A young man whose remains were found discarded behind a DeKalb County parking lot four years ago has been identified, and police believe someone killed him.
Josiah Campbell, 18, disappeared in September 2020. He left his Snellville home to go to a recording studio but never returned, according to officials. Just short of a month later, a lawn maintenance crew discovered human remains along a tree line behind a parking lot in Tucker, but authorities didn’t connect the cases until recently.
The discovery was made about 30 minutes away and across the county line into DeKalb. Investigators estimated the person had died up to three weeks earlier. The body was found wearing only pants and a clear stud earring.
Earlier this year, the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office sent the teenager’s DNA to Othram, a private lab in Texas specializing in advanced forensic DNA testing and genetic genealogy research. Scientists there traced his DNA to a potential relative, and the connection was later confirmed through further testing.
No other details about the case have been released, but DeKalb police confirmed they are “now investigating this case as a homicide,” spokesperson Officer Elise Wells said.
Campbell’s identification marks the 18th Georgia case in which Othram has helped track down the name of an unidentified individual using advanced DNA technology and forensic genetic genealogy, according to the company.
The process uses genealogical research, similar to how one might trace their ancestry, by reverse-engineering a family tree. Investigators can link a DNA sample from an unidentified person to any of that person’s family members who have submitted their own DNA to public databases or to those created specifically for law enforcement use in cold cases.
Other laboratories have helped crack additional cases across the state, but it is difficult to determine exactly how many have been solved using forensic genealogy. There is no record-keeping by a single entity, and not all identifications are for victims of crimes.
DeKalb’s most recent breakthrough using Othram was the identification of Kenneth Perry, the suspect in the double stabbing of siblings John and Pamela Sumpter in July 1990. Pamela Sumpter had also been raped.
Perry was indicted last month on two counts each of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony.
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