Robert Ivan Nichols | |
|---|---|
 Nichols's 1999 driver's license photo | |
| Born | Robert Ivan Nichols[1] September 12, 1926[2] New Albany, Indiana, U.S. |
| Disappeared | c. 1965 Napa, California, U.S. |
| Died | c. July 23, 2002 (aged 75) Eastlake, Ohio, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Suicide by gunshot |
| Resting place | Riverside Cemetery, Painesville, Ohio, U.S. |
| Other names | Joseph Newton Chandler III |
| Known for | Formerly unidentified identity thief |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Spouse |
Laverne Kort
(m. 1947; div. 1964) |
| Children | 3 |
| Military career | |
| Service |  United States Navy |
| Battles / wars | World War II
|
| Awards |  Purple Heart |
Robert Ivan Nichols, alias Joseph Newton Chandler III (September 12, 1926 – c. July 23, 2002), was a formerly unidentified American identity thief who committed suicide in Eastlake, Ohio, in July 2002. After his death, investigators were unable to locate his family and discovered that he had stolen the identity of an eight-year-old boy who was killed in a car crash in Texas in 1945.[3][4]
The lengths to which Nichols went to hide his identity has led to speculation that he was a fugitive.[4][5]
In late 2016, the U.S. Marshals Service, Cleveland, Ohio, announced that forensic genealogist Colleen M. Fitzpatrick of Identifinders International had compared the then-unidentified man's Y-STR profile to public genetic genealogy Y-STR databases to determine his possible last name was "Nicholas".[1] In March 2018, the DNA Doe Project identified the man as Robert Ivan Nichols. The U.S. Marshals Service announced the identification at a press conference in Cleveland on June 21, 2018.[6][7][8]
- ^ a b Golston, Hilary. "FIRST LOOK Infamous Cleveland cold case suspect may be named". wkyc.com. WKYC. Retrieved December 18, 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Who Was Joseph Newton Chandler?". centredaily.com. Centre Daily Times. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ a b Goldston, Hillary. "Cold Case: Why did dead Eastlake man steal young boy's identity?". wkyc.com. WKYC. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ Caniglia, John (October 11, 2014). "Chasing a ghost: U.S. Marshal investigates dead Eastlake man who stole boy's identity; believes he was a violent fugitive". cleveland.com. Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ "Mystery of Joseph Newton Chandler III's true identity to be revealed". WKYC. Archived from the original on August 3, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
- ^ Caniglia, John (June 21, 2018). "Authorities solve cold case of war hero who hid behind dead boy's identity". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- ^ "Real Name of Mystery Man Who Died in 2002 Revealed". New York Times. June 21, 2018. Archived from the original on June 25, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2018.