Joseph Newton Chandler III
| Joe Chandler | |
|---|---|
 1999 driver's license photo of "Chandler" | |
| Born |
Unknown; surname likely "Nicholas" or "Nichols"[1] c. 1932-1937 Unknown (possibly California or South Dakota) |
| Died |
c. July 23, 2002 (aged c. 65-70) Eastlake, Ohio |
| Cause of death | Suicide by gunshot |
| Known for | Unidentified identity thief |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Weight | 160 lb (73 kg) |
Joseph Newton Chandler III is the alias of an unidentified man who committed suicide in Eastlake, Ohio in July 2002. After his death, investigators were unable to locate his family and discovered that he had stolen the identity of Joseph Newton Chandler III, an eight-year-old boy who was killed in a car crash in Texas in 1945.[2][3]
The lengths to which Chandler went to hide his identity have led to speculation that he was a fugitive.[3][4]
In late 2016, U.S. Marshals announced that forensic genealogist Colleen Fitzpatrick had used Y-Chromosome genetic information to link the man to the surname "Nicholas".[1]
Background
Real Joseph Chandler
Joseph Newton Chandler III, born in Buffalo, New York, was actually an eight[2][4][5] (or nine[3][6]) year-old boy killed in a traffic accident along with his parents in Texas on December 21, 1945.[3][4][5] Reports differ on whether the accident took place in Sherman[3][4] or Weatherford.[5][6]
Identity theft and life
The man stole Chandler's identity in September 1978 in Rapid City, South Dakota after applying for a Social Security card and moved to the Cleveland area shortly after. He was also believed to have lived in California at some time.[5]
The man was intelligent and appeared to have a background in electrical engineering. He worked as electrical designer and draftsman for Lubrizol, a chemical company headquartered in Wickliffe, Ohio.[5] The company laid him off in 1997.[2] The man had claimed to have a sister named "Mary Wilson" living in Columbus, Ohio; however, the address he provided for her led to a vacant lot.[4]
The unknown man was described as being a hermit who only left his home to go to work and eat.[5] Co-workers say he rarely talked to anyone and appeared to have few or no friends.[3][4] He also engaged in bizarre behaviors such as listening to white noise for hours, and once drove to an L.L. Bean store in Maine (a drive of at least ten hours and 700 miles/1,100 km) only to promptly turn around and drive back to Ohio after discovering there were no parking spots available in the store's parking lot.[4]
Suicide
The man's body was discovered in his apartment on July 30, 2002. He was believed to have killed himself about a week earlier.[5] He committed suicide by shooting himself in the mouth with a .38-caliber Charter Arms revolver he had purchased a few months earlier.[4][5] The man had recently been diagnosed with colon cancer, which may have influenced his decision to commit suicide.[2][3][5]
The man had $82,000 in his bank account and listed his co-workers as emergency contacts.[2] His past was discovered after authorities could not find any relatives and discovered that Chandler had died decades prior. Authorities were unable to find any usable fingerprints to assist in identification and were only able to get a DNA sample after discovering a hospital visit the man had made in 2000.[4]
Theories
Authorities are confident that the man was a fugitive of some kind.[4][5] There have been many theories as to what he may have been running from, none of which have been confirmed.
Some internet sleuths have suggested that he may have been the Zodiac killer as he resembled police sketches of the Zodiac and lived in California, where the Zodiac operated. Another theory is that he was Steven Campbell, an engineer from Cheyenne, Wyoming wanted for attempted murder.[2][3][5] Authorities have also considered that he may have been a German soldier during WW2, who later escaped to the United States.[3]
Personal details
Physical description
The man was a white male aged 65 to 70 who was 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m) tall and weighed 160 pounds (73 kg). He had graying brown hair and gray eyes.[5][6]
Rule-outs
The following people have been eliminated as possible identities for the man:[6]
- John Barreto
- Shirley Campbell
See also
- Lori Erica Ruff, the name used by Kimberly McLean, a Texas woman who committed suicide in 2010 and was found in 2016 to have lived on the stolen identity of a child who died in a Seattle-area fire in 1971 after running away from her Philadelphia-area home in 1986.
- Lyle Stevik, an unidentified male who gave the alias name when he checked into a hotel in Washington. He committed suicide in his room on September 16, 2001.
- Peter Bergmann, an alias used by an unidentified male found deceased on Rosses Point beach near Sligo, Ireland on 16 June 2009.
External links
References
- 1 2 Golston, Hilary. "FIRST LOOK Infamous Cleveland cold case suspect may be named". wkyc.com. WKYC. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Who Was Joseph Newton Chandler?". centredaily.com. Centre Daily Times. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Goldston, Hillary. "Cold Case: Why did dead Eastlake man steal young boy's identity?". wkyc.com. WKYC. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Caniglia, John. "Chasing a ghost: U.S. Marshal investigates dead Eastlake man who stole boy's identity; believes he was a violent fugitive". cleveland.com. Cleveland.com. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Case File: 454UMOH". doenetwork.org. Doe Network. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 "NamUs UP # 13634". identifyus.org. NamUs. Retrieved March 28, 2016.