Thread: AZ. Headless man's identity still unknown

Mutilated corpse turned over to anthropologist

Headless man's identity still unknown

Veronica M. Cruz Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Thursday, January 12, 2012 12:00 am

The autopsy of the decapitated man found west of Tucson last week revealed few details about his identity.

The man, whose hands and feet had also been removed, was found on the side of a dirt road Jan. 6 in the area near North Reservation Road and West Mile Wide Road by two men cutting grass to feed their animals.

Investigators believe the man was killed in another location and his body was later dumped in the desert, said Deputy Dawn Barkman, a spokeswoman for the Pima County Sheriff's Department.

An autopsy performed the day after the body was found helped determine that the man is between 5 feet 8 inches and 6 feet tall and weighed between 180 to 200 pounds, said Dr. Gregory Hess, the chief medical examiner in Pima County.

An anthropologist will begin examining the body today to provide more details about the crime, Hess said.

The anthropologist will examine the man's bones to give an estimate on his age and will also try to find out what was used to dismember the body, Hess said.

Without a head to compare dental records and no hands to compare fingerprints, identifying the man hinges on somebody coming forward with information, Hess said.

"Clearly the whole point of this is to prevent identification," Hess said.

The man's body was not badly decomposed, and he likely died within 48 hours of being found, Hess said.

Deputies believe the man had been in the desert for 24 hours or less, Barkman said.

An Avra Valley man whose name and phone number were found written on a piece of paper near the area where the body was found said deputies showed up at his home Friday to question him and search the house.

"They looked for body parts in my refrigerator and my freezer," said the man, who is not being named by the Star because investigators say he has no link to the case.

The man said he had no idea how his phone number ended up in the area of the grim discovery. "Hell, that could have come from anywhere," he said.

The Sheriff's Department has not received any tips about the killing or the man's identity, Barkman said.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or 88-CRIME (882-7463).

Contact reporter Veronica Cruz at vcruz@azstarnet.com or 573-4224.

Headless man's identity still unknown

?"Hell, that could have come from anywhere," he said."?
Not my phone number, anyone else's phone number just happen to be floating around a headless body?
What, does this guy hand out his phone number 50 times a week.
I could name the people I gave my phone number to the last 10 years..
That includes business cards.

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