JOHN DOE REVEALED
Cpl. Shawna Mcpherson
displays the 3- D reconstruction of a homicide victim’s head at RCMP HQ in Vancouver on Tuesday. The unidentifi ed man was found on the shore of Tower Beach in the UBC Endowment Lands in 2006. The reconstruction was completed to help identify the victim.
For almost six years, he has only been known as John Doe — an unknown man violently slain in 2006 and found on the shore of Tower Beach near the University of B. C.
Now the RCMP is hoping someone will recognize the victim after investigators took the extraordinary step of recreating his head and facial features using his badly decomposed remains.
Cpl. Shawna Mcpherson is the forensic identification specialist who unveiled her macabre model Tuesday — which she described as a combination of “science and art.”
Mcpherson spent 30 hours reconstructing the victim from the neck up, showing his distinctive cheek bones, a unique goatee and sunken eyes. “I feel very privileged first of all to be able to do this,” she told reporters after revealing Doe.
“I don’t lose touch with the fact that I am dealing with the family member of someone and oftentimes they are not even aware of the demise of the individual. So there is an emotional attachment. I feel obligated to do my best to do justice to the reconstruction.”
Since learning the special technique of forensic sculpture at Oklahoma University 12 years ago, Mcpherson has only been called on twice to make a death mask. She didn’t know whether the first mask resulted in an identification.
She is hoping her latest sculpture will lead to a breakthrough in the murder file. “This is a very sensitive and delicate process and I take my job very seriously. I am hoping that this support service will involve helping the investigation move forward,” she said.
RCMP Insp. Brendan Fitzpatrick, who is in charge of Major Crime for the province, said investigators believe the victim was killed in the Lower Mainland, though he said he couldn’t divulge how or why.
“Based on the results of forensic identification techniques, it is believed that the man may have been 25 to 45 years old, between 5’ 5” and 5’ 9” in height and weighed approximately 176 pounds,” he said. “The male also had a tattoo on his left chest area. However, only a portion of the tattoo was recognizable.” The tattoo of swirls and leaflike patterns was also shown to reporters Tuesday for the first time.
Fitzpatrick said the man appears to be Caucasian, but could be from the Middle East or have a darker complexion. Police don’t know his eye colour. His DNA did not match the profile of any missing person reported to police.
Doe was found on Oct. 6, 2006, on the beach in a sleeping bag, by passersby who called police. He had been in the water for a period of time, though police believe he had been killed fairly close to where he was found.
Fitzpatrick wouldn’t provide more information about his clothing or even the colour of the sleeping bag to protect the integrity of the investigation.
Not having the actual crime scene or victim identity has stalled the probe for years. Showing a model made from the human remains was only done after some soul- searching, Fitzpatrick said.
“This has been a very difficult investigation for many reasons. This is an extraordinary step that we would actually bring in the human remains and make it public,” he said. “It is something that we had to think very long and hard whether we could do that. There are so many sensitivities and Cpl. Mcpherson has done an excellent job here.”
Anyone who recognizes the victim is asked to contact the “E” Division Serious Crime Unit at 604- 551- 3914, Const. Rennard Jo by email at rennard.jo@rcmp- grc.gc.ca or Crime Stoppers at 1- 800- 222- 8477.