LACOMBE, La. (WGNO) — The St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office has identified the victim in a homicide cold case from 1993.
A man’s body was found in rural St. Tammany Parish off I-59 near the Mississippi state line back in 1993.
“Squirrel hunters were out hunting and made the discovery. The remains were scattered considerably by carnivores,” said Chris Knoblauch with the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office.
The St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office said the man died of a gunshot wound to the back of his head.
“The identification of the remains has to be a positive identification,” said St. Tammany Parish Coroner Dr. Charles Preston.
For years they have been trying to identify the victim. Back in the 1990s, a clay model was made and then in 2003, a computer-enhanced model was made.
But the real break in the case came once they were able to use DNA technology at their state-of-the-art lab and they found out that the victim was Joseph Lee Muniz, who was born in 1972.
“Genealogists were able to trace the lineage of that individual and identify two potential live siblings of the deceased. They also found the two siblings had in fact a missing family person in their lineage,” said Knoblauch.
With DNA samples and matches in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons (NAMUS) database, they were able to make matches with two siblings. One in Florissant, MO, and another in Burnsville, MN. They gave law enforcement confirmation that the victim was in Louisiana at the time of his disappearance back in 1993.
“The DNA lab was an incredible asset, and we are fortunate to have it right here in St. Tammany Parish,” Preston said.
Also, the victim’s eyeglasses played a helpful role in the identification process. The St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office says they believe the suspect who killed Muniz is no longer alive, but law enforcement is still investigating.
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