A murder, an impossible love and an enigmatic message: they are about to solve a mystery 70 years old

On December 1, 1948 at 6:30 am, a man was found dead on an Australian beach. There was no sign of struggle, he was very well dressed, with perfectly ironed clothes and waxed shoes. When they went to do the autopsy, a mystery was added to the enigmatic scene of their discovery: in the pocket of the suit, there was a paper with A code and a message. "Finished"he said.

Was? How was he dead? What do the code and the message mean? These are questions that remain and have generated all kinds of speculation, not just in this country. It is that a series of factors have brought the case to an international audience: death occurred during the Cold War era, the lack of identification, the possible reference of code to a book, the use of undetectable poison and the possibility of unrequited love. Was he a spy?

Seven decades later, a professor from the University of Adelaide wants to solve the case. It was Derek Abbott who asked exhume the body and assumed the cost. His interest is not only professional. The investigation, which began more than ten years ago, led him to discover the love.

After approving the procedure, South Carolina Attorney General Vickie Chapman said that he also wanted to know more details about the victim. "I am very happy to give my approval for the exhumation, provided that the costs are borne by those who submit the application, "he said, adding:" It is a question of case of intrigue and mysteryso it was on my agenda for over 40 years. "

The prosecutor's office has opened up the possibility of resolving issues that have puzzled Australia for seven decades.

What do we know

Almost nothing is known to the victim. He is known as "Somerton Man" or "Taman Shud Affair", he had between 40 and 45 years1.80 m, light brown eyes, blond hair, broad shoulders, narrow waist.

Even when it was hot, the day they found it was impeccably dressedWith a white shirt, a red and blue tie, brown pants, socks and shoes, he wore a brown knit sweater and a gray jacket. Strangely, he apparently had no hat, which was unusual in 1948, especially for someone who wore a suit.

"We went to see if all was well, we stayed close enough and we did not see him breathe or watch us," Neil Dayen recalled during a TV show. He and a fellow trainee they found the body of "Somerton Man" to the beach.

His friend grabbed the man's leg to see if he could wake him up, but they realized that He was dead and called the police.

When the officers arrived at the scene, they found that the body did not show any injuries, bumps or scars. He had a cigarette without smoking behind the ear. He was not wearing either Documentation of identity

After moving the body and having it checked, they discovered that none of their clothes had been tagged. On the piece of paper in his jacket was a coded Persian sentence: "Taman Shud", which could be translated as "finished". In addition, we read a rare code that could not be deciphered.

These data suggest that it was a post-war spy. The theory was reinforced after finding another "coded message" hidden inside the combination. It was a sentence taken from the book Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.

Five months after his discovery, the man was buried in the West Terrace Cemetery, without anyone knowing who he was.

A death, an investigation and a love

Derek Abbott was interested in the case several years ago and has been trying for over ten years solve the mystery. The investigation led to Rachel Egan, who thinks she is the granddaughter of "Somerton Man" and whose teacher fell in love.

On television, Rachel remembers meeting the researcher. "I wanted to look at my ears and my teeth. I was behind my DNA. This is probably the first request I received from a man to do it, "he said with humor and noting," People say that Derek he married me for my DNA. And I think there is some truth to that. "

For Derek, the mysterious deceased was an American and the father of an Australian ballet dancer, Robin Thomson, The father of his wife. In addition, he thinks he has met and maintained a secret and "impossible" relationship with a woman from Adelaide, named Jo Thomson.

In particular, the researcher concluded that the dancer and the "Somerton Man" shared not only physical traits, but also a genetic disorder in only 2% of the population. However, the dancer died in 2009 and Jo denied denying Derek's version.

"By exhuming the body and giving Somerton Man an identity, this case and the mystery that surrounds the lives of many people will finally be over.Somewhere, a family lost somebody," concluded the possible little – nameless man's daughter.