Kody and I often enjoyed watching true crime videos. Anyone who knows much about true crime and unsolved mysteries will typically of heard of the Somerton Man. This case led to some specifically romanticized theories which captured the creativity of the unsolved mystery crew. When Kody and I watched the case of the Somerton Man, I remember he said that all these theories were going too far. To him, this was another case of a depressed man who died by suicide. Seventy four years after the death of this man, it is looking like Kody was probably right.

If you don’t know the case of the Somerton Man, I will summarize it as quickly as I can. In December of 1948 the body of a well dressed man was discovered on a beach in Australia. The man had clothing with the labels removed and in a pocket a torn peace of paper with the words “tamam shud” which means “finished” in Persian. It was later discovered that the piece of paper came from a book of poetry, and that the very book had been thrown in the back of a car. There were also unused train and bus tickets.

All of these clues led to fanciful theories of a man who was a cold war spy or a jilted lover. The cause of death appeared to be heart failure due to poisoning. Despite all of the intriguing clues in the case, the police were unable to identify the man and he was eventually buried by the community.

This last summer, a university professor in Australia made the announcement that he believed that he had found the identity of the Somerton Man at last. After analyzing DNA from the man’s death mask, he was able to trace the DNA to family of the man. This at last has given the man the new identity of Carl Webb.

The man was not a spy. He was instead an electrical engineer with a history of depression, moodiness, and even a suicide attempt. After all these years, it looks like Kody was right after all. Despite all the clues and the exciting theories, the man was just another case of suicide.

While it is important to note that the police in Australia are still performing their own DNA analysis and have not yet made a statement on the case, I believe they’ll reach a similar conclusion. What is most sad to me about this story is that this man was never looked for. No one seemed to be searching for him or noticed his disappearance. It sounds like he was divorced the previous year and after that no one is sure where he spent the time leading up to his death. His only legacy left behind was a fascinating mystery for generations of people to pick over.

This case just shows that sometimes the simplest answer really is the right one. The Somerton Man was just a depressed man who ended his life on a beach far from home. The tickets in his pocket were nothing more than a back up plan in case his attempt failed. The torn bit of paper, served as a suicide note. There is no romantic story of cold war spies out to get one another. Just another sad man who died by suicide.