04/08/2025 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

District 19 On January 20, 2023, fully skeletonized, incomplete remains were discovered in a wooded area adjacent to a retention pond in Fort Pierce Florida. The remains were examined at the District 19 Medical Examiner's Office by Dr. Patricia Aronica and subsequently evaluated by Forensic Odontologist Dr. Walter Zoller and the C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory. Initial evaluation determined the remains to be those of a male individual, that likely identified as White/Caucasian, in his 40's to 50's by anthropological assessment and average age of 25.67 by odontologic assessment. There was no perimortem trauma. Evidence of healed right shoulder stabilization surgery was noted. Time since death was estimated to be at least a year to a few years. No cause of death could be established. The case report was finalized pending DNA profile establishment on April 26, 2023, and the individual was entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. Two molar teeth were sent to the Pinellas County Forensic Laboratory in order to establish a DNA profile for CODIS. On June 2, 2023, a Type I association was made between this case and a convicted offender database out of Pennsylvania. He was positively identified as a White/Caucasian male with a birthdate of 09/01/1991. Notification was made by Fort Pierce Police Department to his mother who reported that she had not heard from her son in two years. His last known residence an extended stay motel in Fort Pierce, Florida. He was incarcerated in Pennsylvania for 8 years. During that time, he was known to have had shoulder surgery. He was reported to have been suicidal for much of his life and known to use illicit substances. The cause and manner of death both remain undetermined at this time. METHODOLOGY Death statistics in Florida reflect the total number of certificates of death recorded by local county registrars of vital statistics. These include both resident and non-resident deaths. Data for 2023 was obtained from the Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics. Rates related to deaths in this report are medical examiner cases per every 1,000 recorded deaths. Population estimates for the state of Florida (as of April 1, 2023) were provided by the Florida Legislature's Office of Economic and Demographic Research. Unless otherwise noted, rates related to population in this report are deaths for every 1,000 residents. Information concerning autopsy numbers and other workload distribution figures are supplied by each of the 25 medical examiner districts on the Annual Report Workload Data Form. These forms are filed annually with the MEC staff within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement by May 31 of each year. Deaths included in this report are classified as "Natural" or "Violent." It should be noted that, for the purposes of this report, the term "Violent" includes all non -natural deaths. 400