KNOX COUNTY – A man whose remains were found in 1993 in Knox County has been identified as a result of a partnership between the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, the Knox County Regional Forensic Center, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation as part of the Unidentified Human Remains DNA Initiative.
On May 24, 1993, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a pedestrian being struck by a vehicle along Cedar Bluff Road in Knoxville. The adult male, who had no identification on him, was pronounced deceased at the scene, and his body was sent for an autopsy. Forensic pathologists determined that the man was likely between the ages of 51 and 60 but were unable to identify him. Investigators with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and the Knox County Regional Forensic Center continued to work to determine the identity of the victim using technology available in 1993, but their efforts were not successful. After exhausting all leads, the man was classified as a John Doe.
Efforts to identify the man continued with the University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Center submitting a sample of his remains to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A DNA profile was developed and entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS) in hopes that the man would eventually be identified, but no developments occurred.
In December 2022, the Knox County Regional Forensic Center (RFC) submitted a sample of the man’s remains to Othram Inc., a private lab in Texas, to create a comprehensive DNA profile. In May 2023, TBI agents partnered with the RFC as part of the TBI Unidentified Human Remains DNA Initiative. From there, Othram scientists used forensic genetic genealogical (FGG) DNA testing to develop information about possible relatives connected to the man. Last month, with assistance from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the York County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina, TBI agents used the information provided by Othram to locate and make contact with one of the potential family members and obtain a familial DNA standard. That standard was then submitted to Othram for comparison against the DNA of the unidentified man. Based on the DNA and forensic genealogy results, scientists at Othram confirmed that the Knox County John Doe was Elbert Louis Brown (DOB: 07/01/1940), originally from the York, South Carolina area. It was further determined that family members last saw Brown in 1992. He was homeless at the time.
Forensic genetic genealogical testing on this case was made possible by funding approved by the Tennessee General Assembly in 2022. You can read more about other cases submitted for FGG testing as part of the TBI Unidentified Human Remains DNA Initiative by clicking here.
