Difference between revisions of "List of facts we do know about the Somerton Man"

Revision as of 07:18, 11 April 2009

Here is a list of facts and things we can infer about the Somerton Man.

Physical characteristics

• We know he was male.
• He was 5 ft 11 inches (180 cm) tall.
• He had grey eyes.
• His hair was a mousy ginger colour, turning grey on the sides and behind the ears.
• His hair was receding at the front.
• His did not have a widow's peak.
• His hair was wavy and fairly coarse.
• His age was estimated between 40 and 50.
• He was clean shaven.
• We assume he still had his appendix, as no appendix scar is reported.
• We don't know if he had tonsils or not.
• He had characteristic furrows in the shape of his ears.
• He had broad square shoulders and was physically fit.
• He had well-developed high calf muscles.
• His toes were wedged as if he wore pointed shoes.
• He had large hands.
• Estimating from his height and build, his weight would be approximately 75 kg.
• He was uncircumcised.
• His teeth were natural, but he had about 8 back teeth missing from the top, and another 8 back teeth missing from the bottom.
• He had 3 small scars on the inside of his left wrist. A one-inch curve scar on the inside of his left elbow. A one-inch scar (that had the appearance of a boil mark) on his upper left forearm.
• He had nicotine stains on his fingers.
• He had no tattoos.
• He did not wear glasses.
• We don't know if he was right or left handed. But the fact an unfinished cigarette was found on his right collar and that John Lyons observed him raising his right arm, is a probable indication of right handedness. But we cannot be totally certain.

Habits

• His shoes were particularly well polished and clean.
• Finger and toenails were clean and cared for.
• We don't know if he was vaccinated or not.
• His hands showed no sign of callouses or manual labour.
• He was a heavy smoker judging from his stained fingers.
• He wore his hair brushed back without a parting.
• The clothes in his suitcase were well kept and tidy.
• The autopsy showed that the man had eaten a pasty.
• He shaved.

Background and location

• His fingerprints did not match any known records. This may be a sign he had no criminal history. Though it could be simply due to lost records over the war period.
• The ginger tinge of his hair plus large limbs could point toward a Scottish ancestry. This means the probability of a Scottish ancestry is a little higher, but by no means certain.
• He obviously had a certain degree of education. He was clean, tidy, had no tattoos, and had the means to survive without signs of manual labour. It appears he understood the meaning of "Tamám Shud", which would appear to put him in a fairly high bracket of cultural education. Also these factors would suggest he would fit into the upper middle classes of the time.
• It seems likely he was able to read English. His spoken English was proficient enough to travel to Adelaide without being overly noticed.
• He had sufficient money to travel, had respectable clothes, new shoes, and a new suitcase.
• His cleanliness and shoes indicate that he was certainly not destitute.
• No one reported him missing. This could either mean he was originally an orphan with no family; or perhaps as it was 1948 it is not inconceivable that he lost all his family in the war.
• Given that he appeared to have a certain amount of discipline, tidiness, kept his shoes spit polished, and was physically fit, points towards the likely possibility of him having served in an army during the war.
• The fact he was uncircumcised probably rules out him being Jewish. Around 1900, general infant circumcision was taken up in America and Australia as it was believed to be healthy. In the UK, it was not generally practiced but was more of a status symbol for the upper classes to be circumcised at birth. Thus , if the Somerton Man was a native English speaker it is more likely he was from the UK than Australia or the USA. However, as circumcision rates in the USA and Australia were under 50% pre-1930s, the possibility that he was American or Australian cannot be totally ruled out.
• The fact he had airmail stickers in his suitcase indicates that he probably had overseas contacts and certainly had the intentionality to communicate with someone overseas.

Circumstances

• He died of unnatural causes, most probably due to an undetected poison.
• When he died he was wearing: coat, shoes, shirt, pullover, jockey underpants, singlet, pair of trousers made of Crusader Cloth, socks, and a tie.
• He did not seem to have a hat. Whilst this is a little strange for 1948, it is possible that it blew off at the beach.
• On the 30th November 1948, the maximum temperature was 72 F (or 22 deg C), so it would be likely to be cool in the evening. This is consistent with the need for the man to wear a pullover and coat at the beach.
• The shoes he was wearing looked new and the suitcase looked new.
• The items he was carrying at the time of death were: (1) an Army Club cigarette packet containing Kensitas cigarettes, (2) a box of Bryant and May matches (quarter full), (3) a packet of Juicy Fruit chewing gum (half full), (4) two combs, (5) a piece of paper bearing the words "Tamám Shud", (6) a used bus ticket to Glenelg, and (7) an unused second-class rail ticket to Henley Beach.
• If the Kensitas cigarettes were cheaper that Army Club, this could be the standard custom of the time: putting your cigarettes in a better packet. But if Kensitas are more expensive, then this is suspicious and perhaps the cigarettes were the mode of poisoning. [We have been verbally told that Kensitas was cheaper, but need to find a reference.]
• He arrived in Adelaide and proceeded to the suburb of the former nurse who's number was in the poetry book. He died only quarter of a mile away from her residence. This indicates a certain amount of intentionality that he was there to see her for some reason.
• One blade of barley grass was found inside one of his socks that he was wearing. For a tidy man this does seem a little strange.

Contents of the suitcase

• Dressing gown and cord.
• Laundry bag with the name "Keane" written on it.
• One pair of scissors in a sheath.
• One knife in a sheath (apparently a cut down table knife).
• One stencil brush.
• Two singlets.
• Two pairs of underpants.
• One pair of trousers (with dry cleaning marks), with a 6d coin in the pocket.
• One sports coat.
• One coat shirt.
• One pair of pyjamas.
• One yellow coat shirt.
• One singlet bearing the name "Kean" (without an "e" on the end).
• One singlet with name torn out.
• One shirt, without name tag.
• Six handkerchiefs.
• One piece of light board.
• Eight large envelopes, one small envelope.
• Two coat hangers.
• One razor strap.
• One cigarette lighter.
• One razor.
• One shaving brush.
• One small screwdriver.
• One toothbrush.
• Toothpaste.
• One glass dish.
• One soap dish containing a hairpin.
• Three safety pins.
• One front and back collar stud.
• One brown button.
• One teaspoon.
• One broken pair of scissors.
• One card of tan thread.
• One tin of tan boot polish.
• Two airmail stickers.
• One scarf.
• One towel.
• An unspecified number of pencils, mostly Royal Sovereign brand. Three pencils were H.

See also

• Critical design review 2009: Who killed the Somerton man?
• Final report 2009: Who killed the Somerton man?
• Timeline of the Taman Shud Case
• List of people connected to the Taman Shud Case
• List of facts on the Taman Shud Case that are often misreported

Notes

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