VA VA - Richmond, BlkMale UP6169, 50-70, in brickyard, healed fractures, Sz10 blue tennis shoes, Aug'02

[Romulus]

NamUs UP Case 6169

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/6169

Unidentified black male
* Found 27 August 2002 in Richmond, VA
* Estimated Year of Death: 2002
* Estimated postmortem interval:

Vital Statistics
* Estimated age: Adult pre 70
* Approximate Height: 63 estimate
* Distinguishing Characteristics: Healed depression fracture at bregna, skull. Healed fracture of left nasal bone. Healed trauma, right femur. Fusion of lateral and medial shafts of the right tibia and fibula. Spina bifida of the 4th and 5th sacral elements.

* Dentals: Dental information /charting is available and entered
* Clothing/Jewelry: A pair of blue tennis shoes, size 10.

* DNA: Sample submitted - Tests complete

Case History: A workman at Riverside Brick Yard & Supply Company discovered the body of a black male in a dump site on their property. The body was in the bushes, buried under bricks in a shallow ravine.

 

[Melt71]

This man had clearly gone through a bit of trauma in his life to have so many healed injuries. I’m always surprised how many older men go unidentified.
2013 recon from Namus.

 

[BrownBear]

Updated NamUs link
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[HopeRains]

From medline plus: A depressed skull fracture is a break in a cranial bone (or "crushed" portion of skull) with depression of the bone in toward the brain.

 

[HopeRains]

I posted the below as I thought I read "occulta" in the namus case file, it does not appear to be there however. Unable to delete thread so leaving this here. There are other forms of spina bifida which can create many problems.

Spina Bifida Occulta
As the mildest form of spina bifida, spina bifida occulta is sometimes called “hidden” spina bifida. There is a small gap in the spine where vertebrae haven’t formed properly, but there is no opening in the back and no sac. The spinal cord and nerves usually are normal in spina bifida occulta and the person usually doesn’t have any disabilities.

 

[Beccalicious]

Bumping

 

[Beccalicious]

Bumping again

 

[lightofmine99]

His NamUs was modified today! There is now ONE public exclusion.

Jerry Armstrong (MP10070) - Missing from Mississippi since 1977.

Interestingly, his NamUs currently does not seem to mention any of his head injuries.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

MSN

Work underway to identify skeletal remains discovered in 2002​

Richmond-Petersburg WWBT
Work underway to identify skeletal remains discovered in 2002

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Lara Newell is working around the clock to find closure for families.
“Sometimes, I’m the only person that touches these case files, that is working on them, that knows about them, and I don’t think they should be forgotten,” she said.

This includes a case in Richmond dating back to Aug. 27, 2002, when a set of skeletal remains were found behind Riverside Brick & Supply off of Maury Street.
Newell sent samples to a private lab for forensic genetic genealogy testing to try to solve this case.

“They will get that SNIP profile that they use for genealogy, make a family tree, and hopefully we will be able to find where that gentleman fits in and locate his family,” she said.

A test Newell hopes will bring long-awaited answers to the man’s loved ones.

“I’m a wife. I’m a mom. I’m a sister. I have all these people in my circle that I care about, and so do all of these unidentified people,” she said. “They all have someone that has cared about them that is missing them, and I feel like everyone who is deceased, unidentified, missing deserves to be reunited with their loved ones.”

At this moment, Newell is still waiting for the test results of the forensic genealogy testing.

If you have any information about this case, you can call Major Crimes Detective G. Wade at (804) 646-0606 or Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000.

You can also contact the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner at (804)-786-3174 and ask for Lara Newell.

 

[Caring1]

August 26, 2025

DNA testing done in 2012 revealed that the man was Black and somewhere between 45 and 60 years old. But it turned up no matches that could lead to a name.

Twenty-three years later, officials still don’t know who he was or how he ended up there, to one side of Riverside Brick & Supply Company at 12th and Maury streets in South Richmond, badly decomposed and with no identifying markers beyond a pair of blue slip-on size 10 shoes.

In 2002, a body was found near a South Richmond brickyard. He’s never been identified.

Twenty-three years later, officials still don’t know who he was or how he ended up there.

www.richmonder.org

 

[scoutie18]

What about Curtis Allen?
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[ninetimesfifteen]

DNA testing done in 2012 revealed that the man was Black and somewhere between 45 and 60 years old. But it turned up no matches that could lead to a name.

How would DNA determine his age? I have a feeling this man is on the older side based on the shoes and might have even been a victim of elder abuse.

 

[The4TierBridge]

How would DNA determine his age? I have a feeling this man is on the older side based on the shoes and might have even been a victim of elder abuse.

It couldn't. It's just a throwaway line written by a journalist who didn't understand the source material. I guarantee you whatever press release all these recent news sources have been pulling from said something more vague like "forensic analysis."