Skull Fragment Leads to Identification of Burlington 'John Doe' After 15 Years

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Fifteen years after a skull fragment was discovered in Burlington's Oakledge Park, investigators have finally identified the remains as belonging to Arthur Weiss, an 87-year-old New York man. The fragment was initially determined to be from an adult white male who died between 1975 and 2011, but without any other leads, the case went cold until the Burlington Police brought it to the DNA Doe Project, which used genealogical research to trace the DNA to Weiss' mother in Belarus.

Why it matters

This case highlights the power of modern DNA analysis and genealogical research to solve long-standing mysteries around unidentified remains. It also demonstrates the importance of maintaining evidence and pursuing new investigative techniques, even for cold cases that have gone unsolved for decades.

The details

After the skull fragment was first discovered, police forensic work determined it belonged to an adult white male who died between 1975 and 2011. However, the case went cold without any other leads. The Burlington Police later brought the case to the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit that uses genetic genealogy to identify unknown remains. The DNA Doe Project was able to trace the DNA from the fragment to a woman in Belarus who turned out to be Weiss' mother, leading them to identify the remains as belonging to the 87-year-old New York man. Investigators later confirmed that a friend of Weiss had scattered his cremains in the Burlington park.

• The skull fragment was first discovered in Burlington's Oakledge Park in 2011.
• Weiss' ashes were scattered in the same park in January 2011.

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