A pedestrian killed in a 1993 hit-and-run incident in Knoxville has finally been identified, ending a more than three-decade-long mystery. According to WATE, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) confirmed the victim to be Elbert Louis Brown, a man originally from York, South Carolina who was last seen by family members in 1992.
The investigation into the identity of the victim appeared to have reached a dead end after traditional efforts employing technology available in 1993 failed to yield results. Brown was pronounced dead at a scene following the accident along Cedar Bluff Road, and with no identification on him, he was categorized as John Doe. It wasn't until the application of advanced DNA analysis that investigators were able to make progress.
In December 2022, the Knox County Regional Forensic Center, leveraging newly available resources, sent a sample of Brown's remains to Othram Inc., a private lab in Texas specializing in forensic genealogy. This move, highlighted by WVLT, led to a breakthrough in a case that had gone cold for years. Othram's scientists used cutting-edge genetic genealogical DNA testing to develop information about potential relatives connected to the man.
In March 2024, TBI agents, with assistance from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the York County Sheriff's Office, made contact with a potential family member of Brown. This individual's DNA standard was submitted to Othram, which confirmed the identity of the pedestrian as Brown. DNASolves.com notes that support from the Tennessee General Assembly, which provided funding in 2022, was instrumental in facilitating the forensic genetic genealogical testing for this case.
The TBI has emphasized that this successful identification was a result of a collaboration among the Knox County Sheriff's Office, the Knox County Regional Forensic Center, and Othram's scientists. Brown's family had last seen the homeless 52-year-old in 1992, nearly a year before his untimely death. His identification provides closure to a longstanding unidentified person's case and showcases the potential of DNA technology to resolve even the most challenging cases.
