[50], It was determined the letter frequency of the message in the back of the Rubaiyat was considerably different from letters written down randomly; the frequency was to be further tested to determine if the alcohol level of the writer could alter random distribution. "[33] Despite these findings, he could not determine the cause of death of the unidentified man. [25][26] Police believed that whoever removed the clothing tags either overlooked these three items or purposely left the "Keane" tags on the clothes, knowing Keane was not the dead man's name. The poem's subject led police to theorise that the man had committed suicide by poison, although no other evidence corroborated the theory. [53], Thomson also said that while she was working at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney during World War II,[42] she had owned a copy of Rubaiyat. [105], In December 2017, Abbott announced three "excellent" hairs "at the right development stage for extracting DNA" had been found on the plaster cast of the corpse, and had been submitted for analysis to the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at the University of Adelaide. Tucked inside the watch pocket in his pants was a slip of paper with Persian words printed on it which meant "finished.". Police begin work to exhume the body in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Dorothy described Carl as solitary, having few friends, living a quiet life and being in bed by 7pm each night, but also moody, violent and threatening, especially when facing defeat even over relatively trivial matters. [51] According to Leane, he described her reaction upon seeing the cast as "completely taken aback, to the point of giving the appearance that she was about to faint". "All this time we've been publishing the autopsy photo, and it's hard to tell what something looks like from that", Abbott said. During their drinking session, the mystery man supposedly produced a military pension card bearing the name "Solomonson". The coat had not been imported, indicating the man had been to America or bought it from someone of similar size who had been.[16][28]. Some observers cited the code found on his copy of The Rubiyt, as well as the apparent attempts to mask his identity, as evidence that he was a Russian spy. [18] The body was then embalmed on 10 December 1948 after the police were unable to get a positive identification. [45] A 2014 analysis by computational linguist John Rehling strongly supports the theory that the letters consist of the initials of some English text, but finds no match for these in a large survey of literature, and concludes that the letters were likely written as a form of shorthand, not as a code, and that the original text can likely never be determined.[46]. Though the state coroner has yet to confirm the pairs findings, Abbott tells the Guardians Natasha May that as a scientist, he is confident in the accuracy of the analysis. SA Police have been contacted for comment. Somerton Man Mystery 'Solved' as DNA Points to Man's Identity [38] Former South Australian Police detective Gerry Feltus (who dealt with the matter as a cold case) reports that the book was found "just after that man was found on the beach at Somerton". [78] The coroner could not determine the young Mangnoson's cause of death, although it was not believed to be natural causes. [114], Forensic Science South Australia, who were still investigating, declined to comment on Abbott's findings. [32] The contents of the boy's stomach were sent to a government analyst for further examination. He was the youngest of six siblings and married Dorothy Robertson, known as Doff Webb. Australia's Greatest Mystery The Somerton Man - Medium [49] Feltus also stated that her family did not know of her connection with the case, and he agreed not to disclose her identity or anything that might reveal it. Per a 1949 inquest report, a doctor who examined the Somerton Man's remains placed his time of death around 2 a.m. Abbott also tracked down the Barbour waxed cotton of the period and found packaging variations. However, in July 1949, Boxall was found in Sydney and the final page of his copy of Rubaiyat (reportedly a 1924 edition published in Sydney) was intact, with the words "Tamam Shud" still in place. [note 3]. [98] His investigations have led to questions concerning the assumptions police had made on the case. 1 December 2 a.m.: Estimated time of death. [32], In 1949, the body of the unknown man was buried in Adelaide's West Terrace Cemetery, where the Salvation Army conducted the service. "The first cousin we found was on his paternal sideand the second one we found was on the maternal side," he said. DNA Could Identify Somerton Man Exhumed in Australia - New York Times Read about our approach to external linking. Somerton Man Identified Through DNA, Researchers Say - New York Times Shown the plaster cast by Paul Lawson, she does not identify the man as Alf Boxall, or any other person.