28 years later, John Doe doused in kerosene, set on fire was missing Atlanta man

ATLANTA — A man buried without his name nearly 30 years ago, has finally been identified thanks to the DNA Doe Project.

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According to the DNA Doe Project, David Brown died after he was doused in kerosene and set on fire, blocks away from his Atlanta home in 1996.

Brown was known as Fulton County John Doe and buried without his name. Officials said Brown did not have any clues about his identity.

His family reported Brown missing at the time he vanished. Brown’s disappearance wasn’t connected to his remains until now, thanks to the DNA Doe Project.

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Last year October, the case was shared with the DNA Doe Project by Danielle DiPasquale. DiPasquale is the founder of the Find Our Missing Facebook group. Earlier this year, the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office provided a sample for DNA testing.

Over four months later, Brown was identified.

“The lack of records prior to 1870 makes African American genealogical research very challenging,” genetic genealogist Lance Daly said.

“We are proud to have been able to finally identify him after so many years.” team co-leader Rebecca Somerhalder said. “Most of our cases are very complex and we are extremely grateful to those who upload their DNA to GEDmatch and FamilyTreeDNA to assist us in our work.”

For more information about the DNA Doe Project, click here.

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