Summary
On August 7th, 1993, a man fell from a 20-foot-high wall near the downtown library in Nashville, Tennessee. He was taken to Vanderbilt Hospital with a severe head injury, where he died. Medical examiners determined that the man was between the ages of 45 and 60 years old, stood approximately 5’10” tall, and weighed 188 pounds. The man could not be identified and his death was ruled an accident.
In April 2008, details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP1551. Despite extensive efforts by law enforcement investigators to identify the man, no matches were found, and the case went cold due to a lack of investigative leads. The man became known as Nashville John Doe.
In 2023, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the man. Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the forensic evidence, and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive genealogical profile for the unknown man. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team then used this profile to conduct genetic genealogy research, ultimately providing new investigative leads to law enforcement.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the man. Reference DNA samples were collected from the potential relatives and compared to the DNA profile of the unknown man. This investigation led to the positive identification of the man, who is now known to be Donald Elden Verhalen, born June 12, 1937. Verhalen was from Wisconsin and moved to Florida. He was last known to be living in Murfreesboro, TN in the late 1980’s when his family lost contact with him.
The identification of Donald Elden Verhalen represents the fifteenth case in the State of Tennessee where officials have publicly identified an individual using technology developed by Othram. Most recently in Knoxville, Tennessee, Brian Aleric Sanderson, whose remains were discovered by a passerby on I-275, was identified after 21 years.
Funding for the advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy used in this case was provided by NamUs, a national clearinghouse 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.
Michael Vogen
Director of Case Management
Michael works with law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and Canada on “unsolvable“ cases that can benefit from advanced DNA testing methods. He helps these agencies use cutting edge DNA sequencing and new forensic techniques to develop investigative leads for their cases.