"It was a murder," Police Chief Jerry Palumbo said before referring questions on the case to the Prosecutor's Office.

The body was found in the woods by two hunters at the dead end of Old Mill Road several hundred feet away from Route 9 between 9:15 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., police said.

The site is directly across the street from the Madison Gardens apartment complex.

More than a dozen police cars arrived at the scene by 10:30 a.m., and the body was taken away by members of the Middlesex County Medical Examiner's Office during a light snowfall shortly after 11:15 a.m.

[...]

The victim's hands were tied together, and all of his identification was removed, [Middlesex County Prosecutor Robert W.] Gluck said. Witnesses at the scene said his hands were bound behind his back.

[...]

Authorities do not know yet whether or not the man was killed where the body was found or had been dumped there after being shot someplace else.

Gluck declined comment on whether or not the crime was done in the style of a professional killer.

But a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Newark said that it seemed like a case their Organized Crime Division would want to look into.

[...]

The victims is described as a white male in his 30s, clean shaven, medium build, about 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall with dirty blond hair. He was wearing a black leather waist-length coat with a sheepskin fur collar, black shoes, green corduroy pants and a blue shirt with a golf print.

Bart Calendar, "How he died is known; who he is is not," Central Jersey Home News [New Brunswick, NJ], 12 December 1996, B8.

While initial police reports indicated the man had been shot four times in the back of the head, an autopsy performed Tuesday showed that he was shot five or more times, Gluck said.

The man's face, however, was intact, because all of the shots were in the back of the head and fired from a small-caliber weapon, Gluck said.

The autopsy also turned up bruises on his chest, indicating the man was punched or kicked several times before he was shot, Gluck said.

[...]

"It was, in fact, frozen," Gluck said when asked of the condition of the body.

Evidence at the scene has led authorities to believe the man was shot there and not killed someplace else and then dumped in Old Bridge, Gluck said.

"He was brought there to be beaten or killed," Gluck said.

[...]

Because the body was frozen, it is impossible to know for sure when the murder happened, but investigators think the man was killed several days before his body was found, he said.

ChatteringBirds · Jan 30, 2025

What about any of these missing men as possibilities?