Madison Chimney Skeleton Identified as Oklahoma Resident? Unraveling the Mystery; The identity of a skeleton from Madison, which gained the nickname “Chimney Doe,” remained a mystery for nearly three and a half decades. With the announcement of the remains’ identification this week, the mystery was finally solved.
The skeleton was positively recognized as that of Ronnie Joe Kirk, a man from Tulsa, Oklahoma, by members of a charitable organization after it was discovered in 1989 in the now-closed Madison store Good ‘n Loud Music. This collaboration followed two years of cooperation between the Madison Police Department and the charity DNA Doe Project, which uses DNA analysis to positively identify human remains.
A 12-inch chimney flue was where the skeleton was discovered earlier that week, according to a Milwaukee Journal report from September 7, 1989. The discovery was made during what was supposedly “routine boiler maintenance”; the next day, police and construction workers collaborated to remove the skeletal remains from the structure by uncovering the lowest section of the chimney.
The two competing hypotheses put forth by the authorities in that piece were that he had been murdered and his body deposited in the chimney, or that he had been a trapped burglar.
The subject of the story is the discovery of human remains in the chimney of a Madison building on September 7, 1989.
In 1990, specialists at the Smithsonian Institution carved a replica of the face of the corpse, as mentioned in a 2012 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article. Madison police looked into a tip from 2012 from a lady who said the face looked like a former Capitol page.
Everything you need to know about the case’s latest development is this:
At Madison’s old Good ‘n Loud Music, who was in the chimney?
The man’s identity was confirmed by the DNA Doe Project to be Ronnie Joe Kirk of Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1989, a skeleton belonging to Kirk was discovered beside decaying garments, a necklace with an iron cross pendant, and a butter knife.
The DNA Doe Project clarified on its website that the garment, now known to be a frock, was incorrectly classified as “we have found no further evidence to suggest Ronnie ever identified as anything but male” in a case description.
Who discovered the skeleton at the former Madison location of Good ‘n Loud Music?
The former owner of the building and music business, Steve Liethen, discovered it on September 3, 1989, according to the Wisconsin State Journal, a newspaper published in Madison.
Kirk was a manufacturing worker who abandoned his wife and child, according to divorce papers published in 1970. The court never saw him.
What led to the identification of the skeleton at Madison’s defunct Good ‘n Loud Music?
The DNA Doe Project reports that in 2019, the Madison police approached the group. The group collaborated with Santa Cruz’s Astrea Forensics Laboratory for two years. A DNA profile for Kirk was created and his remains identified using DNA extracted from rootless hair.
According to their website, they use cutting-edge DNA analysis methods to piece together family trees and identify remains.
According to the group’s website, Kirk was able to finally put an end to a long-running mystery after the project’s specialists helped throw light on his background. It was particularly difficult to determine Ronnie Joe Kirk’s family ties because he had been adopted.
How did the skeleton end up in the flue of the former Madison Good ‘n Loud Music?
It is not obvious. According to reports from the DNA Doe Project and other organizations, an unauthorized individual could not have entered the conduit from within the structure.
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The Doe Network, a nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to solving John/Jane Doe cases, stated on its website that detectives have concluded that Kirk probably did not enter the chimney voluntarily. They further speculated that he might have been an intruder who became entangled in the chimney before passing away. An alternative theory posits that Kirk, having been murdered, was concealed within the chimney conduit.
Liethen stated in an article for the Wisconsin State Journal on May 15 that he did not suspect a burglary was at play.
What caused Ronnie Joe Kirk’s demise?
That too is not obvious. An autopsy of the bones, according to The Doe Network, revealed that the pelvic bones were severely fractured, which seemed to have been the cause of death. It was stated that “some speculate the killer caused the injuries by stomping” on that area of Kirk’s body.
What elapsed time passed before Ronnie Joe Kirk was located?
According to the State Journal, investigators estimate that Kirk’s remains had been lodged in the flue for a period of two months to two years.
Yes. In addition to seven unidentified cases, the Wisconsin Department of Justice maintains a database of unidentified cases that includes the skeleton of a chimney from Dane County.
Acording to jsonline, Wisconsin is home to 48 unidentified persons cases, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, a federal database of unidentified, unclaimed, or missing persons.
Additionally, the DNA Doe Project maintains a database of previous and pending cases. In this post, we have given information about the “Madison Chimney Skeleton Identified as Oklahoma Resident? Unraveling the Mystery.”
Natalie Clydesdale is a journalist at oklahomansdecide.org, where she covers crucial local and state news with a focus on accuracy and depth. Her extensive experience in investigative reporting ensures readers receive clear and reliable information. Follow her latest updates on Instagram.
