The unknown dead man found on Somerton Beach

In Adelaide, Australia a man was found in what looked like his Sunday best down to the polished shoes he had on. He had no wallet, no ID, or driver’s license on him. Nothing to identify this man. Looked like he could have had a heart attack or poisoning but the toxicology report showed nothing in his system and it was not a heart attack. Fingerprints showed nothing, which back then they weren’t connected through other states and counties with fingerprints

I have been very interested in this case ever since I first heard it a few years ago now. This is such a strange case that I just can’t believe they have not found out who he was after all these years, no one came forward claiming to be family or know him. Something had to be very strange with this man for no one to come forward and claim the body. Nothing, in this case, adds up.

Even four months later after he had been found they uncovered new evidence on his person. Sewn-on the inside of his pants was a secret pocket. Inside this pocket, they found a rolled-up book page with the words “Tamam Shud” which means it has ended.

The page this was written on was from a book called Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyåm. The police put this in the local paper in the hope someone would come forward with any information. Eight months later a man came forward claiming that just after the body was found, he found a copy of that book in the back of his car that he used to park near Somerton beach. He didn’t think anything of it until he read the article in the newspaper.

The police looked through the book to try and see if any clues had been left in it. They had found a phone number which led them to a woman. She claimed not to know the deceased man but the police noticed she was off when she saw a picture of the man’s face on a bust they put on his gravesite. She claimed she sold a book with that name to a man named Alfred. The police found Alfred alive and well and with his copy of the book she had sold him.

They were back at square one. Every turn the police make in this case becomes a dead end. I see that last year they exhumed his body to extract DNA and hopefully get the answers we all are looking for. They said it can be a very lengthy process and may need a few experts to extract DNA if it is still at all possible to get any from the body.

"Even if we do obtain a sample, whether we get a result will be determined by the amount of DNA and the quality of the DNA." Forensic Science SA's assistant director of operations, Anne Coxon, said a "range of experts" would be needed for the next steps in the process.

She said it can be a long process and they still want to give the body the dignity and respect that it deserves.

Researcher Derek Abbott has tried to get the body exhumed for a long time now. He believes that his wife could be the Somerton man's granddaughter. They say getting DNA can be a hard process since the body had been embalmed, and the body's DNA can be impacted by the soil over the years and clothes he may have been wearing if any.

Let us all hope and pray this can come to an end and they can find out who this man is and any information about him. The world has been following this case young and old and many want answers.