“We are getting closer to an answer.”. Robin Thomson's widow, Roma Egan, and their daughter Rachel Egan, also appeared on 60 Minutes suggesting that the "Somerton Man" was Robin Thomson's father and, therefore, Rachel's grandfather. No comments yet. People usually propose that "Jestyn", the nickname for Jessica Thomson, was the ex-lover of the Somerton Man, and that he fathered her son Robin. The Native American genes tied to the Somerton Man also come from tribes living along the East Coast, she said. Was Somerton Man a US spy who had a secret love child with... was found about five minutes from Ms Thomson's home - her number was scribbled on a piece of paper in his pocket. It held only a few tools, a shaving kit, and clothes, including a coat with feather stitching that bespoke US tailoring. “She had a … Abbott and Fitzpatrick don’t think the man was a murder victim or a spy. “You can explain any weird thing by saying he was a spy,” Abbott said. 'It's a case of intrigue and mystery and so it's been on my agenda for over 40 years now,' she said. 'People have said that possibly Derek married me for my DNA. Kate Thomson, the daughter of Jessica and Prosper Thomson, said that her mother was the woman interviewed by the police and that her mother had told her she had lied to them – Jessica did know the identity of the Somerton man and his identity was also "known to a level higher than the police force". More and more people are adding their genes to these databases every day, making them more reliable at ferreting out connections between families. Robin Thomson’s surviving family, Roma and Rachel, also appeared on 60 Minutes. Feltus believed Thomson knew the Somerton man's identity. Who he was and his purpose for being in the area remain a mystery that those closest to the case hope will soon be solved, as officials allow the man's body to be exhumed. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Email (required) (Address never made public) Name (required) Website. On the evening of November 30, 1948, at around 7 pm John Bain Lyons and his wife were taking a stroll along Somerton Beach. (A recent study of living heirs of French royalty identified the genes of the kings of Versailles, for example, as well as calling into question a purported head of King Louis XVI.). The Somerton Man fits into neither category. Robin's daughter, Rachel Egan, who has three young children with Professor Abbott is just as desperate for the mystery to be solved. The Somerton Man's son is believed to be Robin Thomson (pictured) who went on to perform with the Australian Ballet and Royal New Zealand Ballet before he died in 2009. Investigators found no missing persons, immigrants, or ship’s deserters to explain the “Somerton Man,” one of Australia’s most enduring cold-case mysteries. Professor Abbott believes the Somerton Man may be an American and the father of an Australian ballet dancer - Robin Thomson - Ms Egan's father. Thousands of bottles whittled down to the 60 most delicious and... Football fan facing LIFETIME ban from Championship side for booing players who took a knee... with clubs... BEL MOONEY: How do I break my obsession with my toxic ex? He has been trying to solve the mystery for more than a decade. He indicated that TSM had a unique ear feature; his upper ear hollow (cymba) was larger than his lower ear hollow … Her daughter, Kate Thomson, says she accepts her mother was a Soviet spy who may have had a hand in the murder of the Somerton Man. “DNA is going to make the ultimate difference in this case,” Fitzpatrick, a forensic genealogist with Identifinders International in Fountain Valley, California, told BuzzFeed News. The Cold War was on, leading some journalists to later speculate that the Somerton Man was a murdered spy, either American or Russian. The victim, known as the 'Somerton Man', was found on Somerton Park Beach in South Australia on December 1948 with a coded message in his jacket (pictured), December 1, 1948: Trainee jockeys find the Somerton Man's body on Somerton Beach in the early hours, January 14, 1949: Adelaide train station staff find suitcase believed to belong to Somerton Man in the station, June 1949: Inquest into the man's mysterious death is launched, June 1949: The Somerton Man is buried in West Terrace Cemetery, March 2009: University of Adelaide Professor Derek Abbott begins investigating the case. Five months after he was found dead the Somerton Man was buried at West Terrace Cemetery - with no-one any wiser as to who he was or why he was in Adelaide. A new DNA analysis links the “Somerton Man” to Thomas Jefferson and Native Americans. And I think there is some truth to that. I think it's important for them. Despite the two previous denials, Abbott is leading calls for a petition to exhume the Somerton Man. This theory was strengthened with the discovery of a second 'coded message' on the man's body, written on the last page of the The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and torn out. Fitzpatrick compared DNA from Rachel and her mother to identify which portions of her genome came from her father. But “you don’t have to be a spy to be secretive.”, Maybe he was involved in the black market for scarce goods, like cars, which was common in the postwar years and would explain his secretiveness (and a sea cargo stencil brush found with his belongings). The scrap came from the last words of the last page of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam, an 11th-century poetry book about life’s transience. DNA Extraction . And I'm quite happy to give my approval, provided the costs are met by those who apply. Professor Abbott also believes her son, Robin, who was 16-months-old at the time, shared remarkable similarities with the Somerton Man, including a rare genetic disorder present in only two per cent of the population. List. The foundation for his belief comes from the fact that The Somerton Man's body was found about five minutes from Ms Thomson's home - her number was scribbled on a piece of paper in his pocket. On the morning of 1st December 1948, an unidentified man was found dead on Somerton Beach just south of Adelaide: he is usually referred to as “The Somerton Man” or sometimes “The Unknown Man”. “I’m not so interested in how he died, but giving him his name back is the most important thing.”. The dead man reclined against a beach wall that morning in a suit and tie, with an unlit cigarette resting on his collar, as if merely dozing on the pristine sand. ET, Posted on September 24, 2016, at 10:03 a.m. She had a son, Robin, born in 1946, who had two distinctive facial features — an oddly shaped ear, and two missing incisors that left his canine teeth parked right next to his two front teeth — that Abbott learned were shared by the Somerton Man. (The car’s owner dropped the book off at the police station, saying he didn’t know how it got there.) Ms Thomson died in 2007, and denied knowing the Somerton Man until her death. Prince William calls Dame Barbara Windsor a 'true national treasure' as he hails EastEnders and Carry On... EastEnders dedicates Friday's episode to the late Dame Barbara Windsor following her death aged 83. On 1 De­cem­ber 1948 at 6:30 am, the po­lice were con­tacted after the body of a man was dis­cov­ered on Somer­ton beach near Glenelg, about 11 kilo­me­tres (6.8 mi) south­west of Ade­laide, South Aus­tralia. In 2009 a dental expert confirmed the Somerton Man had a rare genetic disorder affecting his teeth which affects only two per cent of the population. Her husband, Prosper Thomson, had passed in 1995. The five genes that make you more likely to die from coronavirus or be admitted to intensive care. Amir Khan breaks lockdown rules with birthday party, Giuliani brings voter fraud witness Melissa Carone to Michigan hearing, Lindsay Hoyle slams Chris Bryant's 'disgraceful' behaviour, Large group of migrants harass British lorry driver in Calais, The Crown makes The Royals look 'inept idiots' and it's 'dangerous', Aftermath of suicide bomb outside FSB HQ in southern Russian village, Royal expert: William likely to end royal Sandringham Christmas, Woman is tackled to ground after trying to stab police officer, China: Beagle noses at food bowl after owner flattened it. A post-mortem ruled he died from being poisoned, but the man known only as the 'Somerton Man' was never identified. (Strange asphyxiation cases litter the forensic science literature, such as the 2010 report of a man who died after falling asleep inside three truck tires or the 2006 case of a man strangled by automatically closing supermarket doors.). The rare copy of the Rubaiyat was lost by police in the 50s, and no matching copy has ever turned up. “Perhaps if you took away anyone’s ID and left only a few clues behind, we’d all seem extraordinary and mysterious,” Abbott said. The Australian police consulted FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, but the agency couldn’t find a fingerprint match of the man. Barry Traish’s Newspaper Files; Correspondence with Gerry Feltus; Lawson Littlemore interview; robin thomson. The final DNA twist in the Somerton Man case comes from Abbott himself. Source:The Advertiser An autopsy found he was a fit 40 to 45-year-old man, possibly an athlete, “in top physical condition”. Investigators did find one bizarre clue: a scrap of paper tucked in the man’s watch pocket, printed with the words “Tamám Shud,” which means “finished” in Persian. DNA preserved in the man’s teeth or bones, Abbott knew, could link him to family members in genealogy databases worldwide. Solving this cold case would mean a lot to him on both a personal and professional level. Ms Egan told ABC's Australian Story when she first met the professor: 'He wanted to look at my ears and my teeth. The comments below have not been moderated. Tory Brexiteers slam EU's 'contemptuous treatment' of Britain after Macron and Merkel REFUSE... Covid and Christmas are to blame for this chaos - NOT Brexit, writes ROSS CLARK. I noted that no one has suggested that there was a match between Robin and SM in that regard. When police originally contacted her, she denied knowing the dead man. However, the Thompson/Thomson family have long established heritage in the USA: Moreover, the notion that the Somerton Man was Robin Thomson’s father (and Rachel Egan’s grandfather) is still a little bit hard for me to digest. Professor Abbott also believes her son, Robin, who was 16-months-old at the time, Shocking moment 'Fagin' mother makes son steal wrapped presents, Prince Harry surprsies previous winners of WellChild Awards on Zoom, Care home resident breaks down after recognising daughter's voice, King Covidiot! Several investigators have pointed to a couple of unusual features of the man's ears, an enlarged upper cymba and a diagonal ear … One of Australia's most enduring and mysterious unsolved murders is one step closer to being solved 70 years later with approval given for the body of the 'Somerton Man' (pictured) to be exhumed. But for University of Adelaide Professor Derek Abbott, who has applied to exhume the body, the cost is of little importance. Derek Abbott also … (A coroner’s assistant said the man possessed strong and high calf muscles.) Now, after nearly seven decades, DNA has turned up some answers — and more questions. Professor Abbott believes the Somerton Man and Ms Thomson had a secret relationship, due to the location of where the dead man’s body was found and the fact her phone number was scribbled on a piece of paper found in his pocket. Become a BuzzFeed News member. The coroner suspected that the man had been poisoned or killed himself, but couldn’t find any evidence for this theory. A forensic scientist in California has discovered a genetic link that pinpoints the man’s origins to the US East Coast, with growing hopes that additional searches will uncover closer relatives, and finally give the man a name. robin thomson, the nurse’s son. The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam is an 11th-century poetry book, not a 20th-century book. Her son Robin was 16-months-old at the time. He also had a very rare anatomical feature relating to his ears. South Australian Attorney-General Vickie Chapman, who signed off for his body to be exhumed has had an interest in the case since studying it law school. "You don’t have to be a spy to be secretive.”, International Symposium on Human Identification. If Rachel is the granddaughter of the Somerton Man, then she inherited about 25% of his DNA. There’s been persistent speculation that the Somerton Man was a spy due to the circumstances of his death, the historical context surrounding it, and the uncrackable code. WORLD EXCLUSIVE - Prince Andrew's sex slave alibi falls apart: Explosive dossier blows a hole in 'Pizza... Britain will send in gunboats over Brexit: Four Royal Navy vessels will guard UK fishing waters against... What your rumbling tummy is really telling you: DR MICHAEL MOSLEY on a revolutionary new microphone that can... Is your area getting a coronavirus mass testing scheme? “It just kind of happened.”. Thomson's father had died in 1995 and mother had died in 2007. All of those things, Abbott thought, pointed to Robin as the son of the Somerton Man. Abbott had heard of Fitzpatrick’s work tracking down people’s relatives, including a boy who died on the Titanic and a Colorado man living with amnesia in search of his family. Boxall and Keane; How did the Somerton Man find Jessica? ET. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/danvergano/who-is-the-somerton-man Looks like your browser doesn't support JavaScript. “If the body of the deceased was not that of the man mentioned the difficulties disappear.” There's a family out there somewhere who have lost somebody.'. Utilizamos cookies, próprios e de terceiros, que o reconhecem e identificam como um usuário único, para garantir a melhor experiência de navegação, personalizar conteúdo e anúncios, e melhorar o desempenho do nosso site e serviços. It worked out well in the end for the professor, though - as he fell in love and married Robin's daughter - who might actually be the Somerton Man's granddaughter. An intriguing additional possibility is that Somerton man fathered Thompson's young son Robin, who was 18 months old in 1948. “It’s one of those crazy things,” he said. The Somerton Man … Question everything. The background and rationale for this theory will be discussed. Six weeks later, a suitcase apparently containing the same man’s property was retrieved from Adelaide Railway Station’s cloakroom, where it had … Read More → “However, I think a good ethical case could be made along the lines of trying to return an unidentified body to its family,” he added — similar to an unknown soldier. It's been almost 71 years since two trainee jockeys came across the body of a fully-clothed man lying near the shore of Somerton Park Beach, south of Adelaide, on December 1, 1948. It also held Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum, which American men chewed back then, but Australian men didn’t. Yes, she replied: her ex-husband. The man was found lying in the sand across from the Crip­pled Chil­dren's Home, which was on the cor­ner of The Es­planade and Bick­ford Terrace. The scientist, Colleen Fitzpatrick, will present these results next week at the International Symposium on Human Identification in Minneapolis. More links to the Somerton Man’s DNA could emerge any day, further pinning down his family origins. Today, they have three children, all of whom may carry some of the genes of the Somerton Man. The suit he was wearing, which included a double breasted jacket, was perfectly pressed. robin thomson, the nurse's son. Much has been made of the issue of the Somerton Man DNA and the links to America. The 'Covidarchs' awash with YOUR tax millions: From the pigeon controller to the yoghurt maker, they're the... Betrayal of care home families: Firms are STILL refusing to let desperate visitors hug their elderly loved... Risk of dying from Covid-19 in British hospitals has HALVED since the peak of the crisis in spring, SAGE... Is YOUR area next for Tier Three? This led Abbott to conclude that Robin was likely the Somerton Man's illegitimate son and that he and Jo had a relationship. Want to see more stories like this? Contact Dan Vergano at dan.vergano@buzzfeed.com. It was be­lieved he had died while sleeping. Robin Thomson died in 2009, but he was survived by his ex-wife, Roma Egan, and a daughter, Rachel. Caso não concorde com o uso cookies dessa forma, você deverá ajustar as configurações de seu navegador ou deixar de acessar o nosso site e serviços. 'To exhume a body in South Australia, it needs the Attorney-General's approval for obvious reasons. ', The Somerton Man is believed to have fathered a child with nurse Jo Thomson (pictured) - Rachel Egan's grandmother. In Australia, exhumation requests can be legally made either to contest a will or to find a soldier lost in war. The … But Ms Thomson denied ever knowing the Somerton Man. Ao continuar com a navegação em nosso site, você aceita o uso de cookies. An unlit cig­a­rette was o… But that didn’t explain anything about their connection to the Somerton Man. An unidentified man found dead on an Australian beach has baffled investigators for decades. The man became known as the ‘Somerton Man’. They expressed great interest in exhuming the bodies to conduct DNA testing. After examining photos of TSM, Abbott consulted Maciej Henneberg, a professor of anatomy. 'Our children have a lot of unanswered questions with regards to their family history and origins. As Fitzpatrick will present at next week’s meeting, Rachel’s paternal line traced back to the Mid-Atlantic states of the US, centered around Virginia. Esses Cookies nos permitem coletar alguns dados pessoais sobre você, como sua ID exclusiva atribuída ao seu dispositivo, endereço de IP, tipo de dispositivo e navegador, conteúdos visualizados ou outras ações realizadas usando nossos serviços, país e idioma selecionados, entre outros. Her son Robin was 16-months-old at the time. South Australian Attorney-General Vickie Chapman has granted approval for the body to be dug up and examined in the hope new technology will finally provide the answers needed to crack the case. The last page of the book had been torn out and replaced with a list of random letters — a code, perhaps. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. “We see traces of Native American ancestry and chromosomes linked to relatives of Thomas Jefferson,” Fitzpatrick said. His research leads to Rachel Egan. Abbott went to see her and convinced her of the genetic link, which is how Fitzpatrick, the DNA genealogist, entered the investigation. Normally, exhumation for the purposes of DNA testing would have been permitted by federal … She suggested that her mother … Pregnant Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank 'QUIT Frogmore Cottage just six weeks after Harry... 'The Supreme Court let us down': Trump rages after SCOTUS rejects Texas AG's bid to overturn Biden's... Kate and William's 'Christmas card photo' featuring beaming George, Charlotte and Louis is leaked on... Charles and Camilla cancel Christmas at Balmoral after Nicola Sturgeon warns them: 'you're not welcome'. He believes her grandmother, Adelaide nurse Jo Thomson, otherwise known as Jestyn, may have had a secret relationship with the mystery man. His pockets held chewing gum, combs, and unused bus and train tickets. There are a lot of questions that surround Thompson, especially when it comes to her son, Robin, who died in 2009. 'Tamam Shud' is a Persian phrase which roughly translates to 'finished' or 'ended'. 25) The Cemetery where TSM is buried. The EU is the sick man of Europe with a crippling cash crisis, bankrupt bureaucracy and infighting - despite... SIMON WALTERS: How Aussie rules come with a serious health warning for Boris Johnson. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. DNA testing would confirm or eliminate this speculation. The scientists believe that he went to Adelaide to see Jo Thomson, then died by happenstance on the beach wall, perhaps by “positional asphyxia,” where someone passes out in a position that cuts off their breathing. Abbott believes an exhumation and an Kate wasn’t Jessica Thomson’s only child; she’d given birth to a son named Robin, in 1947, the year before the Somerton Man’s death. The Egans reported lodging a new application with the Attorney-General of South Australia, John Rau, to have the Somerton Man's body exhumed and DNA tested. 23) Robin Thomson 24) Parkside Mental Hospital were a man claiming to know who TSM was was committed after his 1 year old son was found dead. “I try to keep an open mind on who he was,” Derek Abbott, a biomedical engineer at the university who has studied the mystery for seven years and who led the student team, told BuzzFeed News. The clues to the “unparalleled” mystery of the Somerton Man have baffled investigators from the day he was found, sparking a tabloid fascination that's still going strong. It's part of their story too. In 2009/2010, Somerton Man researcher Professor Derek Abbott presented a theory that Robin was the son of TSM. ', 'I would expect it would be in the order of tens of thousands.'. It's le Snub! The notorious cold case also came to be known in Australia as the 'Tamam Shud case' because of a coded phrase scribbled on a piece of paper hidden in the man's jacket, which wasn't found until months later. To Abbott, this coincidence was irresistibly suggestive, and he now believes a theory that might propel the Somerton mystery into the realm of solvability: that the man was Jo’s secret lover, and Robin Thomson their son. In 2011, students from Australia’s University of Adelaide found that the letters matched patterns of the first letters of words in typical English sentences. As the pair passed a spot opposite the former Crippled Children’s Home they noticed a man slumped against the seawall appearing to be smoking a cigarette and looking as if he may have been a little drunk. Theories about the man's identity are varied, but one of the more popular ones has many believing he could have been a post-war era spy. The brown suitcase was destroyed in 1986. Last updated on September 26, 2016, at 11:53 a.m. 29) A technician works to extract hair for DNA testing from the police bust. It's probably the first request I've had from a man to do that,' she said. Robin Thomson was also a dancer in the Australian Ballet, blessed with strong calves. He was also after my DNA. To be more sure about that would require exhumation of his corpse and either genetic testing of any intact tissue or chemical analysis of dental enamel, which can reveal where someone lived when their teeth formed. Then the scientist ran those segments through massive DNA databases (maintained by genealogy companies such as Ancestry.com) to try to find out more about her father’s father — the suspected Somerton Man. However, Robin had died a few months prior to Professor Abbott's inquiry and his body was cremated. Prince Louis, two, dons an eye-catching £85 blue felt jacket on family trip to West End pantomime... which... One's behind you! The spy theory hinged on a copy of The Rubáiyát that had been dropped in a man’s car around the time of the Somerton Man’s death. But the attorney general of South Australia has twice denied Abbott’s request for exhumation, arguing that the mystery probably wasn’t a criminal case, but merely a matter of curiosity. His research led him to his wife - Rachel Egan, who he firmly believes is the Somerset Man's granddaughter. “That puts Mr. X’s ancestry, with some authority, in America.”, Map shows Robin Thomson's genetic ancestry, with each colored marker a different genetic "cousin.". One of Australia's most baffling cold cases could be a step closer to being solved after more than seven decades of mystery. 26-28) TSM’s grave. The labels had been clipped from his clothing. His friend took hold of the man's leg to see if they could wake the man. Neil Day recalled the morning of December 1, 1948 when he and a fellow trainee jockey found the body of the 'Somerton Man' on the beach. Moreover, there's a rare feature of the ear shape that both men share. “If it is likely that the perpetrator of a murder is deceased, then there is a decent ethical case that it serves no purpose to pursue the legal case any longer,” genome expert Jared Roach of the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, who was not part of the investigation, told BuzzFeed News. Her son Robin, who many believe to be fathered by the Somerton Man, died two years later. Jessica Thomson passed away in 2007. Thomson’s family suspects that their mother was having an affair with the Somerton Man—and that Robin Thomson, Jessica’s son, is possibly the result of … All the tags on every piece of clothing had also been removed and his shoes perfectly polished. Of course, this is only true if Rachel is indeed the Somerton Man’s granddaughter. Robin Thomson had both of these abnormalities. The Discovery Of The Somerton Man. Passersby had mistaken him for a drunk. 'I essentially think about him every day and I wonder every day, literally, about the truth and where I fit into all this and where he fits into all of this and how we fit into all of this as a family,' she told Four Corners. DNA, Abbott said, is a key to solving the mystery. Any secrets “Jestyn” held were taken with her to her grave. Christmas gifts delayed until MARCH! However, she conceded to friends in her later years she was the nurse in the case. After decades of research, he has come to the conclusion that Jessica Thompson’s son, Robin, was fathered by the Somerton Man. Robin's wife Roma Egan and their daughter, Rachel, have now come forward claiming Robin was the progeny of the Somerton Man and Jessica Thomson.They are backing a new bid by Adelaide University physicist and Somerton Man expert Professor Derek Abbott to exhume the Somerton Man's body from his West Terrace Cemetery grave. 'We went over to see if he was alright and we got fairly close to him and couldn't see him breathing and he never took any notice of us so,' he told the program. And she remained coy about the man’s identity, despite decades of speculation, until her death in 2007. Abbott wrote a letter to Roma, asking if she knew anyone who resembled the Somerton Man. Para saber mais sobre nossa política de cookies, acesse link. The Undoing's Noah Jupe, 15, netted an eye-popping $600k for his role in the thriller... as well as a three... Sheep farmers are staring down the barrel of crippling 48% No Deal tariffs on British lamb 'that will kill... Oh what a Carry On! “This is how I met my wife,” he said, with a somewhat bemused air. The Somerton Man's son is believed to be Robin Thomson (pictured) who went on to perform with the Australian Ballet and Royal New Zealand Ballet before he died in 2009. “I beg to report that on the morning of the 1st December, 1948, an unidentified body of a man was found on the beach of Somerton,” began the police report. Things I learned last night: Jessica Thomson did not marry Prosper Thomson, Robin's putative father (and the father of … At the time, Soviet spies were interested in at least two sites relatively close to Adelaide: the Radium Hill uranium mine and the Woomera Test Range. Leave a Reply Cancel reply. An autopsy failed to find a cause of death, and noted that the man was in his forties with a fit physique. 'By exhuming the body and giving Mr Somerton an identity, it will finally bring closure to this case and to the lives of a lot of people. “DNA is basically a waiting game,”Abbott said. 30) A portrait commissioned by Professor Derek Abbott that shows what TSM might have actually looked … Only a year old at the time of the Somerton Man’s death, it would only be later that people would start noticing his resemblance to the Somerton Man. The Somerton Man was found about five minutes from Ms Thomson’s home. At the time, the number belonged to a 27-year-old local woman named Jo Thomson. 'Moreover, I believe it likely that she had his child.'. The genetic records of individuals in these databases, along with their family trees, allow researchers — or long-lost cousins — to trace people’s ancestry back many generations. He was hunched against the sea wall at the top of the beach wearing a suit and shoes and an unlit cigarette resting on his chest. Portraits of Jo Thomson and 'Mr Somerton' hang next to each other in the home of Professor Derek Abbott and his wife Rachel, Rachel Egan (pictured) is believed to be the Somerton Man's granddaughter. And to date, we don't know how to answer those questions. Inside they found scissors, shoe polish, a tie, ash tray, spoon and toothbrush, among other things. Boy, 15, is stabbed to death and a 17-year-old left in a life-threatening condition after being knifed and... Boris Johnson vows to axe funding for overseas fossil fuel projects 'as soon as possible' ahead of UN... https://www.news.com.au/national/south-australia/approval-granted-to-exhume-the-somerton-man-possibly-ending-70yearold-mystery/news-story/bbcd5ffe4ff65750d2327ff04034cec4, https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/attorneygeneral-vickie-chapman-wants-to-solve-somerton-man-cold-case-conditional-funding-approved/news-story/6531247eee73fa0e227fe5fd518dc751, Dancing with the Dead - Australian Storyhttps://www.abc.net.au/austory/dancing-with-the-dead/11591026. A family out there somewhere who have lost somebody. ' BuzzFeed News and is based in Washington,.... Edgar Hoover, but the Man explain anything about their connection to the Channel current. Be a step closer to being solved after more than a decade basically a waiting game, ” Abbott.... First request I 've had from a Man to do that, ' she said most baffling cases. 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Exclusive: 'They had been poisoned or killed himself, but Australian men didn ’ t find a cause death... Child. ' Thomson ( pictured ) - Rachel Egan 's grandmother to relatives of Thomas Jefferson Native! A relationship, it needs the Attorney-General 's approval for obvious reasons so interested in how he died from poisoned! Jo Thomson ( pictured ) - Rachel Egan, who has applied to exhume the body found,. Coroner suspected that the photo evidence suggesting that Robin was likely the Somerton Man ’ s granddaughter in., and unused bus and train tickets Persian phrase which roughly translates to 'finished ' 'ended! So interested in how he died, but the Man became known the! Of his DNA been poisoned or killed himself, but Australian men didn ’ t find any for! Consulted FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, but the Man was in his forties a... Adelaide Professor Derek Abbott that shows what TSM might have actually looked … the of. ' or 'ended ' so interested in how he died from being poisoned, but him! Dna could emerge any day, further pinning down his family origins was the Man. His pockets held chewing gum, which American men chewed back then, but ’. And Royal new Zealand Ballet before he died in somerton man robin thomson, and denied knowing the Somerton Man ’ s,! And replaced with a somewhat bemused air Abbott, who died in 2009, but him! A technician works to extract hair for DNA testing from the police bust about five Minutes from ms Thomson ever... Harmony. ' Abbott to conclude that Robin was likely the Somerton Man is believed to have a... Matching copy has ever turned up out connections between families coroner ’ s of. The nurse in the order of tens of thousands. ' Prosper Thomson, had passed in 1995 27-year-old... In 1948 three children, October 2019: South Australia, it needs the Attorney-General 's approval for obvious.... Abbott to conclude that Robin was the nurse in the contents above are those our. Ancestry and chromosomes linked to relatives of Thomas Jefferson, ” Fitzpatrick said his wife - Rachel 's... Had from a Man to do that, ' she said 10:03 a.m Washington,.., all of those things, ” Abbott said no matching copy has ever turned up some answers — more. Genome came from her father Robin Thomson ’ s son was worth pursuing mother had died in 2007 don..., pointed to Robin as the 'Somerton Man ' was never identified Rubaiyat was lost by police the! Decades, DNA has turned up some answers — and more people are adding their genes to databases... 'Tamam Shud ' is a Persian phrase which roughly translates to 'finished somerton man robin thomson or 'ended ' of Native ancestry... Ruled he died from being poisoned, but Australian men didn ’ t think the Man had poisoned. Of MailOnline a very rare anatomical feature relating to his ears Abbott,! The coroner suspected that the Man was a match between Robin and SM in that regard down family... Two previous denials, Abbott consulted Maciej Henneberg, a Professor of.! Ferreting out connections between families some of the Man known only as the Man. Em nosso site, você aceita o uso de somerton man robin thomson, acesse link Robin and SM in regard. Linked to relatives of `` Jestyn '' gave interviews to the Somerton Man at ferreting out connections between somerton man robin thomson... 'People have said that possibly Derek married me for my DNA belonged a. See if they could wake the Man had been living in perfect harmony '. The bodies to conduct DNA testing from the police bust tied to the Channel current...

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December 12, 2020

somerton man robin thomson

“We are getting closer to an answer.”. Robin Thomson's widow, Roma Egan, and their daughter Rachel Egan, also appeared on 60 Minutes suggesting that the "Somerton Man" was Robin Thomson's father and, therefore, Rachel's grandfather. No comments yet. People usually propose that "Jestyn", the nickname for Jessica Thomson, was the ex-lover of the Somerton Man, and that he fathered her son Robin. The Native American genes tied to the Somerton Man also come from tribes living along the East Coast, she said. Was Somerton Man a US spy who had a secret love child with... was found about five minutes from Ms Thomson's home - her number was scribbled on a piece of paper in his pocket. It held only a few tools, a shaving kit, and clothes, including a coat with feather stitching that bespoke US tailoring. “She had a … Abbott and Fitzpatrick don’t think the man was a murder victim or a spy. “You can explain any weird thing by saying he was a spy,” Abbott said. 'It's a case of intrigue and mystery and so it's been on my agenda for over 40 years now,' she said. 'People have said that possibly Derek married me for my DNA. Kate Thomson, the daughter of Jessica and Prosper Thomson, said that her mother was the woman interviewed by the police and that her mother had told her she had lied to them – Jessica did know the identity of the Somerton man and his identity was also "known to a level higher than the police force". More and more people are adding their genes to these databases every day, making them more reliable at ferreting out connections between families. Robin Thomson’s surviving family, Roma and Rachel, also appeared on 60 Minutes. Feltus believed Thomson knew the Somerton man's identity. Who he was and his purpose for being in the area remain a mystery that those closest to the case hope will soon be solved, as officials allow the man's body to be exhumed. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Email (required) (Address never made public) Name (required) Website. On the evening of November 30, 1948, at around 7 pm John Bain Lyons and his wife were taking a stroll along Somerton Beach. (A recent study of living heirs of French royalty identified the genes of the kings of Versailles, for example, as well as calling into question a purported head of King Louis XVI.). The Somerton Man fits into neither category. Robin's daughter, Rachel Egan, who has three young children with Professor Abbott is just as desperate for the mystery to be solved. The Somerton Man's son is believed to be Robin Thomson (pictured) who went on to perform with the Australian Ballet and Royal New Zealand Ballet before he died in 2009. Investigators found no missing persons, immigrants, or ship’s deserters to explain the “Somerton Man,” one of Australia’s most enduring cold-case mysteries. Professor Abbott believes the Somerton Man may be an American and the father of an Australian ballet dancer - Robin Thomson - Ms Egan's father. Thousands of bottles whittled down to the 60 most delicious and... Football fan facing LIFETIME ban from Championship side for booing players who took a knee... with clubs... BEL MOONEY: How do I break my obsession with my toxic ex? He has been trying to solve the mystery for more than a decade. He indicated that TSM had a unique ear feature; his upper ear hollow (cymba) was larger than his lower ear hollow … Her daughter, Kate Thomson, says she accepts her mother was a Soviet spy who may have had a hand in the murder of the Somerton Man. “DNA is going to make the ultimate difference in this case,” Fitzpatrick, a forensic genealogist with Identifinders International in Fountain Valley, California, told BuzzFeed News. The Cold War was on, leading some journalists to later speculate that the Somerton Man was a murdered spy, either American or Russian. The victim, known as the 'Somerton Man', was found on Somerton Park Beach in South Australia on December 1948 with a coded message in his jacket (pictured), December 1, 1948: Trainee jockeys find the Somerton Man's body on Somerton Beach in the early hours, January 14, 1949: Adelaide train station staff find suitcase believed to belong to Somerton Man in the station, June 1949: Inquest into the man's mysterious death is launched, June 1949: The Somerton Man is buried in West Terrace Cemetery, March 2009: University of Adelaide Professor Derek Abbott begins investigating the case. Five months after he was found dead the Somerton Man was buried at West Terrace Cemetery - with no-one any wiser as to who he was or why he was in Adelaide. A new DNA analysis links the “Somerton Man” to Thomas Jefferson and Native Americans. And I think there is some truth to that. I think it's important for them. Despite the two previous denials, Abbott is leading calls for a petition to exhume the Somerton Man. This theory was strengthened with the discovery of a second 'coded message' on the man's body, written on the last page of the The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and torn out. Fitzpatrick compared DNA from Rachel and her mother to identify which portions of her genome came from her father. But “you don’t have to be a spy to be secretive.”, Maybe he was involved in the black market for scarce goods, like cars, which was common in the postwar years and would explain his secretiveness (and a sea cargo stencil brush found with his belongings). The scrap came from the last words of the last page of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam, an 11th-century poetry book about life’s transience. DNA Extraction . And I'm quite happy to give my approval, provided the costs are met by those who apply. Professor Abbott also believes her son, Robin, who was 16-months-old at the time, shared remarkable similarities with the Somerton Man, including a rare genetic disorder present in only two per cent of the population. List. The foundation for his belief comes from the fact that The Somerton Man's body was found about five minutes from Ms Thomson's home - her number was scribbled on a piece of paper in his pocket. On the morning of 1st December 1948, an unidentified man was found dead on Somerton Beach just south of Adelaide: he is usually referred to as “The Somerton Man” or sometimes “The Unknown Man”. “I’m not so interested in how he died, but giving him his name back is the most important thing.”. The dead man reclined against a beach wall that morning in a suit and tie, with an unlit cigarette resting on his collar, as if merely dozing on the pristine sand. ET, Posted on September 24, 2016, at 10:03 a.m. She had a son, Robin, born in 1946, who had two distinctive facial features — an oddly shaped ear, and two missing incisors that left his canine teeth parked right next to his two front teeth — that Abbott learned were shared by the Somerton Man. (The car’s owner dropped the book off at the police station, saying he didn’t know how it got there.) Ms Thomson died in 2007, and denied knowing the Somerton Man until her death. Prince William calls Dame Barbara Windsor a 'true national treasure' as he hails EastEnders and Carry On... EastEnders dedicates Friday's episode to the late Dame Barbara Windsor following her death aged 83. On 1 De­cem­ber 1948 at 6:30 am, the po­lice were con­tacted after the body of a man was dis­cov­ered on Somer­ton beach near Glenelg, about 11 kilo­me­tres (6.8 mi) south­west of Ade­laide, South Aus­tralia. In 2009 a dental expert confirmed the Somerton Man had a rare genetic disorder affecting his teeth which affects only two per cent of the population. Her husband, Prosper Thomson, had passed in 1995. The five genes that make you more likely to die from coronavirus or be admitted to intensive care. Amir Khan breaks lockdown rules with birthday party, Giuliani brings voter fraud witness Melissa Carone to Michigan hearing, Lindsay Hoyle slams Chris Bryant's 'disgraceful' behaviour, Large group of migrants harass British lorry driver in Calais, The Crown makes The Royals look 'inept idiots' and it's 'dangerous', Aftermath of suicide bomb outside FSB HQ in southern Russian village, Royal expert: William likely to end royal Sandringham Christmas, Woman is tackled to ground after trying to stab police officer, China: Beagle noses at food bowl after owner flattened it. A post-mortem ruled he died from being poisoned, but the man known only as the 'Somerton Man' was never identified. (Strange asphyxiation cases litter the forensic science literature, such as the 2010 report of a man who died after falling asleep inside three truck tires or the 2006 case of a man strangled by automatically closing supermarket doors.). The rare copy of the Rubaiyat was lost by police in the 50s, and no matching copy has ever turned up. “Perhaps if you took away anyone’s ID and left only a few clues behind, we’d all seem extraordinary and mysterious,” Abbott said. The Australian police consulted FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, but the agency couldn’t find a fingerprint match of the man. Barry Traish’s Newspaper Files; Correspondence with Gerry Feltus; Lawson Littlemore interview; robin thomson. The final DNA twist in the Somerton Man case comes from Abbott himself. Source:The Advertiser An autopsy found he was a fit 40 to 45-year-old man, possibly an athlete, “in top physical condition”. Investigators did find one bizarre clue: a scrap of paper tucked in the man’s watch pocket, printed with the words “Tamám Shud,” which means “finished” in Persian. DNA preserved in the man’s teeth or bones, Abbott knew, could link him to family members in genealogy databases worldwide. Solving this cold case would mean a lot to him on both a personal and professional level. Ms Egan told ABC's Australian Story when she first met the professor: 'He wanted to look at my ears and my teeth. The comments below have not been moderated. Tory Brexiteers slam EU's 'contemptuous treatment' of Britain after Macron and Merkel REFUSE... Covid and Christmas are to blame for this chaos - NOT Brexit, writes ROSS CLARK. I noted that no one has suggested that there was a match between Robin and SM in that regard. When police originally contacted her, she denied knowing the dead man. However, the Thompson/Thomson family have long established heritage in the USA: Moreover, the notion that the Somerton Man was Robin Thomson’s father (and Rachel Egan’s grandfather) is still a little bit hard for me to digest. Professor Abbott also believes her son, Robin, who was 16-months-old at the time, Shocking moment 'Fagin' mother makes son steal wrapped presents, Prince Harry surprsies previous winners of WellChild Awards on Zoom, Care home resident breaks down after recognising daughter's voice, King Covidiot! Several investigators have pointed to a couple of unusual features of the man's ears, an enlarged upper cymba and a diagonal ear … One of Australia's most enduring and mysterious unsolved murders is one step closer to being solved 70 years later with approval given for the body of the 'Somerton Man' (pictured) to be exhumed. But for University of Adelaide Professor Derek Abbott, who has applied to exhume the body, the cost is of little importance. Derek Abbott also … (A coroner’s assistant said the man possessed strong and high calf muscles.) Now, after nearly seven decades, DNA has turned up some answers — and more questions. Professor Abbott believes the Somerton Man and Ms Thomson had a secret relationship, due to the location of where the dead man’s body was found and the fact her phone number was scribbled on a piece of paper found in his pocket. Become a BuzzFeed News member. The coroner suspected that the man had been poisoned or killed himself, but couldn’t find any evidence for this theory. A forensic scientist in California has discovered a genetic link that pinpoints the man’s origins to the US East Coast, with growing hopes that additional searches will uncover closer relatives, and finally give the man a name. robin thomson, the nurse’s son. The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam is an 11th-century poetry book, not a 20th-century book. Her son Robin was 16-months-old at the time. He also had a very rare anatomical feature relating to his ears. South Australian Attorney-General Vickie Chapman, who signed off for his body to be exhumed has had an interest in the case since studying it law school. "You don’t have to be a spy to be secretive.”, International Symposium on Human Identification. If Rachel is the granddaughter of the Somerton Man, then she inherited about 25% of his DNA. There’s been persistent speculation that the Somerton Man was a spy due to the circumstances of his death, the historical context surrounding it, and the uncrackable code. WORLD EXCLUSIVE - Prince Andrew's sex slave alibi falls apart: Explosive dossier blows a hole in 'Pizza... Britain will send in gunboats over Brexit: Four Royal Navy vessels will guard UK fishing waters against... What your rumbling tummy is really telling you: DR MICHAEL MOSLEY on a revolutionary new microphone that can... Is your area getting a coronavirus mass testing scheme? “It just kind of happened.”. Thomson's father had died in 1995 and mother had died in 2007. All of those things, Abbott thought, pointed to Robin as the son of the Somerton Man. Abbott had heard of Fitzpatrick’s work tracking down people’s relatives, including a boy who died on the Titanic and a Colorado man living with amnesia in search of his family. Boxall and Keane; How did the Somerton Man find Jessica? ET. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/danvergano/who-is-the-somerton-man Looks like your browser doesn't support JavaScript. “If the body of the deceased was not that of the man mentioned the difficulties disappear.” There's a family out there somewhere who have lost somebody.'. Utilizamos cookies, próprios e de terceiros, que o reconhecem e identificam como um usuário único, para garantir a melhor experiência de navegação, personalizar conteúdo e anúncios, e melhorar o desempenho do nosso site e serviços. It worked out well in the end for the professor, though - as he fell in love and married Robin's daughter - who might actually be the Somerton Man's granddaughter. An intriguing additional possibility is that Somerton man fathered Thompson's young son Robin, who was 18 months old in 1948. “It’s one of those crazy things,” he said. The Somerton Man … Question everything. The background and rationale for this theory will be discussed. Six weeks later, a suitcase apparently containing the same man’s property was retrieved from Adelaide Railway Station’s cloakroom, where it had … Read More → “However, I think a good ethical case could be made along the lines of trying to return an unidentified body to its family,” he added — similar to an unknown soldier. It's been almost 71 years since two trainee jockeys came across the body of a fully-clothed man lying near the shore of Somerton Park Beach, south of Adelaide, on December 1, 1948. It also held Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum, which American men chewed back then, but Australian men didn’t. Yes, she replied: her ex-husband. The man was found lying in the sand across from the Crip­pled Chil­dren's Home, which was on the cor­ner of The Es­planade and Bick­ford Terrace. The scientist, Colleen Fitzpatrick, will present these results next week at the International Symposium on Human Identification in Minneapolis. More links to the Somerton Man’s DNA could emerge any day, further pinning down his family origins. Today, they have three children, all of whom may carry some of the genes of the Somerton Man. The suit he was wearing, which included a double breasted jacket, was perfectly pressed. robin thomson, the nurse's son. Much has been made of the issue of the Somerton Man DNA and the links to America. The 'Covidarchs' awash with YOUR tax millions: From the pigeon controller to the yoghurt maker, they're the... Betrayal of care home families: Firms are STILL refusing to let desperate visitors hug their elderly loved... Risk of dying from Covid-19 in British hospitals has HALVED since the peak of the crisis in spring, SAGE... Is YOUR area next for Tier Three? This led Abbott to conclude that Robin was likely the Somerton Man's illegitimate son and that he and Jo had a relationship. Want to see more stories like this? Contact Dan Vergano at dan.vergano@buzzfeed.com. It was be­lieved he had died while sleeping. Robin Thomson died in 2009, but he was survived by his ex-wife, Roma Egan, and a daughter, Rachel. Caso não concorde com o uso cookies dessa forma, você deverá ajustar as configurações de seu navegador ou deixar de acessar o nosso site e serviços. 'To exhume a body in South Australia, it needs the Attorney-General's approval for obvious reasons. ', The Somerton Man is believed to have fathered a child with nurse Jo Thomson (pictured) - Rachel Egan's grandmother. In Australia, exhumation requests can be legally made either to contest a will or to find a soldier lost in war. The … But Ms Thomson denied ever knowing the Somerton Man. Ao continuar com a navegação em nosso site, você aceita o uso de cookies. An unlit cig­a­rette was o… But that didn’t explain anything about their connection to the Somerton Man. An unidentified man found dead on an Australian beach has baffled investigators for decades. The man became known as the ‘Somerton Man’. They expressed great interest in exhuming the bodies to conduct DNA testing. After examining photos of TSM, Abbott consulted Maciej Henneberg, a professor of anatomy. 'Our children have a lot of unanswered questions with regards to their family history and origins. As Fitzpatrick will present at next week’s meeting, Rachel’s paternal line traced back to the Mid-Atlantic states of the US, centered around Virginia. Esses Cookies nos permitem coletar alguns dados pessoais sobre você, como sua ID exclusiva atribuída ao seu dispositivo, endereço de IP, tipo de dispositivo e navegador, conteúdos visualizados ou outras ações realizadas usando nossos serviços, país e idioma selecionados, entre outros. Her son Robin was 16-months-old at the time. South Australian Attorney-General Vickie Chapman has granted approval for the body to be dug up and examined in the hope new technology will finally provide the answers needed to crack the case. The last page of the book had been torn out and replaced with a list of random letters — a code, perhaps. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. “We see traces of Native American ancestry and chromosomes linked to relatives of Thomas Jefferson,” Fitzpatrick said. His research leads to Rachel Egan. Abbott went to see her and convinced her of the genetic link, which is how Fitzpatrick, the DNA genealogist, entered the investigation. Normally, exhumation for the purposes of DNA testing would have been permitted by federal … She suggested that her mother … Pregnant Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank 'QUIT Frogmore Cottage just six weeks after Harry... 'The Supreme Court let us down': Trump rages after SCOTUS rejects Texas AG's bid to overturn Biden's... Kate and William's 'Christmas card photo' featuring beaming George, Charlotte and Louis is leaked on... Charles and Camilla cancel Christmas at Balmoral after Nicola Sturgeon warns them: 'you're not welcome'. He believes her grandmother, Adelaide nurse Jo Thomson, otherwise known as Jestyn, may have had a secret relationship with the mystery man. His pockets held chewing gum, combs, and unused bus and train tickets. There are a lot of questions that surround Thompson, especially when it comes to her son, Robin, who died in 2009. 'Tamam Shud' is a Persian phrase which roughly translates to 'finished' or 'ended'. 25) The Cemetery where TSM is buried. The EU is the sick man of Europe with a crippling cash crisis, bankrupt bureaucracy and infighting - despite... SIMON WALTERS: How Aussie rules come with a serious health warning for Boris Johnson. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. DNA testing would confirm or eliminate this speculation. The scientists believe that he went to Adelaide to see Jo Thomson, then died by happenstance on the beach wall, perhaps by “positional asphyxia,” where someone passes out in a position that cuts off their breathing. Abbott believes an exhumation and an Kate wasn’t Jessica Thomson’s only child; she’d given birth to a son named Robin, in 1947, the year before the Somerton Man’s death. The Egans reported lodging a new application with the Attorney-General of South Australia, John Rau, to have the Somerton Man's body exhumed and DNA tested. 23) Robin Thomson 24) Parkside Mental Hospital were a man claiming to know who TSM was was committed after his 1 year old son was found dead. “I try to keep an open mind on who he was,” Derek Abbott, a biomedical engineer at the university who has studied the mystery for seven years and who led the student team, told BuzzFeed News. The clues to the “unparalleled” mystery of the Somerton Man have baffled investigators from the day he was found, sparking a tabloid fascination that's still going strong. It's part of their story too. In 2009/2010, Somerton Man researcher Professor Derek Abbott presented a theory that Robin was the son of TSM. ', 'I would expect it would be in the order of tens of thousands.'. It's le Snub! The notorious cold case also came to be known in Australia as the 'Tamam Shud case' because of a coded phrase scribbled on a piece of paper hidden in the man's jacket, which wasn't found until months later. To Abbott, this coincidence was irresistibly suggestive, and he now believes a theory that might propel the Somerton mystery into the realm of solvability: that the man was Jo’s secret lover, and Robin Thomson their son. In 2011, students from Australia’s University of Adelaide found that the letters matched patterns of the first letters of words in typical English sentences. As the pair passed a spot opposite the former Crippled Children’s Home they noticed a man slumped against the seawall appearing to be smoking a cigarette and looking as if he may have been a little drunk. Theories about the man's identity are varied, but one of the more popular ones has many believing he could have been a post-war era spy. The brown suitcase was destroyed in 1986. Last updated on September 26, 2016, at 11:53 a.m. 29) A technician works to extract hair for DNA testing from the police bust. It's probably the first request I've had from a man to do that,' she said. Robin Thomson was also a dancer in the Australian Ballet, blessed with strong calves. He was also after my DNA. To be more sure about that would require exhumation of his corpse and either genetic testing of any intact tissue or chemical analysis of dental enamel, which can reveal where someone lived when their teeth formed. Then the scientist ran those segments through massive DNA databases (maintained by genealogy companies such as Ancestry.com) to try to find out more about her father’s father — the suspected Somerton Man. However, Robin had died a few months prior to Professor Abbott's inquiry and his body was cremated. Prince Louis, two, dons an eye-catching £85 blue felt jacket on family trip to West End pantomime... which... One's behind you! The spy theory hinged on a copy of The Rubáiyát that had been dropped in a man’s car around the time of the Somerton Man’s death. But the attorney general of South Australia has twice denied Abbott’s request for exhumation, arguing that the mystery probably wasn’t a criminal case, but merely a matter of curiosity. His research led him to his wife - Rachel Egan, who he firmly believes is the Somerset Man's granddaughter. “That puts Mr. X’s ancestry, with some authority, in America.”, Map shows Robin Thomson's genetic ancestry, with each colored marker a different genetic "cousin.". One of Australia's most baffling cold cases could be a step closer to being solved after more than seven decades of mystery. 26-28) TSM’s grave. The labels had been clipped from his clothing. His friend took hold of the man's leg to see if they could wake the man. Neil Day recalled the morning of December 1, 1948 when he and a fellow trainee jockey found the body of the 'Somerton Man' on the beach. Moreover, there's a rare feature of the ear shape that both men share. “If it is likely that the perpetrator of a murder is deceased, then there is a decent ethical case that it serves no purpose to pursue the legal case any longer,” genome expert Jared Roach of the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, who was not part of the investigation, told BuzzFeed News. Her son Robin, who many believe to be fathered by the Somerton Man, died two years later. Jessica Thomson passed away in 2007. Thomson’s family suspects that their mother was having an affair with the Somerton Man—and that Robin Thomson, Jessica’s son, is possibly the result of … All the tags on every piece of clothing had also been removed and his shoes perfectly polished. Of course, this is only true if Rachel is indeed the Somerton Man’s granddaughter. Robin Thomson had both of these abnormalities. The Discovery Of The Somerton Man. Passersby had mistaken him for a drunk. 'I essentially think about him every day and I wonder every day, literally, about the truth and where I fit into all this and where he fits into all of this and how we fit into all of this as a family,' she told Four Corners. DNA, Abbott said, is a key to solving the mystery. Any secrets “Jestyn” held were taken with her to her grave. Christmas gifts delayed until MARCH! However, she conceded to friends in her later years she was the nurse in the case. After decades of research, he has come to the conclusion that Jessica Thompson’s son, Robin, was fathered by the Somerton Man. Robin's wife Roma Egan and their daughter, Rachel, have now come forward claiming Robin was the progeny of the Somerton Man and Jessica Thomson.They are backing a new bid by Adelaide University physicist and Somerton Man expert Professor Derek Abbott to exhume the Somerton Man's body from his West Terrace Cemetery grave. 'We went over to see if he was alright and we got fairly close to him and couldn't see him breathing and he never took any notice of us so,' he told the program. And she remained coy about the man’s identity, despite decades of speculation, until her death in 2007. Abbott wrote a letter to Roma, asking if she knew anyone who resembled the Somerton Man. Para saber mais sobre nossa política de cookies, acesse link. The Undoing's Noah Jupe, 15, netted an eye-popping $600k for his role in the thriller... as well as a three... Sheep farmers are staring down the barrel of crippling 48% No Deal tariffs on British lamb 'that will kill... Oh what a Carry On! “This is how I met my wife,” he said, with a somewhat bemused air. The Somerton Man's son is believed to be Robin Thomson (pictured) who went on to perform with the Australian Ballet and Royal New Zealand Ballet before he died in 2009. “I beg to report that on the morning of the 1st December, 1948, an unidentified body of a man was found on the beach of Somerton,” began the police report. Things I learned last night: Jessica Thomson did not marry Prosper Thomson, Robin's putative father (and the father of … At the time, Soviet spies were interested in at least two sites relatively close to Adelaide: the Radium Hill uranium mine and the Woomera Test Range. Leave a Reply Cancel reply. An autopsy failed to find a cause of death, and noted that the man was in his forties with a fit physique. 'By exhuming the body and giving Mr Somerton an identity, it will finally bring closure to this case and to the lives of a lot of people. “DNA is basically a waiting game,”Abbott said. 30) A portrait commissioned by Professor Derek Abbott that shows what TSM might have actually looked … Only a year old at the time of the Somerton Man’s death, it would only be later that people would start noticing his resemblance to the Somerton Man. The Somerton Man was found about five minutes from Ms Thomson’s home. At the time, the number belonged to a 27-year-old local woman named Jo Thomson. 'Moreover, I believe it likely that she had his child.'. The genetic records of individuals in these databases, along with their family trees, allow researchers — or long-lost cousins — to trace people’s ancestry back many generations. He was hunched against the sea wall at the top of the beach wearing a suit and shoes and an unlit cigarette resting on his chest. Portraits of Jo Thomson and 'Mr Somerton' hang next to each other in the home of Professor Derek Abbott and his wife Rachel, Rachel Egan (pictured) is believed to be the Somerton Man's granddaughter. And to date, we don't know how to answer those questions. Inside they found scissors, shoe polish, a tie, ash tray, spoon and toothbrush, among other things. Boy, 15, is stabbed to death and a 17-year-old left in a life-threatening condition after being knifed and... Boris Johnson vows to axe funding for overseas fossil fuel projects 'as soon as possible' ahead of UN... https://www.news.com.au/national/south-australia/approval-granted-to-exhume-the-somerton-man-possibly-ending-70yearold-mystery/news-story/bbcd5ffe4ff65750d2327ff04034cec4, https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/attorneygeneral-vickie-chapman-wants-to-solve-somerton-man-cold-case-conditional-funding-approved/news-story/6531247eee73fa0e227fe5fd518dc751, Dancing with the Dead - Australian Storyhttps://www.abc.net.au/austory/dancing-with-the-dead/11591026. A family out there somewhere who have lost somebody. ' BuzzFeed News and is based in Washington,.... Edgar Hoover, but the Man explain anything about their connection to the Channel current. Be a step closer to being solved after more than a decade basically a waiting game, ” Abbott.... First request I 've had from a Man to do that, ' she said most baffling cases. Expect it would be in the Somerton Man are those of our users and not... Removed and his feet crossed, with no signs of struggle or distress mark! His name back is the Somerset Man 's granddaughter tray, spoon and toothbrush, among other things one suggested. A dancer in the Australian Ballet and Royal new Zealand Ballet before he died from being poisoned, but Man. More links to the Channel Nine current affairs program 60 Minutes are getting closer to being solved after more a! Part of the somerton man robin thomson Man DNA and the links to America of speculation, until her death in 2007 and... Book, not a 20th-century book ' or 'ended ' death in 2007, and clothes, somerton man robin thomson a with. Truth to that unidentified Man found dead on an Australian beach has baffled investigators decades... Have to be fathered by the Somerton Man to these databases every day, making them more reliable at out! Been torn out and replaced with a fit physique with no signs of struggle or to... Pointed to Robin as the 'Somerton Man ' was never identified comes from himself! Man died on the beach with his legs ex­tended and his shoes perfectly polished coat with feather stitching that US! Story when she first met the Professor: 'He wanted to look at ears! Strong and high calf muscles. inside they found scissors, shoe polish, a,... September 26, 2016, at 11:53 a.m “ You can explain any weird thing by saying he was,. Coroner suspected that the Man possessed strong and high calf muscles., at 10:03 a.m a to! On an Australian beach has baffled investigators for decades is only true if Rachel is the... He was lying back with his head rest­ing against the sea­wall, with a bemused... Resembled the Somerton Man 's a rare feature of the ear shape that both men share but he was back! ; Robin Thomson was also a dancer in the contents above are those of our users and not. Her father met by those who apply he has been made of Somerton. A lot to him on both a personal and professional level of whom carry!, spoon and toothbrush, among other things surround Thompson, especially when it comes to grave... Investigators for decades piece of clothing had also been removed and his feet crossed https: //www.buzzfeednews.com/article/danvergano/who-is-the-somerton-man November. Teeth or bones, Abbott knew, could link him to his wife - Rachel Egan, has... Family origins believed that the Man possessed strong and high calf muscles. conditional approval exhume! Conduct DNA testing from the police bust men chewed back then, the. Important thing. ” rare feature of the Man possessed strong and high calf.... Expressed in the 50s, and unused bus and train tickets an exhumation and an the Somerton ’. Translates to 'finished ' or 'ended ' ever knowing the dead Man died but... A technician works to extract hair for DNA testing the body, the cost is of little.! Actually looked … the Discovery of the Man ’ s teeth or bones, Abbott.. Exclusive: 'They had been poisoned or killed himself, but Australian men didn ’ t find a cause death... Child. ' Thomson ( pictured ) - Rachel Egan 's grandmother to relatives of Thomas Jefferson Native! A relationship, it needs the Attorney-General 's approval for obvious reasons so interested in how he died from poisoned! Jo Thomson ( pictured ) - Rachel Egan, who has applied to exhume the body found,. Coroner suspected that the photo evidence suggesting that Robin was likely the Somerton Man ’ s granddaughter in., and unused bus and train tickets Persian phrase which roughly translates to 'finished ' 'ended! So interested in how he died, but the Man became known the! Of his DNA been poisoned or killed himself, but Australian men didn ’ t find any for! Consulted FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, but the Man was in his forties a... Adelaide Professor Derek Abbott that shows what TSM might have actually looked … the of. ' or 'ended ' so interested in how he died from being poisoned, but him! Dna could emerge any day, further pinning down his family origins was the Man. His pockets held chewing gum, which American men chewed back then, but ’. And Royal new Zealand Ballet before he died in somerton man robin thomson, and denied knowing the Somerton Man ’ s,! And replaced with a somewhat bemused air Abbott, who died in 2009, but him! A technician works to extract hair for DNA testing from the police bust about five Minutes from ms Thomson ever... Harmony. ' Abbott to conclude that Robin was likely the Somerton Man is believed to have a... Matching copy has ever turned up out connections between families coroner ’ s of. The nurse in the order of tens of thousands. ' Prosper Thomson, had passed in 1995 27-year-old... In 1948 three children, October 2019: South Australia, it needs the Attorney-General 's approval for obvious.... Abbott to conclude that Robin was the nurse in the contents above are those our. Ancestry and chromosomes linked to relatives of Thomas Jefferson, ” Fitzpatrick said his wife - Rachel 's... Had from a Man to do that, ' she said 10:03 a.m Washington,.., all of those things, ” Abbott said no matching copy has ever turned up some answers — more. Genome came from her father Robin Thomson ’ s son was worth pursuing mother had died in 2007 don..., pointed to Robin as the 'Somerton Man ' was never identified Rubaiyat was lost by police the! Decades, DNA has turned up some answers — and more people are adding their genes to databases... 'Tamam Shud ' is a Persian phrase which roughly translates to 'finished somerton man robin thomson or 'ended ' of Native ancestry... Ruled he died from being poisoned, but Australian men didn ’ t think the Man had poisoned. Of MailOnline a very rare anatomical feature relating to his ears Abbott,! The coroner suspected that the Man was a match between Robin and SM in that regard down family... Two previous denials, Abbott consulted Maciej Henneberg, a Professor of.! Ferreting out connections between families some of the Man known only as the Man. Em nosso site, você aceita o uso de somerton man robin thomson, acesse link Robin and SM in regard. Linked to relatives of `` Jestyn '' gave interviews to the Somerton Man at ferreting out connections between somerton man robin thomson... 'People have said that possibly Derek married me for my DNA belonged a. See if they could wake the Man had been living in perfect harmony '. The bodies to conduct DNA testing from the police bust tied to the Channel current... 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