In May 2020, Gerald J. Forsman's body was found in Tennessee. The body parts that were found in the woods five years ago belong to a man...
In May 2020, Gerald J. Forsman's body was found in Tennessee.
The body parts that were found in the woods five years ago belong to a man whose family had not seen him in more than twenty years.
A news release from the Knox County Regional Forensic Center says the body parts were found in the woods on May 20, 2020, close to a house on Overbrook Drive in Knoxville.
The body parts were "taken to the Regional Forensic Center to be looked at by a forensic pathologist" after they were found.
At first, it was thought that the body belonged to a man between the ages of 55 and 70, but it wasn't clear how or why he died. The forensic center said, "All standard methods of forensic identification failed to yield the man's identity."
In 2023, a piece of DNA from the bodies was sent to Othram, a private lab in Texas that is known for using forensic genetic genealogical DNA testing to find out who the bodies belong to.
The forensic center said that Othram scientists told them in August 2025 that "they had developed information about possible relatives connected to the man in Michigan."
Scientists with Othram were able to figure out that the man was Gerald J. Forsman, who was from Livonia, Michigan, and provided DNA samples for comparison.
One person who death investigators called said they had not
That's right, Forsman was 45 years old when he went missing. He was born on February 27, 1958.
Forsman lived in Knoxville at the time he went missing, according to public records. Othram says it is not clear why he disappeared.
The Knox County Regional Forensic Center was thankful to all the agencies listed that helped them find Mr. Forsman, the center said in a statement.
The forensic center says that the 2024 Community Project Funding request from U.S. Congressman Tim Burchett through the Bureau of Justice Assistance made it possible for the forensic genetic genealogical testing to be done in this case.
They also said that this is the eighth cold case brought to light by this project.
So far, this is the 26th time in Tennessee that "officials have publicly identified an individual using technology developed by Othram," the company says.