Trenton: Trenton was the backdrop for a historic breakthrough in forensic science. On May 21, Ramapo College identified mysterious bones that had washed up along the Jersey Shore over the past 30 years.
The remains belonged to Captain Henry Goodsell, who perished in a 1844 shipwreck off Brigantine Shoal while transporting 60 tons of marble intended for Girard College.
His bones surfaced more than a century later—first in Longport in 1995, then in Margate in 1999, and again in Ocean City in 2013. Traditional investigative methods failed to identify the remains for decades.
Dubbed "Scattered Man John Doe," the case remained unsolved until Ramapo College's Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) Center used advanced DNA technology to match the bones.
There was no missing person profile in national databases like CODIS, but all the bones were genetically linked, confirming they belonged to the same individual. Students researching the case unearthed historical records showing Goodsell was 29, born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and living in Boston by the late 1830s.
His family, descendants of 1600s Connecticut settlers, was left destitute after his death, prompting community fundraisers. Only one of the ship's crew members was ever found and buried.
This is believed to be the oldest case solved using IGG, a method now transforming historical and criminal investigations. Cape May County prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland emphasized that this technology helps bring modern offenders to justice.
