By Jeff Lehr
jlehr@joplinglobe.com
NEOSHO, Mo. — An X-ray of the skull of some unidentified human remains recovered from a field near Granby showed a bullet lodged in the decomposed tissue of the brain, the Newton County sheriff said Wednesday.
The preliminary finding of an autopsy conducted late Tuesday in Springfield confirmed the suspicions of sheriff’s investigators that the body was that of a homicide victim, most probably a man.
Sheriff Ken Copeland said a fragment of the bullet was removed by the pathologist who is conducting the autopsy. He said the bulk of the bullet also is expected to be retrieved.
“It appears to be enough there that we can do some tests on it,” the sheriff said.
Copeland said the caliber of the bullet had yet to be determined Wednesday. The victim’s gender, age and approximate date of death also remained uncertain.
A Missouri State University anthropologist who has agreed to examine the body for identification purposes will not be able to look at it until Friday, the sheriff said. More about the victim may be learned at that time, he said.
The body was discovered Monday by a property owner who was using a brush cutter in a field along Raven Road, about 100 yards north of Highway 86. The bulk of the skeleton — skull, torso, pelvis and one leg — was uncovered about 20 feet from the roadway.
The decomposed body had been ravaged by animals. Parts of one leg and both arms were scattered about the field. Most of the victim’s clothing had been pulled off. A pair of Levi’s blue jeans, a pullover-type shirt believed to have possibly been gray in original color, some men’s underwear, and a black coat or jacket bearing the Claiborne brand label were recovered at the scene.
The skeleton had a gold chain necklace with an oval pendant around the neck. Photographs of the piece of jewelry were released Tuesday.
“We have hopes that someone’s going to recognize the pendant and necklace, and come forward about it,” Copeland said.
Investigators took the necklace to language instructors at Missouri Southern State University on Wednesday in an effort to learn what language some lettering engraved on the back of the oval pendant might represent. The sheriff said it did not appear to be in any language or alphabet that he recognized.
Copeland said the Sheriff’s Department had received numerous calls by noon Wednesday from in-state and out-of-state law-enforcement agencies with unresolved missing-person cases who were interested in descriptions of the clothing and necklace, and what little is known about the victim.
Mark Bridges, the county coroner, told the Globe on Tuesday that the body was in such a state that it was difficult even to estimate the height of the victim. Little flesh was left on the skeleton, leaving a mummified appearance and confounding any attempt to discern race, he said.
The sheriff believes the clothing would seem to indicate an adult man.
How long ago the homicide may have taken place and where remain mysteries as well. The location of the body along a rural road suggests it most likely was dumped there in the aftermath of the slaying.
“I can tell you from experience that I think we’re looking at four months ago, four to six months,” Copeland said. “But that’s not an expert opinion.”
A suspected bullet hole in the skull had been noted by investigators, but the autopsy was needed to confirm the cause of death. The sheriff declined to discuss, for investigative reasons, where the bullet had entered the skull.
DNA probe
Mark Bridges, Newton County coroner, has said a femur will be sent to Texas for DNA analysis and entry into a DNA database.
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