KNOXVILLE, TN (WOKI) – A man whose remains were discovered in Knoxville in 1988 has now been identified through a partnership between the Knoxville Police Department, the Knox County Regional Forensic Center, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Unidentified Human Remains Initiative.
On August 30, 1988, railway workers repairing a section of track discovered the body of a man in the Coster Rail Yard area of Knoxville. Forensic anthropologists determined the remains belonged to a white male likely between the ages of 21 and 30. His death was ruled a homicide.
Investigators with the Knoxville Police Department and the Knox County Regional Forensic Center worked to identify the victim using the technology available at the time. After exhausting all leads, they were unable to determine his identity, and the victim was classified as a John Doe.
Efforts to identify the Knoxville John Doe continued in the years that followed. The University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Center later submitted a sample of the remains to the University of Texas Center for Human Identification. A DNA profile was developed and entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) in hopes that the man could eventually be identified. However, no matches were made.
In May 2023, as part of the TBI Unidentified Human Remains DNA Initiative, TBI agents assisted the Knoxville Police Department and the Knox County Regional Forensic Center by submitting a sample of the remains to Othram, a private lab based in Texas, for forensic genealogical (FGG) DNA testing.
Scientists were able to identify possible relatives connected to the man. Last month, agents and detectives contacted one of the potential family members and obtained a familial DNA sample. That sample was submitted to Othram for comparison with the DNA from the unidentified remains.
Based on DNA testing and forensic genealogy results, scientists confirmed the remains belonged to James Robert Benson (DOB: 09/11/1965), originally from the Knoxville area. Benson was last seen near the end of March 1988.
Detectives and agents are now asking for the public’s help as they continue to investigate the homicide of James Robert Benson. Anyone with information about this case, particularly knowledge of individuals Benson may have been with before his death, is asked to contact the Knoxville Police Department Homicide Unit at 865-215-7275.
TBI is proud to partner with the Knoxville Police Department and the Knox County Regional Forensic Center to bring answers to this three-decade-old mystery. You can read more about TBI’s Unidentified Human Remains DNA Initiative by clicking here.
