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

 

[GrandmaBear]

im glad to help. i always have been. but if LE would have just done their job my life would have been so much easier. ive loved working on this case. ive lived and breathed it, but its been hard. its given me purpose but has also taken out chunks of my heart every day. every time i see that post-mortem photo some light leaves me, so ive always resented LE for botching the whole investigation. they did our doe wrong, they did his family wrong and they did me wrong.

i sent them links that mentioned how they had tentatively identified the man but they were most likely incorrect. every single link we have ever mentioned on him and more was sent over. autopsy reports, descriptions, circumstances- etc. but at the moment we're putting our trust in Eagan county and NamUs. as far as i can remember NamUs has always been our friend, and Eagan county ultimately wants their 17 year old back just as badly as i want our doe identified so I trust them immensely.

yeah I noticed Eagan's Twitter was active with recent missing people and they seem to have taken Kerge's case very seriously as well. It's the LE with your Doe I'd wonder about if any. Namus is likely fine, they are in it to find the unnamed and match does to missing people...

 

[GrandmaBear]

off topic but i really wish we had a way to take the glasses off of kerze. it throws me off but even with him he looks just like jessie doe.

Is that why you asked about photo shop? I've never done such but my sister used to be good at editing photos, like moving people closer, etc. but that's probably more cropping, etc. and then piecing, I have no idea.

 

[ariel]

Is that why you asked about photo shop? I've never done such but my sister used to be good at editing photos, like moving people closer, etc. but that's probably more cropping, etc. and then piecing, I have no idea.

yeah thats why. im trying to picture him without glasses and he looks JUST like my doe but i need to see it with my eyes.

 

[ariel]

yeah I noticed Eagan's Twitter was active with recent missing people and they seem to have taken Kerge's case very seriously as well. It's the LE with your Doe I'd wonder about if any. Namus is likely fine, they are in it to find the unnamed and match does to missing people...

im really glad that they're taking this seriously because if not I most definitely would have resorted to violence by now lol

 

[GrandmaBear]

yeah thats why. im trying to picture him without glasses and he looks JUST like my doe but i need to see it with my eyes.

I can understand that. Maybe someone will see this and if they can't, maybe they will know someone who can erase that. What about you printing a pic of him and kind of with a marker or something eliminating the glasses by blending with the face tones? I'm no artist but you did a sketch didn't you? I bet you could do it well enough to kind of see what he would look like without glasses.

 

[GrandmaBear]

im really glad that they're taking this seriously because if not I most definitely would have resorted to violence by now lol

I was worried you would be devastated if they said kind of what they did that if the DNA had a hit Namus would have let them know. Even thinking that, I believe they still need to look into it and it sounds like they are and for that reason I am impressed with Eagan PD.

 

[ariel]

I can understand that. Maybe someone will see this and if they can't, maybe they will know someone who can erase that. What about you printing a pic of him and kind of with a marker or something eliminating the glasses by blending with the face tones? I'm no artist but you did a sketch didn't you? I bet you could do it well enough to kind of see what he would look like without glasses.

hey, that's actually a really good idea! i have plenty of colored pencils and a printer. im sure i can get the glasses off of him somehow. i just wish we had a sketch where Jessie doe wasn't smiling. for some reason, they drew a smirk on him in every sketch. I'm not sure why. ive never seen anyone do that but i wish they hadnt. the photo we have of kerze is a photo of him with a more blank expression. i also wish we had some dentals. that would speed up the process. we now know where jessie doe (christopher kerze?) was buried. im not saying they should bring him up, because i just really dont want that and i dont think anyone here does. but, if its absolutely necessary...

 

[Cousin Dupree]

hey, that's actually a really good idea! i have plenty of colored pencils and a printer. im sure i can get the glasses off of him somehow. i just wish we had a sketch where Jessie doe wasn't smiling. for some reason, they drew a smirk on him in every sketch. I'm not sure why. ive never seen anyone do that but i wish they hadnt. the photo we have of kerze is a photo of him with a more blank expression. i also wish we had some dentals. that would speed up the process. we now know where jessie doe (christopher kerze?) was buried. im not saying they should bring him up, because i just really dont want that and i dont think anyone here does. but, if its absolutely necessary...

Pretty amazing isn't it? @GrandmaBear had a really good idea.

 

[ariel]

i hope they contact the family- i mean, its gotta be their kid. i want to know if Christopher was known for his eyes. i looked at his picture and its hard to tell but at the bottom of the iris the light hits them in a way that makes them shine a lighter brown just like jessie doe's which is such an uncommon shade for eyes. i think the whole case here is the upper half of the faces being so identicle. its hard to tell with the lips, but you can see it well either way. same face shape and placing. the early 90's photo coloring quality is so bad. i wish we had some more color. im wondering if somewhere in some folder they have other photos of christopher and jessie doe both. who would i even ask for that, though?

 

[Tresir]

Just posting this link to the Charley project which has pics of Christopher without glasses. Maybe someone can do a side by side?

Christopher Matthew Kerze – The Charley Project

Christopher Matthew Kerze​

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Christopher, circa 1990; Age-progression to age 43 (circa 2016); Shotgun and watch similar to Christopher's; Closeup of shotgun

 

[ariel]

Just posting this link to the Charley project which has pics of Christopher without glasses. Maybe someone can do a side by side?

Christopher Matthew Kerze – The Charley Project

Christopher Matthew Kerze​

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Christopher, circa 1990; Age-progression to age 43 (circa 2016); Shotgun and watch similar to Christopher's; Closeup of shotgun

HOLY ****

 

[ariel]

Just posting this link to the Charley project which has pics of Christopher without glasses. Maybe someone can do a side by side?

Christopher Matthew Kerze – The Charley Project

Christopher Matthew Kerze​

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Christopher, circa 1990; Age-progression to age 43 (circa 2016); Shotgun and watch similar to Christopher's; Closeup of shotgun

okay, well- so we found him. let me get this to officer brian. im gonna go get my meds and get into a rational mindset.

 

[ariel]

atlanta, i bet.

 

[GrandmaBear]

hey, that's actually a really good idea! i have plenty of colored pencils and a printer. im sure i can get the glasses off of him somehow. i just wish we had a sketch where Jessie doe wasn't smiling. for some reason, they drew a smirk on him in every sketch. I'm not sure why. ive never seen anyone do that but i wish they hadnt. the photo we have of kerze is a photo of him with a more blank expression. i also wish we had some dentals. that would speed up the process. we now know where jessie doe (christopher kerze?) was buried. im not saying they should bring him up, because i just really dont want that and i dont think anyone here does. but, if its absolutely necessary...

I don't get told that very often so thanks lol. It's been a horrid day so timing of my seeing it is great too! Makes me feel a bit better.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Pretty amazing isn't it? @GrandmaBear had a really good idea.

Oh you know you just wish it was you. That'll never happen.

 

[GrandmaBear]

i hope they contact the family- i mean, its gotta be their kid. i want to know if Christopher was known for his eyes. i looked at his picture and its hard to tell but at the bottom of the iris the light hits them in a way that makes them shine a lighter brown just like jessie doe's which is such an uncommon shade for eyes. i think the whole case here is the upper half of the faces being so identicle. its hard to tell with the lips, but you can see it well either way. same face shape and placing. the early 90's photo coloring quality is so bad. i wish we had some more color. im wondering if somewhere in some folder they have other photos of christopher and jessie doe both. who would i even ask for that, though?

Eagan probably has more of Kerze (do I have the last name right?) and maybe newspapers ran some but hard to say with missing adults from a metropolitan area if it made much of a splash in the news at all. The parents have been wondering for enough years and the cops that the parents probably provided at least a few.

With Jesse, it is hard to say. They didn't care enough to treat him right so taking much for pics I think may be unlikely...

 

[GrandmaBear]

I'm not sure if they would contact the family until they were more certain. It would raise their hopes and then crash them if they find he isn't their son. But then maybe cops want to give them hope/get some credit/show the family people are still interested and that you (and others) are looking so maybe they would tell them?

I'd sure follow up maybe every other day or so until they make a determination.

I know you are busier than heck and put all your time into jesse but maybe if this isn't a match, you could also keep your eye out for those who may match Christopher. I'm sure the parents would love to know someone cares that much.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Just posting this link to the Charley project which has pics of Christopher without glasses. Maybe someone can do a side by side?

Christopher Matthew Kerze – The Charley Project

Christopher Matthew Kerze​

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Christopher, circa 1990; Age-progression to age 43 (circa 2016); Shotgun and watch similar to Christopher's; Closeup of shotgun

I too would really like to see a side by side. I have no idea how to do that nor know who does. I think maybe @SheWhoMustNotBeNamed could and I think @kdg411 knows how but don't think she has been around much. Hope all is okay with her.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Here are some side-by-sides. Post-mortem comparison is under the spoiler for anyone who may not want to see that.

Personally, though I do see some similarities, I'm not convinced that the circumstances match up. There was no indication of glasses/contacts and Christopher was legally blind without them. Scar at hairline? Birthmark on bottom of foot? Christopher appears to have a smaller forehead and more round chin.

Details on John Doe are certainly lacking though, so it's definitely worth a shot! Happy to be wrong if it means a family gets answers.

Spoiler

 

[Cousin Dupree]

Has there been a DNA match?