Almost a century after the "Torso Killer" terrorized Cleveland, DNA testing is being used to identify his victims. The killer, also known as the "Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run," murdered and dismembered at least 12 people between 1935 and 1938, leaving many bodies decapitated and incomplete. Despite a suspect, Francis E. Sweeney, being interrogated and linked to the crimes, he was never formally charged. The DNA Doe Project and the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office are now working to identify the remaining victims, with two bodies already exhumed, including the notorious "Tattooed Man."
The "Tattooed Man," found decapitated near railroad tracks in 1936, had his head discovered about 1,500 feet away, but despite police efforts to identify him through fingerprints and his tattoos, including the names "Helen" and "Paul" and the initials "W.C.G.," he remained unidentified. A plaster recreation of his head and images of his tattoos were displayed at the 1936 Great Lakes Exposition, but no one came forward with information.
The second exhumed body is believed to be the killer’s sixth victim, found dead on Cleveland's lakefront in 1938. Both sets of remains are currently undergoing DNA testing, funded by a single donor, according to the DNA Doe Project.
Jennifer Randolph, the project's executive director of case management and operations, noted that despite the age of the remains and potential contamination, the non-profit has previously made positive identifications from older remains. The goal is to develop DNA profiles to build family trees and identify potential relatives.
"There could still be living people who know these individuals were missing from their families," Randolph told WOIO-TV. "Regardless of the circumstances of their deaths, they deserve to be remembered with dignity and justice."