The Allegheny County Medical Examiner has announced the identify of a body recovered in the Allegheny River over 30 years ago, the oldest case of unknown remains in the County.
In 1992, the body of an unknown man was found by Pittsburgh Police between the 9th and 6th Street Bridges after police received a call from a witness about an assault in the area.
An autopsy showed blunt force trauma to the head and that the victim had ultimately drown.
In 1993, Police arrested Arthur Wiley, who was convicted of third-degree murder. He has served his time, but the identity of the victim remained unknown.
The victim, described as a white man, standing 5-feet-11, 175-pounds, was described as a wanderer with no known address and was known to travel around the Pittsburgh area.
With the help of a grant from the state, the Medical Examiner’s office was able to partner with a company that specializes forensic genetic genealogy on several cases.
Through comprehensive testing, the Medical Examiner has identified the victim as Allan Kenner.
Kenner was born on February 5, 1940 in Kentucky.
Mandy Tinkey, Laboratory Director at the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner, said: “We never give up on our cases. I am thrilled that after decades of looking into leads and trying new technologies, we are able to finally identify Mr. Keener as the decedent from the 1992 homicide. This brings closure to a family that never knew what happened to their loved one. Many thanks to the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police who still brought charges in 1992 even when we didn’t know the identification of the victim and a huge thank you to Othram for providing the technology that made this connection. We have more than a dozen cold cases we are still looking to identify. We hope this partnership can bring forward other identifications that bring dignity and closure to our unknown remains.”