Summary

In November 1992, the skeletal remains of a teen were found outdoors in Newburyport, a town in Essex County, Massachusetts. A father and son had stopped along Interstate 95 to pick flowers and found the badly decomposed corpse partially submerged in a swamp about 45 feet from the roadway. Authorities, including the Newburyport Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police, responded and documented the scene, noting that the remains were found with a dark, polo-style shirt, the elastic waist band from cotton underwear; and the remains of Levi jeans, size 32x30. Officials publicized the discovery and continued to investigate. For more than 30 years the State Police assigned to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office and the Newburyport Police attempted to identify the remains, but with no known leads the case went cold. The teen became known as Essex County John Doe (1992). Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP11797.

In May 2024, the Essex County District Attorney's Office submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas in hopes that advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy could help to identify the teen. Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from skeletal remains and used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to develop a comprehensive DNA profile. Othram's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team then used the profile in a genealogical search to generate new investigative leads in the case, including the identification of potential relatives of the decedent.

Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted, leading investigators to potential relatives of the teen. A reference DNA sample was collected from a possible relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unknown teen using KinSNP® rapid relationship testing. This investigation led to the positive identification of the teen as Anthony Angelli Rea, also known as Anthony Angelli, who was born in 1973. Anthony lived part of his childhood in Malden, MA with his mother and was reported missing from the Harbor School in Newbury in August 1988.

Anyone with information about Anthony Angelli Rea is asked to call the Massachusetts State Police Unresolved Case Unit at 855-MA-SOLVE.

Funding for Othram's casework costs associated with the advanced DNA testing in this case was provided by NamUs, a national program that assists the criminal justice community with the investigation and resolution of missing, unidentified, and unclaimed persons cases across the United States and its territories. NamUs is funded and administered by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and is managed through a contract with Research Triangle Institute International. We are grateful for the support of RTI, NamUs, and the NIJ. This case was worked as part of Othram's Project 525 initiative. Project 525, launched on May 23, 2024 in collaboration with RTI, which manages the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), aims to bring resolution to five hundred twenty-five juvenile cases published in NamUs.

The identification of Anthony Rea represents the 10th case in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts where officials have publicly identified an individual using technology developed by Othram. If you'd like to read about other cases in Massachusetts, visit DNASolves.