PHOENIX – The Arizona Attorney General’s Office Cold Case Unit has assisted in a second cold case identity confirmation with investigative genetic genealogy, giving Kermit Wayne Anderson his name back.
“So many families have had to wait far too long for answers and justice,” said Attorney General Mayes. “I’m proud of our Cold Case Unit and the work they are doing to close these cases and deliver answers to the family members of missing and murdered Arizonans.”
A man was found under a bridge in Phoenix, Arizona on October 13, 2011. He had apparently died as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He had no identification on him when he was found.
The Maricopa County Bridge John Doe carried a gray flashlight and TUMS medicine, had an upper denture, and wore dark blue pants, a green jacket and black shirt. His shoes were black, size 10, and he wore white ADIDAS socks.
His identity remained unknown for 13 years. In 2024, the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner (MCOME) contacted the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center located in Mahwah, NJ. Upon Ramapo accepting the case, MCOME sent a portion of the bloodstain to Genologue in Tucker, GA, where a DNA extraction and whole genome sequencing was performed. Genologue sent files to Parabon Nanolabs in Virginia for bioinformatics.
In September of 2024, the genotype files were received by the IGG Center and subsequently uploaded to GEDmatch Pro to try and identify John Doe. This case was worked on by students in the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Certificate Program, who commenced research in November 2024. That same month they were able to identify Kermit Wayne Anderson b. 1934 as a possible candidate for John Doe and relayed this information to MCOME.
“This case demonstrates how IGG education can be beneficial for society in many ways: the agency received assistance with resolving the case, the students had the opportunity to apply their new skills, and most importantly, Mr. Anderson's family has answers about their loved one,” said Cairenn Binder, director of the IGG certificate program and assistant director of the center.
MCOME reached out to the Arizona Attorney General’s Cold Case Unit, led by Supervising Special Agent Roger Geisler, to obtain a family member reference sample from a son of Mr. Anderson. That sample came back positively identifying Kermit Wayne Anderson on May 19, 2025.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Cold Case Unit also worked with MCOME and Ramapo College to positively identify another Arizona John Doe as John Thiellesen after the case was cold for more than twenty years.
If you have any information related to the cases the Arizona Attorney General’s Cold Case Unit is investigating or any other missing or murdered Arizonans, please submit your tip to the Cold Case Unit here, or by visiting Silent Witness
