Somerton Man

This individual is pending identification, and law enforcement has yet to confirm this status.

Somerton Man
Discovered	1 December 1948
Unidentified for	75 years
Sex	Male
Location	Somerton Park, South Australia
Age	40-45
Race	White
Height	180 cm (5'11)
Weight	80 kgs (176 pounds)
Body condition	Recognizable face
Postmortem interval	4 hours
Cause of death	Poisoning

Somerton Man was a man who was discovered in South Australia in 1948. It is sometimes referred to as the Tamám Shud case.

In May 2021, his remains were exhumed by the South Australian Police after receiving approval from the Attorney-General, after acknowledging the improvements surrounding DNA technology.

Case

The phrase "Tamám Shud" was found on a piece of paper in his pocket. The paper was not discovered until months after his death. It translates to "it is ended," a quote from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. The book also contained a phone number leading to a nurse named Jo Thompson. When shown a death mask of the man, it is reported that Jo nearly fainted, however she stated she didn't know who he was. Jo had also recently given birth to a son named Robin, who had very similar features to the man. It has been theorized that the decedent was the father of Robin.

The case was popular in Australia in the years immediately following his death. There has been heavy speculation that he may have been a spy during and immediately after World War II. Several personal items and clothing indicated the man may have originated from the United States.

After several denied requests, South Australia's Attorney General granted conditional approval for an exhumation of his remains in 2019 after the question of costs was settled and interested parties vouched to cover the costs. In April 2021, that approval was granted. A potential granddaughter of the decedent is involved in the case. 

Characteristics

• Mousy-coloured hair, mixed with red and grey.
• Grey eyes.
• Pronounced calf muscles.
• Three small scars on his left wrist.
• A scar inside of his left elbow.
• A scar on his upper left arm.
• Smoker.

Gallery

Rendering by Daniel Voshart

Additional rendering

Plaster cast of body

Shoes

Jacket

Laundry code on trousers

Writing on necktie

Shoe polish

Thread

Police looking through contents of suitcase

Belongings

Poster depicting the pack of cigarettes he carried.

Somerton Man's copy of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam (enhanced image)

Notes

Fingerprints

Scene where the body was found

Reconstruction of the scene where body was discovered.

Sources

• Somerton Man on Wikipedia ^{POSTMORTEM WARNING}
• Somerton Man at the Doe Network ^{POSTMORTEM WARNING}
• The Huffington Post ^{POSTMORTEM WARNING}
• Adelaide Now
• ABC:
  • Article #1 (8/10/2020)^{POSTMORTEM WARNING}
  • Article #2 (19/05/2021)