Manchester John Doe was a man whose body was discovered behind Manchester Royal Infirmary in 2003. It is thought he may have been homeless.
Case[]
On 10 January 2003, the badly decomposed body of an adult man was found in a patch of bushes behind Manchester Royal Infirmary. At autopsy, the cause of death was unable to be determined, but both hypothermia and natural causes were equally suspected by the coroner. Suspicious circumstances were ruled out.
Misidentification[]
Shortly after his discovery, the decedent was misidentified by police as an elderly man named John Delaney, who went missing from an assisted living facility in Manchester on 26 April 2000. The identification was made based on the clothing worn by the body being similar to those Delaney was last seen wearing, both Delaney and the body previously suffering injuries to the head and ribs, and the fact Delaney frequented the Manchester Royal Infirmary.
Delaney's son had the body cremated, believing it to be his father's, and the case was considered closed. It later came to light that although a DNA sample was taken from Delaney's sister, it was never used to confirm the identification as this was not a common practice at the time.
Five years later in 2008, John Delaney was found alive after his son recognised him on television as a man who was brought to the Royal Oldham Hospital on 6 May 2000 suffering from brain damage and amnesia after being physically assaulted. For the past eight years, Delaney had been living in the care of Oldham social services under the name 'David Harrison', unable to communicate properly. 'David Harrison' and John Delaney were proven to be the same person by DNA comparison with Delaney's son. Police then reopened the unidentified person case, but by this point, DNA samples and clothing taken from the body had been routinely destroyed. The discovery site of the body cannot be excavated or re-examined for further evidence as the area has since been redeveloped. Though the unidentified man's case is still open, police are no longer actively investigating.
Characteristics[]
- Collar-length grey hair.
- Large number of missing teeth.
- Remaining teeth in poor condition.
- Healed fractures to the ribs.
- Large bony growth at the site of a fractured bone in the left arm, with a new bone formed at the humerus.
- Previous head injury.
Clothing[]
- Green 3/4 length mackintosh overcoat.
- Beige jumper with a blue, green, and red diamond pattern.
- Blue short-sleeved shirt.
- Checked blue Marks & Spencer trousers.
- Dark-coloured slippers.
Sources[]
- Manchester John Doe at the UK Missing Persons Unit
- Manchester John Doe at the Doe Network
- The Guardian
- The Oldham Evening Chronicle
- The Irish Times
- The Manchester Evening News