After more than a decade and a half of unanswered questions, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) Homicide Cold Case Detectives have finally to positively identify a man whose lifeless body was found in an abandoned building on February 15, 2009. According to a press release published on the CMPD website, the man has been identified as 67-year-old Robert Stinton.
Initially, when CMPD patrol officers responded to the scene at the 3300 block of Idaho Drive, they uncovered Stinton's remains in an advanced state of decomposition. This circumstance led the Medical Examiner's Office to classify the cause and manner of death as undetermined. No signs of foul play were initially observed, nor was there information to suggest any at the time. Despite the challenges faced by detectives, it was their relentlessness which allowed them to finally make headway in the identification of Stinton.
As reported by CMPD, the breakthrough in the cold case came as Cold Case detectives applied their expertise with new technology, specifically DNA analysis, to generate positive leads in the investigation. The collaboration between CMPD Crime Lab, North Carolina State Crime Laboratory and the Homicide Cold Case Detectives was instrumental in piecing together the identity of the deceased.
The tenacious work of the detectives culminated on Thursday, when they ultimately succeeded to identify Stinton as the deceased.
