GA ATLANTA JOHN DOE: WM, 20-30, found on the side of I 75 in Atlanta, GA - 20 Jul 1995 *STEVEN SHELTON*

178UMGA - Unidentified Male​

Reconstructions of the victim by Marla Lawson and Wes Neville; victim's tattoos.

Date of Discovery: July 20, 1995
Location of Discovery: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia
Date of Death: June 24, 1996
State of Remains: Recognizable face
Cause of Death: Hit and run vehicle accident

Physical Description​

Estimated Age: 20-30 years old
Race: White
Sex: Male
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 85 lbs. (after hospitalization)
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Light brown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: A serpent or dragon on the chest and stomach. The word "Virgo" in blue on the left shoulder. A red and blue flaming Star or planet in the web between the thumb and index finger. A globe surrounded by letters on the left forearm. The tattoos were somewhat recent.

Identifiers​

Dentals: Unknown.
Fingerprints: Unknown.
DNA: Available.

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Unknown.
Jewelry: Unknown.
Additional Personal Items: Unknown.

Circumstances of Discovery​

Atlanta police picked up the unidentified man on the side of Interstate 75 late at night on July 20, 1995, and took him to Grady Hospital with severe head injuries. He was hospitalized for almost one year and died in the hospital on June 24, 1996.

Investigating Agency(s)​

Agency Name: Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office
Agency Contact Person: Dumonder Dawson
Agency Phone Number: 404-613-4400
Agency E-Mail: fcme(at)co.fulton.ga.us
Agency Case Number: 96-1115

NCIC Case Number: U194513653
NamUs Case Number: 691

Information Source(s)​

NamUs
FCMEO
Georgia Bureau of Investigation
Maryland Missing

178UMGA

 

[ariel]

Atlanta police picked up the unidentified man on the side of Interstate 75 late at night on July 20, 1995, and took him to Grady Hospital with severe head injuries. He was hospitalized for almost one year and died in the hospital on June 24, 1996. he was tentatively identified as "steven Shelton" initially, but that was proven false. a concert and a baseball game were both going on that night causing tons of traffic. this man was tagged as a grateful dead fan, but there was no grateful dead concert that night. there was a concert headlining white zombie that night in walking distance to his location of discovery, so we may be looking for a white zombie fan.

hair color: black, slightly curly.
eye color: light brown
state of remains: recognizable face
cause of death: hit and run incident
sex: male
estimated age: 20-30 years old
race: white
height: 6'2
weight: 82 lbs (after hospitalization)

distinguishing marks/features: A serpent or dragon on the chest and stomach. The word "Virgo" in blue on the left shoulder. A red and blue flaming Star or planet in the web between the thumb and index finger. A globe surrounded by letters on the left forearm (no existing photos.) The tattoos were all somewhat recent.

Dentals: Unknown.
Fingerprints: Unknown.
DNA: Available.
Clothing: Unknown.
Jewelry: Unknown.
Additional Personal Items: Unknown.

Agency Name: Fulton County Medical Examiners Office
Agency Contact Person: Dumonder Dawson
Agency Phone Number: 404-613-4400
Agency E-Mail: fcme(at)co.fulton.ga.us
Agency Case Number: 96-1115

NCIC Case Number: U194513653
NamUs Case Number: UP691
doe network case number: 178UMGA

renderings attached.
post mortem warning.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Hello @ariel and welcome to Crimewatchers!
We already had a thread for this John Doe, so I merged the threads together and moved them to the discussion area for unidentified persons from the 1990s.
Thanks for joining us here and hopefully we can get some discussion on this case.

 

[Kimster]

Atlanta police picked up the unidentified man on the side of Interstate 75 late at night on July 20, 1995, and took him to Grady Hospital with severe head injuries. He was hospitalized for almost one year and died in the hospital on June 24, 1996. he was tentatively identified as "steven Shelton" initially, but that was proven false. a concert and a baseball game were both going on that night causing tons of traffic. this man was tagged as a grateful dead fan, but there was no grateful dead concert that night. there was a concert headlining white zombie that night in walking distance to his location of discovery, so we may be looking for a white zombie fan.

hair color: black, slightly curly.
eye color: light brown
state of remains: recognizable face
cause of death: hit and run incident
sex: male
estimated age: 20-30 years old
race: white
height: 6'2
weight: 82 lbs (after hospitalization)

distinguishing marks/features: A serpent or dragon on the chest and stomach. The word "Virgo" in blue on the left shoulder. A red and blue flaming Star or planet in the web between the thumb and index finger. A globe surrounded by letters on the left forearm (no existing photos.) The tattoos were all somewhat recent.

Dentals: Unknown.
Fingerprints: Unknown.
DNA: Available.
Clothing: Unknown.
Jewelry: Unknown.
Additional Personal Items: Unknown.

Agency Name: Fulton County Medical Examiners Office
Agency Contact Person: Dumonder Dawson
Agency Phone Number: 404-613-4400
Agency E-Mail: fcme(at)co.fulton.ga.us
Agency Case Number: 96-1115

NCIC Case Number: U194513653
NamUs Case Number: UP691
doe network case number: 178UMGA

renderings attached.
post mortem warning.

Hi @ariel ! Was there something in particular that caused you to be focused on this case?

 

[ariel]

Hi @ariel ! Was there something in particular that caused you to be focused on this case?

yes! i actually picked it up from a very dark crevis of sleuthing years ago before i was a full-time sleuth, but this case is what took me in. i clung to it for a plethora of reasons. this man looks like hes had a rough life, and he just strikes me as maybe someone that's homeless or suffers from drug abuse and I'm a strong advocate for awareness. he was the most vulnerable type of person but i really feel as if there wasnt much effort put into giving him a name. he also looks a lot like my dad which struck something. it was really just a click

 

[GrandmaBear]

6'2" and 82 pounds is notable. It does say after hospitalization that was his weight but still I wonder how much he weighed when first struck. One would also think someone would recognize the tattoos. I wonder how hard or much they pushed this, his info or picture out there to the public.

So he remained in the hospital for like a year with head injuries? A hospital and not a nursing home and no one looked for him? Was he ever conscious or with the head injuries never was? And why was he misidentified at first?

Did he have no ID on him? That would be unusual for most people.

Welcome @ariel

I know nothing of this case but I'm curious now about it after reading a little of it.

 

[ariel]

6'2" and 82 pounds is notable. It does say after hospitalization that was his weight but still I wonder how much he weighed when first struck. One would also think someone would recognize the tattoos. I wonder how hard or much they pushed this, his info or picture out there to the public.

So he remained in the hospital for like a year with head injuries? A hospital and not a nursing home and no one looked for him? Was he ever conscious or with the head injuries never was? And why was he misidentified at first?

Did he have no ID on him? That would be unusual for most people.

Welcome @ariel

I know nothing of this case but I'm curious now about it after reading a little of it.

I don't think he would have weighed much more than that when he was hit, unfortunately. the tattoos were actually not well represented- they failed to get a photo of one of the tattoos. they also failed to properly feed him while in the year-long coma... which was really sad. Grady hospital is notoriously understaffed, which really didn't help. all of his photos were public but no photos were actually taken until he officially passed away in June of 96. he was never conscious in the coma, and he was basically brain dead. the only sign of life was a heartbeat. he was likely homeless and might not have had anybody to look for him in the first place which breaks my heart. he was misidentified because they found a slip of paper on him that had the name "Steven Shelton" so they assumed that was him. it was apparently someone else in the hospital and there was a mixup. when they picked him up from the highway they were focused on getting him to the hospital so they cut off all his clothing and left it at the scene (which was a horrible case of not caring). he could have had an ID, but it was never recovered):

<modsnip>

 

[GrandmaBear]

I don't think he would have weighed much more than that when he was hit, unfortunately. the tattoos were actually not well represented- they failed to get a photo of one of the tattoos. they also failed to properly feed him while in the year-long coma... which was really sad. Grady hospital is notoriously understaffed, which really didn't help. all of his photos were public but no photos were actually taken until he officially passed away in June of 96. he was never conscious in the coma, and he was basically brain dead. the only sign of life was a heartbeat. he was likely homeless and might not have had anybody to look for him in the first place which breaks my heart. he was misidentified because they found a slip of paper on him that had the name "Steven Shelton" so they assumed that was him. it was apparently someone else in the hospital and there was a mixup. when they picked him up from the highway they were focused on getting him to the hospital so they cut off all his clothing and left it at the scene (which was a horrible case of not caring). he could have had an ID, but it was never recovered):

<modsnip>

Wow. That sounds as close to abuse or neglect as just not caring or understaffing.

Were the tattoos done by a professional? I only ask as they cost some money and would have had to be done somewhere.

Please share any detail you have when and if you have time.

So they lost his clothing and any ID if there was any. Seems like a lot gone wrong here. And a slip of paper with a name wasn't his name.

And then they have quite an age rage of 20 to 30.

LIke many cases, it sounds like this one could use some attention or focus so they get after it a bit more. DNA, photos, details, publicity, what are they doing or what have they done?

And then it was a hit and run it sounds like... I wonder if he was under any influence of anything when found injured. Did they try at all to determine where he had been if anywhere? Or with who?

So is this a field or career you plan on pursuing? Maybe one day you will solve it/determine who he was.

 

[Kimster]

yes! i actually picked it up from a very dark crevis of sleuthing years ago before i was a full-time sleuth, but this case is what took me in. i clung to it for a plethora of reasons. this man looks like hes had a rough life, and he just strikes me as maybe someone that's homeless or suffers from drug abuse and I'm a strong advocate for awareness. he was the most vulnerable type of person but i really feel as if there wasnt much effort put into giving him a name. he also looks a lot like my dad which struck something. it was really just a click

It’s interesting how we latch on to certain cases. I have my cases that I follow really closely and try to figure out what happened, too. That’s why I asked you what drew you to this case. I hope he’s identified soon! Do you know if the Doe Network is interested?

 

[ariel]

Wow. That sounds as close to abuse or neglect as just not caring or understaffing.

Were the tattoos done by a professional? I only ask as they cost some money and would have had to be done somewhere.

Please share any detail you have when and if you have time.

So they lost his clothing and any ID if there was any. Seems like a lot gone wrong here. And a slip of paper with a name wasn't his name.

And then they have quite an age rage of 20 to 30.

LIke many cases, it sounds like this one could use some attention or focus so they get after it a bit more. DNA, photos, details, publicity, what are they doing or what have they done?

And then it was a hit and run it sounds like... I wonder if he was under any influence of anything when found injured. Did they try at all to determine where he had been if anywhere? Or with who?

So is this a field or career you plan on pursuing? Maybe one day you will solve it/determine who he was.

yes, unfortunately): the tattoos looked amateur but I'm actually excited about that. it must've been done by a friend or maybe done in jail. so somebody knows him and/or somebody has a record of somewhere he was staying. There's no way he was off the grid in Atlanta. any question that anyone has to ask i can totally give details on if you guys will just throw me a topic and yes, they lost everything they had on him which gives me a severe case of investigative rage. he might have had an ID or something that would factually identify him. he looked young, like maybe just out of his mid 20's. to me, he looks like he's pushing 30. they don't have fingerprints or dentals, but they do have DNA there's been people ruled out to be him, but it was sleuthing that did that. law enforcement really didn't do much. im giving it all my focus to make sure that somebody cares. (all-nighters at least three times a week, police sketch on my desk. full force sleuthing.) everyone deserves to have someone looking out for them! i think honestly they were just dicking around for a lack of better words. i dont think they did much for him. ive seen law enforcement be awful first hand already, so it wouldnt surprise me if they avoided working on it because they assumed he was an addict or homeless. they probably had another case that they saw as more important. it's sad because all cases are important because everyone deserves justice): currently law enforcement isnt doing anything at all because its very low priority to them. in my opinion, he had to have been on something when he died. crossing a busy highway after dark isnt something someone in a good mindset would think of doing. my theory is LSD because looking up on his closely he was showing all signs of abusing LSD. hallucinogens, most likely. they didnt try to find if he was with anything but its a very strong possibility he was coming back from the white zombie concert. and yes! im going into programs, studying, and im going to major in either geneology or any type of investigative work for cold cases. i have a lot of hope that ill be the one to get this into light so he gets a name

 

[ariel]

It’s interesting how we latch on to certain cases. I have my cases that I follow really closely and try to figure out what happened, too. That’s why I asked you what drew you to this case. I hope he’s identified soon! Do you know if the Doe Network is interested?

i get that feeling! it has to be a chemical thing. i believe in connections. the doe network has his name, and they arent actively interested- but they are responsive to questions

 

[ariel]

yes, unfortunately): the tattoos looked amateur but I'm actually excited about that. it must've been done by a friend or maybe done in jail. so somebody knows him and/or somebody has a record of somewhere he was staying. There's no way he was off the grid in Atlanta. any question that anyone has to ask i can totally give details on if you guys will just throw me a topic and yes, they lost everything they had on him which gives me a severe case of investigative rage. he might have had an ID or something that would factually identify him. he looked young, like maybe just out of his mid 20's. to me, he looks like he's pushing 30. they don't have fingerprints or dentals, but they do have DNA there's been people ruled out to be him, but it was sleuthing that did that. law enforcement really didn't do much. im giving it all my focus to make sure that somebody cares. (all-nighters at least three times a week, police sketch on my desk. full force sleuthing.) everyone deserves to have someone looking out for them! i think honestly they were just dicking around for a lack of better words. i dont think they did much for him. ive seen law enforcement be awful first hand already, so it wouldnt surprise me if they avoided working on it because they assumed he was an addict or homeless. they probably had another case that they saw as more important. it's sad because all cases are important because everyone deserves justice): currently law enforcement isnt doing anything at all because its very low priority to them. in my opinion, he had to have been on something when he died. crossing a busy highway after dark isnt something someone in a good mindset would think of doing. my theory is LSD because looking up on his closely he was showing all signs of abusing LSD. hallucinogens, most likely. they didnt try to find if he was with anything but its a very strong possibility he was coming back from the white zombie concert. and yes! im going into programs, studying constantly, and im going to major in either geneology or any type of investigative work for cold cases. i have a lot of hope that ill be the one to get this into light so he gets a name

 

[GrandmaBear]

yes, unfortunately): the tattoos looked amateur but I'm actually excited about that. it must've been done by a friend or maybe done in jail. so somebody knows him and/or somebody has a record of somewhere he was staying. There's no way he was off the grid in Atlanta. any question that anyone has to ask i can totally give details on if you guys will just throw me a topic and yes, they lost everything they had on him which gives me a severe case of investigative rage. he might have had an ID or something that would factually identify him. he looked young, like maybe just out of his mid 20's. to me, he looks like he's pushing 30. they don't have fingerprints or dentals, but they do have DNA there's been people ruled out to be him, but it was sleuthing that did that. law enforcement really didn't do much. im giving it all my focus to make sure that somebody cares. (all-nighters at least three times a week, police sketch on my desk. full force sleuthing.) everyone deserves to have someone looking out for them! i think honestly they were just dicking around for a lack of better words. i dont think they did much for him. ive seen law enforcement be awful first hand already, so it wouldnt surprise me if they avoided working on it because they assumed he was an addict or homeless. they probably had another case that they saw as more important. it's sad because all cases are important because everyone deserves justice): currently law enforcement isnt doing anything at all because its very low priority to them. in my opinion, he had to have been on something when he died. crossing a busy highway after dark isnt something someone in a good mindset would think of doing. my theory is LSD because looking up on his closely he was showing all signs of abusing LSD. hallucinogens, most likely. they didnt try to find if he was with anything but its a very strong possibility he was coming back from the white zombie concert. and yes! im going into programs, studying, and im going to major in either geneology or any type of investigative work for cold cases. i have a lot of hope that ill be the one to get this into light so he gets a name

So someone has not seen this man for almost 30 years whether family, friends, etc. Even though it was almost 30 years ago, it wasn't the dark ages and this was big city Atlanta and it is inexcusable imo that they lost any ID, clothing, cell phone or anything else the man my have had with him or on him. I would think both LE and EMTs etc. would know better and see enough cases to know it may be evidence and all should be kept.

So is it known he was on something or not sure? He could have I suppose been pushed into traffic or out of a moving vehicle... If he attended the concert or ballgame it is likely he was with someone but that's an IF he went of course. Did they say how he was dressed at least or not even that? What makes you think he was likely homeless? Is it mainly because he hasn't been identified?

My guess would be he was from the area or at least not from far away (like states away). My reason for thinking that is that I wouldn't go vacation or visit Atlanta in July (hot) or plan a trip there unless it was necessary or required for business or something or to visit family if one had family there.

The tattoos being amateurish is interesting. Why would anyone want one that was? It makes me thing he is/was quite young, I mean if I got a tattoo, I'd want a nice one done professionally as after all, they are permanent. Or as you say they could have been done in jail/prison. It said the tattoos were fairly recent... That would complicate someone knowing him identifying him quite possibly because those that knew him may not have realized he had recent tattoos.

I'd have to assume the hit and run driver has never come forward either...?

So they didn't know who he was, he was in the hospital for almost a year before dying and no one thought to get fingerprints or photos of tattoos, etc.? Unbelievable. I mean even though it may not be murder they did have a crime with a hit and run AND an unidentified man right?

You'll be an asset going into some area of education and career relating to such things especially since you have a real interest in it/passion for it.

 

[ariel]

I totally agree! the way they handled this keeps me up at night. we arent sure if he was on anything because they had no way of knowing. they didn't take any tests on him while he was first admitted into the hospital. but by the way he was acting im sure he was. i mean, middle of Atlanta coming back from a heavy metal concert (most likely). I couldn't imagine he wasn't. they didn't describe what he was wearing and nobody knows to this day. he wasn't pushed or fell out of anything because people did see it go down and it was reported that he was trying to cross the highway. I think he was homeless because if he wasn't, he would probably be in a car instead of taking the risk of crossing a highway. my dad was homeless for a long time and he used to tell me that crossing highways was pretty common. it was like taking a shortcut. i also think he was from the area. his tattoos tell me that he's probably local. I doubt he had a family locally because they didn't come to get him, and he probably didn't have a job. and if he did, I don't think it was a traveling type of job. I think the tattoos were amateure because he might not have had the money for them... I know tattoos are expensive. if he wanted that sick chest piece professionally it would have been like 200-250. even small tattoos can be about 50-100 dollars. i agree that he was probably below 30. nobody has come forward and said they hit him, unfortunately. personally, i would just love to get ahold of them. they really did him wrong... especially since the tattoo they didn't get a picture of had foreign wording or some type of code around it. somebody could have read that and it could have said something crucial.

and thank you! it means a lot to me when people appreciate or recognize what i do! i can see myself one day being just as restless and passionate as i am now haha

 

[ariel]

hi guys! have we found anything on the case since ive been gone? im not sure who is actively working on the case as of now other than me, but I'm sure one of you guys has this case has slowed again and there hasnt been much activity which is, like, hurting me- but i have an idea! publicity. podcasts, flyers, and contact with even more law enforcement. thats our key to finding him. im not sure if Ashley flowers from crime junkie would take it in but we should all try by going to the website and submitting a request to have him featured on an episode. i doubt they are gonna take just one person seriously, so i am asking if you guys would help. submit forms to any podcast you can, tell all your friends, theres a form on web sleuths- i sincerely want this case to be solved and i know we can do it! i love what we all do and i know all of us here have big hearts. im excited to see what comes of this!

 

[Kimster]

hi guys! have we found anything on the case since ive been gone? im not sure who is actively working on the case as of now other than me, but I'm sure one of you guys has this case has slowed again and there hasnt been much activity which is, like, hurting me- but i have an idea! publicity. podcasts, flyers, and contact with even more law enforcement. thats our key to finding him. im not sure if Ashley flowers from crime junkie would take it in but we should all try by going to the website and submitting a request to have him featured on an episode. i doubt they are gonna take just one person seriously, so i am asking if you guys would help. submit forms to any podcast you can, tell all your friends, theres a form on web sleuths- i sincerely want this case to be solved and i know we can do it! i love what we all do and i know all of us here have big hearts. im excited to see what comes of this!

These cases move slowly unless a DNA match is made, I’m afraid.

 

[ariel]

These cases move slowly unless a DNA match is made, I’m afraid.

oh yeah- ive seen this go down a lot. i wasn't ever involved really but its not my first rodeo with doe cases for sure. even if it gets a little frustrating, patience is key. spreading the word is all we can do, but i do have a lot of hope for it

 

[Romulus]

Try this DNA DOE PROJECT submit case

Case Intake Form (for agencies only)

Thank you for your interest in the DNA Doe Project! This form is for law enforcement agencies, medical examiners, and other authorized parties who want to learn more about working with the DNA Doe Project on unidentified human remains (UHR) cases in their custody.

docs.google.com

 

[ariel]

Try this DNA DOE PROJECT submit case

Case Intake Form (for agencies only)

Thank you for your interest in the DNA Doe Project! This form is for law enforcement agencies, medical examiners, and other authorized parties who want to learn more about working with the DNA Doe Project on unidentified human remains (UHR) cases in their custody.

docs.google.com

ive asked the dna doe project before, but im gonna do it again. they haven't heard the last of me haha. im not letting go until Jessie doe has a real name. (ive been calling him jessie because john doe feels kinda mean). i bet it will get some more urgency if numerous people submit so my friends and family are probably gonna fill it out, too

thank you for the form! last time i emailed them directly haha

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Autopsy Report



For some reason he presented at autopsy in the fetal position. Apparently due to muscle contractures. Which also means that his height may not be precisely accurate.
Also noted as cachectic, which basically means he had wasted away... lost a ton of body mass and muscle.
Poor guy also had a ton of pressure ulcers and had developed pneumonia (not what killed him, though).

Steven Shelton

Steven W. Shelton was a man who was struck by a vehicle in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 20, 1995. He remained hospitalized for almost a year before he died of complications from the accident on June 24, 1996. He was identified in September 2023, but his body went unclaimed. Shelton was involved in...

unidentified-awareness.fandom.com

Also, I'm NOT convinced that this tattoo says "Virgo". If it does, it looks like a cover-up of a previous tattoo. Also the dragon tattoo looks like it could be covering up something else too.



The good news here is that his DNA is on file so hopefully there will eventually be a match!